How Chronic Inflammation Quietly Damages Your Body

Join Dr. James Odell for Season 2 of the Science of Self-Healing Podcast! He's the medical and executive director for BRMI, as well as a practicing naturopathic doctor for over 35 years, and he's here to share with you his extensive knowledge of medicine from a different perspective.

The Bioregulatory Medicine Institute

The Science of Self-Healing Podcast

You know that swelling around a fresh cut or the soreness after twisting your ankle? That’s inflammation doing its job—protecting and healing. But there’s another kind, the kind you can’t see or feel right away, that can quietly chip away at your health for years.

In this episode, Dr. Odell discusses chronic inflammation—the “silent fire” that may be behind your fatigue, brain fog, stubborn weight, mood swings, and even serious diseases. He’ll share how it starts, why it sticks around, and the surprisingly everyday things that keep it burning. More importantly, Dr. Odell will reveal simple, powerful ways to cool it down so you can feel clearer, lighter, and more energized.

If you’ve been feeling out of sorts lately, it could be your body’s way of sending you a message. Join us for a fresh perspective on health and wellbeing—one that looks beyond symptoms to address the root cause, and empowers your body to regulate, adapt, regenerate, and heal itself. Tune in—you may discover just what you’ve been missing!

Transcript for: How Chronic Inflammation Quietly Damages Your Body

Hello and welcome to the Science of Self-Healing podcast, produced by the Bioregulatory Medicine Institute (BRMI). We provide unique insights into how you can naturally support your body’s ability to regulate, adapt, regenerate, and self-heal. I’m Dr. James Odell, your host and BRMI’s medical and executive director, with over 35 years as a naturopathic doctor. Please remember, this podcast is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for personalized care from a qualified health professional.

Before we begin, I’d like to invite you to our upcoming conference and retreat aboard Celebrity's cruise ship, Beyond. We’ll depart from Miami for a 7-night Caribbean cruise, visiting St. Kitts, St. Thomas, and the Dominican Republic. We’ve reserved Aqua Class Staterooms with exclusive amenities, starting at $2,284.50 per person (double occupancy), plus $295 for the conference with promo code BEYOND. Our conference, held on sea days, features a range of engaging talks and is open to practitioners and anyone interested in health. Space is limited—visit brmi.online for details and registration. We hope to see you aboard!

Introduction:

Most of us recognize inflammation in its acute form—the red, hot swelling around a cut, the tender puffiness that follows a twisted ankle, the flush of fever when our bodies are fighting off an infection. These are obvious, visible signs that our immune system has sprung into action, protecting us from immediate harm. This type of inflammation, known as acute inflammation, is essential. It is the body’s frontline response to injury or threat, and it typically resolves once healing begins. Acute inflammation is a secondary detoxification mechanism that enables cellular immunity to clear cellular debris. This is further described in the Reckeweg Homotoxicology diagram.

But there is another kind of inflammation that is far more insidious: chronic inflammation. Unlike the fiery heat of acute inflammation, chronic inflammation simmers quietly beneath the surface. It doesn’t announce itself with dramatic symptoms but instead works subtly, often for years, gradually eroding our health and quality of life. It’s no surprise that it has been called “the silent fire.”

This low-grade, ongoing inflammatory state has been implicated in nearly every major chronic illness we face today. From heart disease and diabetes to autoimmune conditions, digestive disorders, anxiety, depression, and even cancer, chronic inflammation is at the root or plays a contributing role. 

But because its signs are often diffuse, vague, and easily dismissed, many people go years—sometimes decades—without realizing that their persistent fatigue, brain fog, or digestive troubles are actually symptoms of a deeper inflammatory imbalance. 

The danger of chronic inflammation lies in its quiet persistence. Unlike a sprained ankle that demands your attention, chronic inflammation adapts into your life, becoming part of your normal. Over time, it not only disrupts how you feel but also how your body functions, potentially setting the stage for more serious disease.

How Inflammation Becomes Chronic

Inflammation itself is not the enemy. In fact, it is a critical biological process, one that our bodies rely on to fight infection, heal wounds, and respond to physical and emotional stressors. But like any system in the body, inflammation must be carefully balanced. When this balance tips too far—when the inflammatory response becomes exaggerated or fails to shut off—it moves from helpful to harmful.

In our modern world, chronic inflammation has become widespread, driven by a constellation of lifestyle and environmental factors. A major culprit is diet. Diets high in refined sugars, trans fats, seed oils, processed grains, processed meats, and chemical additives can trigger a continuous immune response, as can frequent consumption of allergenic or inflammatory foods. Coupled with sedentary behavior, chronic stress, inadequate sleep, exposure to pollutants, and overuse of antibiotics or medications, the body becomes overwhelmed, toxic and confused.

The immune system begins to respond not to acute, external threats, but to ongoing, internal imbalances. Over time, this state of constant low-grade alertness causes the immune system to essentially go haywire. It begins to perceive threats where none exist, attacking healthy tissues, creating oxidative stress, and damaging blood vessels and organs. Cells that are inflamed for prolonged periods may stop communicating properly, cease to repair themselves efficiently, or even mutate, increasing the risk of diseases like cancer. And because this process happens on a microscopic level, without necessarily creating pain or dysfunction at first, it continues silently, often until a diagnosis appears seemingly out of nowhere.

The Signs Your Body Is Inflamed

Chronic inflammation does not usually start with an obvious signal. More often, it whispers through your body in subtle ways. You might start noticing that you’re more tired than usual, even after what you thought was a decent night’s sleep. Your energy crashes by mid-afternoon, and you find yourself craving sugar or caffeine to push through. You may experience difficulty concentrating or feel like your mind is wrapped in a fog.

Emotionally, you might feel more irritable, anxious, or moody than normal. You might find yourself reacting more intensely to everyday stressors or struggling to regulate your emotions in situations that once felt manageable. These are not just signs of emotional imbalance—they can also be the result of neuroinflammation, as the immune system interacts with the brain in complex and far-reaching ways.

Physically, you might begin to notice aches or pains that don’t seem to have a clear cause. Your joints may feel stiff when you wake up in the morning, or your muscles might feel sore despite no obvious overexertion. Your skin may break out more often, become itchy or reactive, or flare with conditions like eczema or rosacea. Your digestion may feel unpredictable—sometimes bloated, sometimes sluggish, sometimes uncomfortably urgent.

You may also notice that you get sick more frequently or take longer to recover from minor illnesses. Cuts and bruises may heal more slowly. Your weight might fluctuate despite no changes in diet or exercise, or you might find it increasingly difficult to lose weight, especially around your abdomen.

These signs may seem unrelated, but when seen through the lens of inflammation, a pattern begins to emerge. The body is speaking—but often in a language that we are not taught to understand.

How Inflammation Impacts Every System

To truly grasp the gravity of chronic inflammation, it helps to understand how it touches nearly every organ system in the body. In the cardiovascular system, chronic inflammation contributes to the formation of plaques in arteries, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. In fact, many heart attacks occur not when plaques gradually block arteries, but when inflammation causes them to rupture suddenly.

In the metabolic system, inflammation interferes with the function of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar. This can lead to insulin resistance, prediabetes, and eventually type 2 diabetes. It also contributes to weight gain, especially around the midsection, which in turn produces more inflammatory chemicals—a vicious cycle.

In the brain, inflammatory cytokines can alter neurotransmitter levels, dampen mood, disrupt memory, and impair cognition. People with chronic inflammation often report brain fog, depression, and anxiety. Some researchers believe that inflammation plays a major role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of neurodegeneration.

In the digestive tract, inflammation can damage the gut lining, contributing to a condition known as increased intestinal permeability or “leaky gut” This allows undigested food particles and toxins to enter the bloodstream, where they provoke an” immune response, worsening inflammation further and sometimes triggering autoimmune conditions.

Even the reproductive system is affected. Chronic inflammation has been linked to hormonal imbalances, menstrual irregularities, infertility, and severe premenstrual symptoms. It can alter the delicate balance of estrogen and progesterone, interfere with ovulation, and disrupt early pregnancy.

There is no corner of the body untouched by inflammation. The longer it goes unaddressed, the greater the potential for long-term damage.

Taking Action to Reduce Inflammation

The most powerful aspect of understanding inflammation is that it is largely modifiable. By changing the inputs that affect the immune system, we can dial down the inflammatory response and restore balance to the body. One of the most important steps is improving the quality of your diet. This means moving away from processed and packaged foods and toward a whole-food, plant- focused way of eating. Vegetables and fruits, especially those rich in antioxidants and fiber, help to calm inflammation at a cellular level. Healthy fats—like those found in olive oil, wild-caught fish, avocados, and nuts—nourish cell membranes and reduce inflammatory markers. Herbs and spices like turmeric, ginger, garlic, and cinnamon have potent anti-inflammatory effects and can be incorporated into meals daily.

Proteolytic enzyme therapy can also help reduce reactive proteins and toxic debris, causing chronic inflammation.

Movement is equally essential. Regular physical activity, even something as simple as walking or gentle yoga, improves circulation, enhances lymphatic drainage, and reduces the production of inflammatory chemicals. It also improves insulin sensitivity and helps regulate body weight.

Sleep, often overlooked, is foundational. Poor sleep increases cortisol and other stress hormones fan the flames of inflammation. Prioritizing 7 to 9 hours of restful, consistent sleep each night allows the body time to repair and reset.

Stress management is also crucial. Chronic psychological stress keeps the immune system in a perpetual state of alarm. Practices such as meditation, deep breathing, time in nature, journaling, and even simply slowing down can bring the nervous system out of fight-or-flight mode and into rest-and-digest.

Toxic exposures—from pesticides, industrial chemicals, synthetic fragrances, and heavy metals—can also drive inflammation. Choosing clean personal care and cleaning products, filtering your water, and reducing plastic use can all help lighten the toxic load on the body.

Listening to the Whispers Before They Become Screams

The challenge with chronic inflammation is not only that it is hard to detect—it’s that we’ve normalized it. Fatigue, moodiness, aches, and digestive complaints—these are often seen as just a part of modern life. But they are not normal. They are signals. And the longer we ignore them, the louder they get. You do not need to wait for a formal diagnosis to begin healing. If you suspect that inflammation may be affecting your life, there is no harm in taking steps toward a more anti-inflammatory lifestyle. The same practices that reduce inflammation also support overall vitality, longevity, and mental clarity.

Working with a health practitioner—especially someone trained in bioregulatory principles —can help you identify root causes and create a personalized plan. Tests like C-reactive protein (CRP), homocysteine, fasting insulin, hormone panels, or advanced gut testing like GI Map, can offer valuable insights, but the most powerful diagnostic tool is your awareness of how you feel each day.

Your body is not your enemy. It is wise, communicative, and resilient. When you begin to understand the signs it gives you—and respond with compassion and care—you will find that the fire inside you can be cooled, and that the vitality you may have thought was lost can begin to return—stronger, steadier, and more vibrant than before.

This is all for today. If you haven’t seen our conference cruise information, please check our website for further information about this exciting and informative event. Until next time, be well.

Thank you for your time today, and remember that this podcast is made possible by the Bioregulatory Medicine Institute, also known as BRMI, a nonprofit, global, non political, non commercial institute to promote the science and art of bioregulatory medicine. We extend our gratitude to each and every one of you for listening today, and if you haven't already, make sure to visit us at brmi.online. A treasure trove of invaluable information awaits you there. Connect with us across various social media platforms as well. Come and become a member of our thriving tribe. If you've enjoyed today's episode, we invite you to show your support by rating us, leaving us a review, or sharing the podcast within your circle. Our podcast and mission flourish through sharing, and your participation means the world to us. Our organization is sustained by donations, each of which is tax deductible and fuels projects like this. Visit our website, brmi.online, to contribute or simply to explore the wealth of uncensored and impartial information we offer. No contribution is too small. In just two weeks, we'll be back delving into another captivating topic. Until then, we thank you once again for listening. May wellness and wisdom be your path. Be well.

Bioregulatory medicine is a total body (and mind) approach to health and healing that aims to help facilitate and restore natural human biological processes. It is a proven, safe, gentle, highly effective, drugless, and side-effect-free medical model designed to naturally support the body to regulate, adapt, regenerate, and self-heal. BRMI is a non-commercial 501(c)(3) foundation and will expand and flourish with your support. Our goal is to make bioregulatory medicine a household term.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for the direct care of a qualified health practitioner who oversees and provides unique and individualized care. The information provided here is to broaden our different perspectives and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.