Zona della Risoluzione: la scienza della risposta risolutrice

“Fight inflammation immediately… and protect yourself from a silent cause of heart disease, cancer, dementia, type 2 diabetes, and more. Inflammation is a vital part of the body’s defense system against infections, sustaining our survival by fighting hostile microbes and healing wounds. But there is another, more insidious type of inflammation you need to know about. Chronic low-grade inflammation—the kind that silently damages the body for years without our awareness—can affect almost anyone and contribute to cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and many other pathological conditions. Surprisingly, three out of five people worldwide die from a disease that has been linked to inflammation.”

When you receive an email with this kind of message from experts in medicine at Harvard Medical School, you realize that even the last critics of Barry Sears are gradually yielding to the increasingly compelling scientific evidence that supports his theories and hypotheses—grounded in common sense and what he defines as “wellness medicine,” rather than in strictly orthodox “evidence-based medicine.”

What defines a pioneer and innovator like Barry Sears is also his ability to support hypotheses that were once opposed by leading authorities in nutrition and are now suddenly embraced as if they had originally proposed them. Thomas Kuhn wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, a work that fascinated me to the point of becoming the subject of my presidential address at the international congress of the Cell Transplant Society.

Kuhn explained how scientific progress inevitably leads to new questions, to which researchers initially attempt to respond within the boundaries of the prevailing paradigm. This is because the old guard—who often controls, among other things, the allocation of scientific funding—is rarely willing to embrace a revolutionary hypothesis that challenges the paradigm they established.

Over time, the crisis intensifies until a “paradigm shift” emerges. This shift occurs not so much because the old guard becomes convinced by the new evidence, but rather because it fades away, is replaced, and gives way to a new generation of scientists.

In the time of Galileo and Copernicus, a paradigm shift such as the concept that the Earth revolved around the Sun—rather than the other way around—could take centuries. Fortunately, timelines are shortening, and I hope that the new paradigm introduced by Barry Sears will soon be incontrovertibly accepted: the evolution of our diets has led to a perfect nutritional storm characterized by this form of silent inflammation, which cannot be detected unless specific testing is performed.

Unlike well-known forms of inflammation that produce easily recognizable symptoms—such as inflammation following trauma or infection—diet-related silent inflammation does not produce symptoms, except for the chronic degenerative diseases that may develop in the decades that follow.

Years ago, when we launched an unprecedented international initiative aimed at defining dietary patterns capable of preventing various chronic diseases, it was surprising for many of us to realize that the guidelines and recommendations were remarkably similar—not only for preventing diabetes, but also cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, autoimmunity, and cancer.

I believe we are now in a similar situation when we consider strategies that could prevent severe complications from viral infections, autoimmune conditions, allergies, and age-related chronic diseases. Type 1 Diabetes is only the tip of the iceberg of the epidemic of autoimmune diseases, which, with approximately 100 different conditions, affects nearly 20% of the population in the United States—where life expectancy has declined in the past three years, and where, for the first time, children born today may live shorter lives than their parents.

The incidence of chronic diseases continues to rise, with over 90% of Americans over the age of 65 affected by at least one chronic degenerative condition, and more than 75% living with two comorbidities. It is now evident that these comorbidities, together with advanced age, represent formidable risk factors for the development of severe complications from coronavirus infections such as COVID-19.

Chronic diet-induced inflammation is emerging as a significant risk factor that may influence the incidence and progression of many degenerative conditions, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoarticular disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases, and cancer, to name just a few. Longevity has increased over recent decades, but not necessarily healthy longevity—what we define as healthspan.

Appropriate nutrition and selected protective substances may help prepare our bodies to better resist not only the epidemics of obesity and diabetes, but also the progression of age-related diseases or viral infections such as COVID-19. In the event of infection, they may also help reduce the risk of disease progression toward more severe forms.

In this work, Barry Sears elevates the concepts introduced in his previous publications to a higher level, completing the circle of silent inflammation resolution. He describes not only anti-inflammatory nutritional strategies, but also the fundamental pillars of inflammation resolution itself—from prevention to active resolution—not through drugs, but through appropriate dietary patterns and protective factors that can help the body restore balance.

It was once believed that our genetic heritage determined our resistance to disease and our healthy life expectancy. Today, it is thought that genetics may account for approximately 15%, while the remaining 85% depends on epigenetic factors. Extending healthy survival—the so-called healthy lifespan or healthspan—is not only desirable and achievable, but represents a moral duty of any modern and responsible society.

Greater investment in prevention is now an unavoidable necessity—critically important, just like global warming and environmental sustainability—if we wish to hope for a better future for our children and grandchildren.

Enjoy the reading.

Camillo Ricordi