Inflammation gets a bad rap, but it’s only partially deserved. If you catch a cold or stub your toe, you want the offending pathogen or injury to trigger an inflammatory response, because that’s what kicks off the healing process. Exercise also causes temporary inflammation; it helps you build muscle mass.
The catch is that when inflammation doesn’t dissipate, “it becomes a simmering flame,” says New York–based integrative dietician Robin Foroutan, RDN. Left unchecked, it can cause fatigue, lead to trouble sleeping, damage healthy tissue, and increase your risk of a host of ailments, including asthma, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disease, and cancer.
