If my hs-CRP is low, am I in the clear?

hs-CRP under 1 mg/L usually means low risk, but it’s just one marker. Look at it alongside ferritin, fibrinogen, homocysteine and the omega-3 index.

Does curcumin really work?

Yes, but only in an absorbable form – with piperine or as a liposomal product. Regular curcumin from food barely gets absorbed and won’t give a noticeable effect.

Are large doses of antioxidants a good idea?

Not necessarily. Some studies show that very high doses of vitamins E and C can interfere with the body’s response to exercise training and may even be harmful. It’s better to choose well-evidenced supplements (omega-3, vitamin D, curcumin) at normal doses, not megadoses.

Why is fat around internal organs especially risky?

Unlike fat under the skin, this fat releases inflammatory substances directly into the blood heading to the liver, and from there throughout the body. It behaves like an active organ, not just stored energy.

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Chronic inflammation

Chronic low-grade inflammation

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a ‘silent fire’ that smolders for years without symptoms and sits behind heart disease, type-2 diabetes, autoimmune disease, brain aging and cancer. Unlike normal inflammation, which fights off an injury or infection, this kind does not protect the body – it slowly damages it.

hs-CRP (an inflammation marker in the blood) above 2 mg/L means double the heart-attack risk
Fat around your internal organs (visceral fat) actively releases inflammation-causing substances
A leaky gut lining feeds inflammation throughout the whole body

See webinars Inflammation lab panel

Normal vs. chronic inflammation

Normal inflammation – redness, pain, swelling after a cut or infection – is protective: it starts, peaks and fades. Chronic low-grade inflammation is a mild but ongoing, body-wide inflammation, where hs-CRP (a blood marker of inflammation) sits at 2–10 mg/L with no obvious cause.

It’s fueled by fat around internal organs, a leaky gut lining (where bacterial particles leak into the blood), chronic stress, sleep loss, heavily processed food, too much seed oil, an unbalanced gut microbiome, and hidden chronic infections (like H. pylori bacteria or gum disease).

Indirect signs of chronic inflammation

Constant fatigue, morning grogginess, brain fog
Joint stiffness and mild pain with no clear injury or arthritis diagnosis
Skin issues – acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea
Metabolic syndrome (belly fat, high blood pressure, poor blood fat levels)
Frequent colds and infections, slow-healing wounds
Mood swings, anxiety, low mood (the brain and immune system are closely linked)
An autoimmune diagnosis or thyroid antibodies
Ongoing gut issues – alternating diarrhea and constipation, bloating, gas

Fat around organs as a source of inflammation

Fat around your internal organs (unlike fat under the skin) isn’t just stored energy – it’s an active organ that releases hormones and inflammation-causing substances (like TNF-α and IL-6). These circulate through the whole body and disrupt how liver, muscle and brain cells respond to insulin.

This is why even lean, normal-weight people with a lot of fat around their organs can have hidden metabolic problems. A body-composition scan (bio-impedance or DEXA) can reveal this even when body mass index looks normal.

Gut permeability

The gut lining is only one cell thick – it’s the border between the body and the outside world
Certain factors (gluten protein, an unbalanced gut microbiome, stress) weaken this border
Bacterial particles from the gut (lipopolysaccharides, or LPS) leak into the bloodstream
The immune system reacts with body-wide inflammation and makes insulin work less well
Fiber, fermented foods, the amino acid glutamine and colostrum help repair the gut barrier

Four steps to lower inflammation

Lowering inflammation isn’t about one magic supplement – it means making changes across four areas of life at once.

Nutrition

Eat less heavily processed food, seed oil and sugar. Eat more fatty fish (2–3 times a week) or good-quality fish oil, berries, green tea, olive oil, dark chocolate, 30+ grams of fiber a day, and fermented foods.

Reduce fat around your organs

Losing 5–10% of body weight along with strength training is especially effective at reducing fat around internal organs. A useful target: waist circumference under half your height. A body-composition scan gives a more precise picture.

Supplements to lower inflammation

Supplements can help, but they don’t replace good nutrition and lifestyle habits.

Omega-3 (2–4 g a day) – one of the most well-studied anti-inflammatory supplements
Curcumin (in a well-absorbed form) – studied in the context of inflammation markers
Vitamin D3 with K2 – supports the immune system
Magnesium – lowers hs-CRP, helps with sleep and stress
Zinc – studied in the context of immunity and the gut lining
Quercetin and resveratrol – plant compounds with antioxidant effects
Multi-strain probiotics and prebiotics – support gut bacteria diversity
Colostrum and the amino acid L-glutamine – support the gut lining

Fasting as a way to lower inflammation

Eating within a set time window (for example, a 14–16 hour break from food) and occasional longer fasts trigger a cell-cleanup process called autophagy and lower inflammation markers. The effect is stronger when the weight lost is specifically fat around internal organs.

Fasting isn’t suitable during pregnancy, breastfeeding, eating disorders, being underweight, or while taking certain medications – these cases need a doctor’s supervision.

Labs to assess inflammation

hs-CRP (target under 1 mg/L) – the main marker of body-wide inflammation
Ferritin – an indirect sign of inflammation (when iron deficiency is ruled out)
Fibrinogen (target under 3.5 g/L)
Homocysteine (target under 8 µmol/L) – shows damage to blood vessels
Vitamin D (target 100–150 nmol/L)
Omega-3 index (target above 8%)
Fasting glucose and insulin, HbA1c – insulin resistance often underlies inflammation
Thyroid antibodies – show whether an autoimmune process is present
In harder cases, gut-health markers (calprotectin, zonulin)

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