The inflammatory process is the body’s basic response to perceived injury or infection at the cellular level. The inflammatory process protects the body and helps it survive because it is designed to rid the body of both the cause of and consequences of the infection.

However, when inflammation becomes chronic, it can destroy healthy tissues and create its own damage. And as N V Perricone has found, chronic inflammation is a major cause of the signs of aging.

Read on to learn about what occurs during the inflammatory process and how the Perricone Prescription can prevent chronic inflammation from aging your skin.

• The Inflammatory Process
• How the Inflammatory Process Becomes Chronic
• The Perricone Prescription to Prevent Inflammation from Aging Skin

The Inflammatory Process

The inflammatory process works to defend the body by repairing damaged tissues.

Damage can result from:

• Trauma
• Physical and chemical agents
• Foreign bodies
• Immune reactions
• Infection

When presented with one of these agents, the body begins the inflammatory process.

The inflammatory process varies slightly with different types of infection, but can be summarized in 7 basic steps.

1. Bacteria enters
2. Blood vessels widen, increasing blood flow
3. Permeability of the blood vessels increases
4. Fluid filtrates into the tissue, leading to swelling
5. White blood cells enter the tissues from the blood vessels
6. The cells destroy the cause of infection
7. Tissues repair themselves

Acute inflammation, which repairs a specific infection, occurs rapidly and only lasts for a short period of time. However, when the inflammation process becomes chronic, cells destroy healthy tissue.

How the Inflammatory Process Becomes Chronic

Chronic inflammation occurs over a prolonged period of time and results in destruction of healthy parts of the body. When the body’s natural healing process overdoes its job, harmful changes can occur in tissues or even the entire body.

This overdrive occurs when the substances that direct the inflammatory process think that the causes of infection are not fully removed. These substances continue to stimulate the influx of white blood cells when they are not needed.

These excess cells can damage healthy areas of the body, such as:

• Blood vessel linings
• Pancreatic tissue
• Joint tissue
• Colon’s lining

However, you can prevent chronic inflammation by managing the factors that make the body think infection is constantly present.

The Perricone Prescription to Prevent Inflammation from Aging Skin

Chronic inflammation arises when the inflammation process is not fully terminated. This continuation of the inflammation process is brought on by harmful environmental factors, such as:

• Eating an unhealthy, pro-inflammatory diet
• Stress
• Lack of sleep

While managing stress and sleep is sometimes difficult, one easy fix is changing your diet. The Perricone Prescription recommends avoiding pro-inflammatory foods, which are major contributors to chronic inflammation.

These include:

• Sugar: When blood sugar rapidly increases, inflammation occurs.
• High-fat meats: Contain chemicals such as nitrites, which are associated with chronic inflammation.
• Fast food: Cooked with a lot of oil, which decreases blood flow to organs.
• Dairy products: Excess of the fatty acid arachidonic acid, which can worsen inflammation.

Eating a few large meals a day also causes a spike in blood sugar. Instead, eat small meals of a diet built around anti-inflammatory foods.

The Perricone Prescription recommends eating great sources of antioxidants, which help support the body’s resistance to inflammation, such as:

A quick and easy recipe that includes 3 superfoods is the delicious Grilled Rosemary Garlic Shrimp. You can even substitute tofu, other types of fish, or chicken for the shrimp.

Which anti-inflammatory foods are you already including in your diet?
Tell us below.