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3 Tests for Inflammation
Excessive inflammation in the body can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, stroke, dementia, low sex drive, fatigue, joint pain, premature aging, skin blemishes, and other inflammation-associated health problems.
If you get regular tests to monitor for inflammation and take action to improve your nutrition, you can reduce inflammation and your risk for developing these health problems.
We advocate speaking with your primary care doctor to request tests for inflammation, but it’s possible these tests may not be covered by your insurance company since our healthcare system is not optimized to prevent the underlying causes of disease.
As a result of poor health care policy, you may need to pay out-of-pocket and take control of your own health. Thankfully, accurate and affordable tests exist that you can order for yourself.
Here are three tests you can request from a direct to consumer laboratory:
1. CRP (C-reactive protein) test
This is a blood test that measures the amount of inflammation in your body. CRP is a protein produced by the liver. High concentrations of CRP indicate excessive inflammation or an infection in the body.
People with high CRP may have an increased risk for conditions like inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, diabetes, heart attack, and stroke, or autoimmune disorders. (1)
2. ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate)
This essentially measures how thick and “sticky” the blood can be if your body has high inflammation. If there is inflammation or infection in the body, red blood cells will stick together and fall to the bottom of the test tube faster.
A higher ESR rate can be related to an inflammatory condition like kidney disease, heart disease, certain cancers, infection, rheumatoid arthritis, and other immune system dysfunctions. (2)
3. HbA1c (Hemoglobin A1C)
This test measures the average amount of sugar in your blood over the past 3 months. People with high HbA1c are at a higher risk of getting type I diabetes, damaging nerves, and getting peripheral neuropathy.
You can use this test in combination with at-home blood sugar monitoring for a better picture of your overall sugar intake.
How can you order these tests?
Contact a lab like Quest or Labcorps, or choose a smaller company to support small businesses and order one of these tests. You’ll provide your specimen and the results will usually come back within 3-5 days. (3)
According to research, the CRP test has largely replaced the ESR test as a measure of inflammation. (4) The CRP test appears to be the best test if you had to choose only one.
What should you do if your tests show inflammation in your body?
Don’t panic, but also don’t procrastinate. These tests are tools indicating that you have excessive inflammation in the body. High inflammation does not mean you will get diagnosed with a chronic disease soon, but you should still also take action to reduce inflammation in your body.
Eating processed foods and added sugars can trigger excessive inflammation. Minimize processed foods like most cereals, high-sugar foods other than fruits, reduce stress, and get plenty of exercise to improve your inflammation levels.
As you improve your lifestyle choices, you can also check with your doctor about taking a turmeric extract supplement like Active Atoms to promote a healthy inflammation response in your body.
Turmeric Extract contains a high concentration of curcumin, the active ingredient in Turmeric. Studies show that taking 500-2000 mg of Turmeric Extract (not Turmeric Powder) per day provides the optimal dose of Turmeric for inflammation.
Consider adding our premium Turmeric Extract to your daily routine and check out this article to learn about all the health benefits of high-dose curcumin:
Juliana Tamayo
About the author: Juliana Tamayo is a Licensed Nutritionist, currently working on becoming a Registered Dietitian (RD). She has experience writing research papers and covering topics such as health, nutrition, wellness, alternative healing, science, technology, and education. She also has experience coaching and counseling clients are looking to have better control of their nutrition and life.
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