Stumbled on this site while researching a medical issue. Seems more helpful than some of the other sites created to help people diagnose their own illnesses–an increasingly common practice for ‘Net-savvy civilians. Having learned about the role of inflammation in asthma while writing a white paper for the Cleveland Clinic, I was intrigued by this page that talks about the growing belief on the part of medical professionals that inflammation caused by germs and infections seems to play a prominent role in an increasing number of chronic health problems such as allergies, asthma, and arthritis, as well as in diseases such as cancer, diabetes, kidney disease and even infertility.

“Long after one recovers from the microbe’s initial insult, viruses, bacteria and other germs silently chew away at the body’s tissues and organs, causing insidious, permanent damage… The American Heart Association clearly recognizes inflammation as causative in atherosclerosis (fatty plaque deposits in the arteries).

If it’s true that infections cause chronic inflammation which causes health problems and disease, it just backs up the idea that our health is pretty much a crap-shoot anyway, so do the best you can with your lifestyle choices and stay as healthy as you can until something gets you.

Which is, except for those who believe they can achieve immortality by some combination of practices, basically what we knew about our health already. Amazing, isn’t it, how circular the path to knowledge often turns out to be?