Inflammageing, a term with origins in a paper from the year 2000, is increasingly being recognised as a key nemesis in the quest for longevity not to mention the feeling of vitality. Inflammageing is a little “does what it says on the tin” describing a condition which has the hallmarks of high blood inflammatory markers (which serve as indicators of biological aging) with a simultaneously higher risk of chronic medical conditions and reduced functional capacity which we commonly associate with aging. Crucially inflammageing is linked to many of the age-related diseases which are leading causes of death globally such as cardiovascular and metabolic diseases as well as cognitive decline. 
 
Now that we have covered off some definitions, and understand the issue at hand, the more pertinent question is ‘what can we do about it?’ 

The good news is that many of the healthy behaviours we are striving for already are helpful, but there’s probably some tweaks that can help even more as well as a few extra bits that can serve as the proverbial icing on the cake.
 

Sleep 

We all know sleep is the key to all health and performance goals. Evolutionarily it almost certainly wouldn’t have persisted if it wasn’t so important, not to mention it’s pervasive in the animal kingdom. There is much hand-wringing and focus on aspects of sleep that are generally more ‘outputs’ or results of good sleep, trying to optimise these which is a little bit of a fool’s errand in my mind. I prefer to suggest folks optimise the ‘inputs’ or conditions for sleep and allow the body to do its thing in optimal conditions, with the ‘outputs’ then being what they are. The body is a complex system, so to assume we can hack our way to more REM sleep or similar probably doesn’t make sense. To that end, many people I speak to are probably approaching improving their sleep the wrong way. 

Tips:
The role of sleep regularity is generally underappreciated, with it increasingly looking to be a key aspect of sleep health (perhaps more than amount of sleep) and as such it’s worth defending and prioritising this. 
 
Similarly many people underestimate the negative impact of noise pollution, especially on sleep. Subsequently it makes sense to manage this as best as possible (as with other aspects of sleep hygiene such as light exposure). Of course, we live in the real world, and as such the perfect scenario isn’t always possible but things like ear plugs can make a huge difference. 
 

Nutrition 

There’s seemingly infinite back and forth on the internet when it comes to nutrition but the reality is most of this argument is over the minutiae and almost everyone agrees that a high intake of vegetables is crucial to combat inflammageing (and for health more broadly). There are many reasons for this but one of the key aspects is the antioxidant load of vegetables (and fruit). 

Tips:
Increasing intakes of things like fruit and vegetables can be seemingly difficult for people. In my experience, there tends to be an emphasis on these at both lunch and dinner but they’re almost ignored at breakfast. Whatever the goal intake is for the day, ignoring 33% of meals make it much more difficult, so including even one serving at this meal is a huge unlock for many people. Remember, a good proxy for antioxidants is colour, so look to get more colourful and a greater variety of colours in fruit and vegetable intake. 
 

Exercise 

Readers likely need no education in the crucial role that exercise plays in our health and longevity. That said, we often underestimate the role of physical activity in the modern world. The difference? Exercise is planned, structured and often goal driven. Physical activity is the rest of the movement you do. It’s walking to the train, taking the stairs etc. So whilst there’s no magic number, though 10,000 steps is a handy goal, we should be doing our best to get as much physical activity as possible. It’s worth noting that two things can be true; we can do a good amount of exercise AND be quite sedentary. 

Tips:
We should be working our hardest to avoid extended periods of sedentary behaviour. That’s right, in the perfect scenario we break up long periods of computer work with some movement. There are a number of strategies that could be employed from alerts on your wearable, to walking desks or indeed ‘exercise snacks’ (short bouts of movement to break up sitting). How you achieve regular movement to break up sedentary time is up to you, but it’s crucial in fighting inflammageing. 
 

Supplementation 

To this point, we’ve focused a lot on preventative strategies. Mostly looking at trying to limit inflammation, but the reality for many people is that ‘life’ can be quite inflammatory, even when trying to pursue healthy habits (for example air pollution on your ride to work or when exercising). It’s the uncomfortable truth that is somewhat foolish to ignore. To be clear, it’s not that all inflammation is bad, but more that modern life tends towards excessive, and chronic inflammation (and thus inflammageing) rather than more acute inflammation.
 
Tips:
One way to help manage the more chronic inflammation associated with modern life is via supplementation in consultation with your healthcare team. In this realm, many supplements may be an option, including those high in antioxidants (which include polyphenols). One of the more prominent molecules in this space is curcumin, which derives from the turmeric plant. Research on the compound and its anti-inflammatory properties is strong, but one key aspect is ensuring it is bioavailable to the body as many commercial offerings are not. Newer formulations are now available on the market offering a high bioavailability, which include the use of delivery methods such as ‘micelles’ so make sure your choice of supplement has high bioavailability.  
 
 
Inflammageing is an unfortunately common part of the modern lives we lead, but there’s no reason we should not be working hard to combat this. Thankfully many of the healthy behaviours we are already prioritising also fight inflammageing. There many, however, be a role for some targeted supplementation to aid in the battle against the more chronic inflammation we face as a result of the world we live in. 
 

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References:

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