Inflammation affects everyone, particularly in our ability to stay healthy, feel good, and operate at peak performance. One of the best indicators of full-body inflammation is actually a protein circulating in our blood called called C-reactive protein, or CRP. Levels of CRP rise and fall in response to increases and decreases in inflammation, so your blood levels of CRP are actually a great way to peek into what’s going on in your body.
According to the American Heart Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a CRP concentration of:
Very high levels of CRP (more than 10 mg/L) can also indicate impaired immune response or an inflammatory disease. White blood cells are another indicator of inflammation because they play an important role in your body’s immune system, searching the blood for invading viruses, bacteria, and fungi. The only way to truly determine if your CRP and white blood cell levels are too high is to get your blood tested. InsideTracker measures both of these biomarkers—in fact, InsideTracker actually tests high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP), a particular type of CRP that's especially good at detecting inflammation.
High levels of LDL can result in excess cholesterol in your arteries, which are the blood vessels that carry blood from your heart to your body. Eventually, LDL cholesterol can break into the walls of your blood vessels and begin building up, causing the vessels to narrow. This process can restrict blood flow, increase blood pressure, and ultimately cause significant strain on the heart. This is why LDL is known as the "bad cholesterol."
In contrast, HDL acts as cholesterol scavengers, carrying cholesterol away from your blood vessels and back to the liver, which can then help you remove it from your body entirely. It's for this reason that HDL is known as the "good cholesterol."
High cholesterol is relatively common in modern culture, but it usually doesn't present any symptoms. That mean that, if you haven't gotten your blood cholesterol levels tested, you may be unknowingly walking around with high levels. The best way to get up-to-speed is to get your blood tested at your annual physical or from a program like InsideTracker, which measures total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol. InsideTracker also tests triglycerides, another type of fat in our blood that impacts heart health.
Some quick tips on cholesterol:
So, while inflammation is sometimes a protective and healing process, too much cholesterol can lead to a continuous state of inflammation, which is not beneficial for your arteries or your heart. Although it’s not proven that inflammation can directly result in cardiovascular disease, it’s common for heart disease and stroke patients to have high amounts of inflammation, so it’s important to monitor your associated biomarkers carefully.
What you eat also can have a huge impact on your heart, and you can decrease your risk of heart disease by avoiding foods that are high in unhealthy fat, calories, sugar, and salt (such as fast foods). Some foods, however, help to decrease inflammation, including garlic, grapes, herbs and spices, soy protein, nuts, olive oil, black and green teas, and vinegar. In order to lower your cholesterol, you can replace unhealthy fats (such as saturated and trans fats) with healthy ones and replace refined carbohydrates with whole grains.
If you have high cholesterol or inflammation, make sure you work with your health care provider to monitor your progress. Eating nutritious foods, along with getting regular exercise, can go a long way in helping you to keep your heart healthy!