WHEN IT FUNCTIONS PROPERLY, inflammation is a quick, natural response designed to help the body heal. When it doesn't, it simmers at chronic levels, which in recent years have been linked to a wide range of ills, including demen--tia, heart dis-ease, asthma, migraines, colitis, cancer, dia-betes, and depression. In fact, chronic inflamma-tion has been connected with the development of at least half the diseases on the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-ven-tion's top-10 causes of mortality. It's this sinister per-vas-iveness that has given inflam-mation a nega-tive reputation and made it a health buzzword—inspir-ing books, diets, and supple-ments, as well as serious medical research. While scientists are actively study-ing exactly why chronic (or sys-temic) inflammation occurs, what damage it can cause, and how we can reverse it, there's much we already…
