The hidden dangers of chronic inflammation

The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease is increasing dramatically. Yalda Alaoui explains why chronic inflammation can affect us all.

We become familiar with inflammation from a very young age. When you cut your finger, to heal the cut, your body sends inflammatory cells to the injury.

Inflammation refers to your body’s process of fighting against things that harm it such as infections, injuries, and toxins, in an attempt to heal itself. When something damages the cells, like cutting your finger, your body releases chemicals that trigger a response from your immune system. This is known as acute inflammation.

Chronic inflammation, however, happens when this response lingers, leaving your body in a constant state of alert and can have symptoms harder to spot such as abdominal pain, chest pain, fatigue and fever.

Yalda Alaoui found that she was suffering from chronic inflammation after she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis – an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in which the lining of the colon becomes inflamed and develops tiny open sores or ulcers.

“I had an acute case for many years where my body did not respond positively to medication. I was pretty much in a constant flare,” Yalda tells me. Despite not experiencing remission, doctors assured her multiple times that there was no link between nutrition and her condition.

“Because I didn’t see any results, I set myself on a path of research on lifestyle and nutrition. I was looking at everything, not just dietary changes,” she says. “I changed a few things in my diet and I started working out again. But I later found out that some workouts can increase inflammation.”

Yalda was also diagnosed with a disease called autoimmune haemolytic anaemia – a rare blood condition that causes the antibodies of a person’s immune system damage some of their red blood cells. “It was almost fatal for me a couple of times. But it sparked a conversation with my doctor that made me realise that the link between my two conditions was actually inflammation.”

Subsequently, she extended her research and started talking to other people on forums with similar conditions. “We would exchange phone numbers and I would talk to other people and try to understand the mechanisms of those diseases through their experiences,” she explains.

Analysing the common symptoms of chronic inflammation is what helped Yalda to improve her lifestyle – from sleep and nutrition to exercise, mental health, strengthen immunity and body composition. “I was trying to put all the pieces of this puzzle together through others to truly understand the inflammatory processes and the links to other diseases much further than just autoimmunity,” she says. “So, I developed a method to improve my symptoms, and finally be free of pain.”

After retraining as a nutritional therapist, Yalda launched Eat Burn Sleep – an online platform that helps people reduce inflammation, restart their gut microbiome and promote optimum immune and liver health.

Yalda was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2007

“70 per cent of your immune system cells sit in you gut,” she points out. “So, the reason why gut health is so important is because it influences your immune system and your inflammation as a result.”

Yalda’s platform is based on three pillars: nutrition, movement and mental wellness. “Very few people realise that if you’re really stressed, it’s hard for inflammation to be reduced because your cortisol levels are high,” she tells me. “When you have high cortisol levels, what it does is it switches on the sympathetic nervous system, your fight or flight response, and it switches off the parasympathetic nervous system, your rest and digest side.”

Eat Burn Sleep encourages a better lifestyle rather than adopting restrictive diets. Yalda says that she wants people to be social and have fun with their friends, cautioning that most diets can be extremely unhealthy mentally, physically and physiologically.

“My method is very moderate,” she adds. “Cutting out a certain food group entirely increases the chances of losing the good bacteria to digest it. Instead, I want to show people how much of that food to reduce and for how long.

“When it comes to exercise, for example, being sedentary is linked to heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes and obesity. But high intensity exercise is also linked to chronic inflammation. So, I have a library of anti-inflammation workout videos along with a mental wellness section where I help people not only stay calm and meditate, but also rewire the subconscious brain and tap into neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to form new neural connections throughout life.

“We also have about 20 doctors backing my method. They have used it for themselves and now share it with their patients,” she says. “My aim is to put people together – gastroenterologists, GPs, osteopaths, immunologists – and share interesting findings or observations that can help others with their practice.”

The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) increased between 2006 and 2016 by 33.8 per cent and globally, more than six million people are affected by IBD.

Yalda thinks that Deborah James’ case will help more people understand chronic inflammation, but she also says that: “The food has changed a lot. Many healthy organic processed foods are packed with additives that lead to inflammation, metabolic syndrome, unhealthy weight gain, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

“Unfortunately, with chronic inflammation, unless you’re diagnosed with a chronic disease, you don’t get any signs,” the nutritionist explains. “But one of the first things to pay attention to is excess fat. Although I know everyone talks about body positivity, it is not helping our health, because a high BMI means that your body produces more inflammatory cells.

“So, things like a high BMI or bloating may suggest that you probably have inflammation in your body. I would say do something about it. A doctor cannot sleep for you. A doctor cannot eat for you. A doctor cannot think positively for you. Take steps to improve your health today, which will improve your mental well-being. You’re going to have a sharper brain, a better mood, you’re going to enjoy your life better, and prevent diseases later.

“Also, when you do that, you start shopping for healthier foods,” she adds. “And guess what, healthier foods are better for the planet. So, from an ecological standpoint, sustainability helps the environment and you become less of a burden on the healthcare systems in the future.”

I ask Yalda why she thinks it is harder to maintain a healthy lifestyle now. “I think there’s a lot of confusion. You hear so many mixed health messages and you don’t know which one to follow and I also think that we have such a perfectionist mindset.

“Everything’s black and white. People feel that they either have to be really good or if they eat one bad thing, they’re going to go for all the unhealthy foods. So, in my method, it’s about damage limitation, not perfection. I developed this because I wanted to continue having fun. Life was so boring when I was sick. What I tell people now is skip the sandwich on your lunch break and go for a salad. Then if you want to enjoy some prosecco with your friends, do it well, so you produce the enzymes to digest it and enjoy it guilt-free.”

Alongside improving Eat Burn Sleep, the nutritionist is also working on an app that will be available soon and will help more people on the path of recovery.

“I want to continue helping people and I want to keep raising awareness,” she says. “In the long run, my goal is to help introduce nutrition in the curriculum in medical schools because I really want to bridge the gap between holistic treatment and allopathic medicine and truly make a difference.”

For more information, visit eatburnsleep.com.