A simple blood test can save your life.

It is called C-reactive protein.

And it measures the degree of HIDDEN inflammation in your body.

Inflammation is an insidious, smoldering fire that can silently spread throughout your body, wreaking havoc along the way and causing a host of health issues.

But addressing the causes of inflammation and learning how to live an anti-inflammatory lifestyle is the second key to UltraWellness -- a state of lifelong health and vitality.

Everyone who has had a sore throat, a rash, hives, or a sprained ankle knows about inflammation.

Those are normal appropriate responses of your defense system to infection or trauma.   You need it to survive, to help you determine friend from foe.

But few people know that hidden inflammation run amok is at the root of all chronic illness we experience -- things like heart disease, obesity, diabetes, dementia, depression, cancer, and even autism.

You may feel healthy, but if this inflammation is raging inside of you, then you are in trouble.

The real concern is not your acute response to injury, infection or insult, but the chronic smoldering inflammation that slowly destroys your organs and your ability for optimal functioning and leads to rapid aging. 

What can you do about this?

Well, common treatments such as anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen and aspirin), or steroids like prednisone, though often useful for acute problems, interfere with the body's own immune response and lead inevitably to serious and deadly side effects. 

I’ve got a better approach.

First, identify the triggers and causes of inflammation, and then second, help the body's natural immune balance reset by providing the right conditions for it to thrive.

Thankfully, the list of things that cause inflammation is relatively short.

They include poor diet, lack of exercise, stress, chronic infections, allergens, and toxins.

So once you’ve addressed the causes of inflammation, how do you keep it at bay?

It’s simple -- but so effective.

I recommend eating a healthy diet full of anti-inflammatory foods, exercising regularly, learning to relax, eliminating food allergies, and taking certain supplements to reduce inflammation.

Remember, taking a comprehensive approach to inflammation and balancing your immune system is important to help address one of the most important core systems of the body -- and achieving UltraWellness. 

To your good health,
Mark Hyman, M.D.