Over 45? You've entered the 'Inflammage.' Find out what it means for your ageing journey

If you’re over 45, you’ve entered the ‘Inflammage' and your body's systemic inflammation setting is trending higher 

Thanks to Dr Roderick Mulgan, author of The Internal Flame, for this contribution

We all gradually enter the ‘inflammage’ – a blend of inflammation and age – as we hit 45-50 and beyond.   The term refers to the persistently raised background level of inflammation that develops as a normal stage of getting older, without there needing to be a corresponding infection trigger present.  

The inflammage reflects an older, far less efficient immune system which begins to get a little sloppy due to continuous service in keeping us alive decade upon decade, and begins losing focus - undermining healthy organs and actively influencing biological ageing.  This process is worsened by our middle-aged body’s decreasingly effective cell ‘housekeeping’ process which also becomes sluggish – failing to clear away discarded proteins promptly and leaving ‘rubbish’ piling up provoking an even stronger inflammatory response process.

This form of ‘self-attack’ is the common factor behind heart disease, cancers and some dementias – those major diseases of later life which can stop us in our tracks and fundamentally change the course of our final years. 

The problem is largely one of time, reflecting our increased lifespan compared to previous generations: our immune system collects and accumulates the insults and effects of all the various infections and foreign bodies it has grappled with over many years.  It can cope up to the point where previously humans tended to die; far beyond this point it is dealing with a cumulative stimulus it isn’t very well designed or equipped for.

How aggressively this process influences our personal ageing trajectory has a great deal to do with lifestyle, and the following are key factors which make an enormous difference:

·      An anti-inflammatory diet focused on eating whole, minimally processed foods  including berries, fish rich in omega-3s, leafy greens and a range of colourful fruit and vegetables.

·      Regular exercise – both cardio and strength elements

·      Adequate sleep

·      Controlling stress

·      Not smoking

·      Cutting out or limiting alcohol

·      Maintaining a healthy weight

Of the above, diet is a crucial factor in dampening down systemic inflammation.  In particular, the natural anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of phytochemicals in plants exert a strong effect in supporting the body’s processes to dial down the chronic background inflammation at the base of age-related disease.