Will Cole

Some of this variability has to do with genetics (the unique set of variations in your DNA) and epigenetics (how your lifestyle and environment influence the expression of your genes). Some of it has to do with the balance and diversity of your gut bacteria, the regulation of your immune system, the fluctuations in your hormones, and your level of inflammation at any given moment. In fact, what causes inflammation in you may be completely different from what causes inflammation in someone else, and how inflammation affects your health and functioning is also unique.

Food allergies: These involve the immune system and have the most immediate and potentially severe response. Symptoms of an al

Food intolerances: Unlike allergies, these do not directly involve the immune system. Instead, intolerances occur when your body is unable to digest certain foods (such as dairy) or when your digestive system becomes irritated by them. These are usually the result of enzyme deficiencies.
Food sensitivities: These are immune-mediated, like allergies, but food sensitivities can result in a more delayed reaction. You might be able to digest a small amount of the food without issues, but overdoing it or eating that food every day could gradually increase your inflammation to the point that your health begins to suffer.

Immunity. Some people catch every cold, while others hardly ever get run-down. This can be due to the impact of inflammation on your immunity—the more inflamed you are, the more likely you are to get sick.
Environment tolerance. Some people react to every contact with pollution, chemicals, mold, and fungus, while others seem to be immune. Again, for many, these environmental toxins can trigger an inflammatory response, and those who already have more inflammation may also be more sensitive to these toxins.
Personality. Glass half full or half empty? Artistic or logical? We are all different in so many ways, and that too is an aspect of bio-individuality—and related to inflammation.

Inflammation tends to develop in eight primary systems:
Brain and nervous system
Digestive tract
Liver, kidneys, and lymphatic system (together, these comprise your body’s detoxification system)
Liver, pancreas, and cellular insulin receptor sites, which control your blood sugar/insulin balance

Endocrine system (the brain’s communication with the hormone system: thyroid, adrenals, and ovaries or testes)
Muscles, joints, and connective tissue (your musculoskeletal system)
Immune system, which can turn against your body, causing autoimmunity
Lots of places at once. Some people (many of my patients, in fact) have inflammation in more than one of these areas and/or throughout the body, including in the arteries that go everywhere (which can affect the heart as well as the brain). This may be due either to unusual sensitivity or ignoring inflammation for too long. I refer to this problem as “polyinflammation.”

hsCRP: C-reactive protein is an inflammatory protein and this test will show you how much of it you have. The high-sensitivity CRP test is also a surrogate lab to measure IL-6, another pro-inflammatory protein. They are both linked to chronic inflammatory health problems. The optimal range is anything under 1 mg/L. Higher levels are a risk factor for heart disease and can contribute to many other inflammation-based health issues.
Homocysteine: This inflammatory amino acid is linked to heart disease, destruction of the blood-brain barrier, and dementia. It is also commonly elevated in people struggling with autoimmune problems. The optimal range in functional medicine is less than 7 μmol/L.
Ferritin: This lab is normally run to look at stored iron levels, but high levels can also be a sign of inflammation. The optimal range for men is 33–236 ng/mL; premenopausal women: 50–122 ng/mL; postmenopausal women: 150–263 ng/mL.
Microbiome labs: This panel helps assess the health of the gut, where around 80 percent of the immune system resides. By looking at bacterial and yeast overgrowths as well as inflammatory markers like calprotectin and lactoferrin, we can assess gut-centric inflammation.

SAMPLE MEAL PLANS

Intestinal permeability: This blood test looks for antibodies against the proteins that determine the integrity of your gut lining (occludin and zonulin), as well as bacterial toxins called lipopolysaccharides, which can cause inflammation throughout the body.
Multiple autoimmune-reactivity labs: This array shows us if your immune system is creating antibodies against many different parts of the body, such as the brain, thyroid, gut, and adrenal glands. The labs are not meant to diagnose autoimmune disease but rather to look for possible evidence of abnormal autoimmune-inflammation activity.
Cross-reactivity labs: This panel is helpful for gluten-sensitive people who have gone gluten-free and eat a clean diet, but still experience symptoms like digestive problems, fatigue, and neurological symptoms. In these cases, relatively healthy food proteins—such as gluten-free grains, eggs, dairy, chocolate, coffee, soy, and potatoes—may be mistaken by the immune system for gluten, triggering inflammation. To the immune system, it’s as if the person never went gluten-free.
Methylation gene labs: Methylation is a biochemical superhighway that regulates many of the functions necessary for a healthy immune system, brain, hormones, and gut. A process occurring about a billion times every second in your body, methylation needs to work well if you are going to work well. Methylation-gene mutations, such as MTHFR, are closely associated with autoimmune inflammation. For example, I have a double mutation at the MTHFR C677t gene; this means that my body is not good at managing an amino acid called homo

homocysteine, which can cause inflammation in some people. I also have autoimmune conditions on both sides of my family, which is a red flag that I need to be even more careful of my place on the inflammation spectrum. You can’t change your genes, but by knowing your genetic weaknesses, you can pay extra attention to supporting particular processes in your body to reduce risk factors as much as possible.
Cannabinoid Gene CNR1 rs1049353: Our endocannabinoid system regulates everything from sleep, appetite, pain, inflammation, memory, and mood to reproduction. The cannabinoid gene CNR1 rs1049353 is a significant gene in this system, and changes to this gene are significantly correlated with food sensitivities and autoimmune-inflammation issues. Studies indicate that the gut nervous system is the main site of CB1 cannabinoid receptors.5
APOE4 and APOA2: Variants of these genes affect how the body metabolizes saturated fats. For these gene variants, eating foods higher in saturated fats is associated with inflammatory health problems and weight gain, respectively. People with these gene differences should limit or avoid foods such as dairy, red meat, eggs, coconut products, and other foods higher in saturated fats. Focus instead on plant fats like avocado, olives, and nuts and seeds.