Systemic inflammation due to diet and over consumption is a large public health topic. Often, diet and over consumption are linked to the negative health effects of being overweight or obese. However, perhaps just as damaging, are the effects of systemic inflammation on your body and the experience of pain.
First, we will talk about the receptors which relay information to our brain which is then felt as pain. These are called nociceptors. Nociceptors are present in nearly every tissue in the body and they are either “on” or “off”. They have a threshold, and once the threshold is met, they fire the signal to the brain and we then respond to the stimuli as a painful experience. Chronic systemic inflammation can actually LOWER the threshold of these receptors. This means that it is easier for the receptor to turn on, relay the signal, and initiate the experience of pain!
So, in a way, what you eat will determine whether or not you are more or less likely to experience pain. Does this put your diet in a whole new light?