Most people want to live a long, healthy life. If that’s something you aspire to, you’d be well advised to keep a careful eye on your insulin sensitivity. It is perhaps one of the best markers for limiting your risk for degenerative diseases that will take you out prematurely.

The reason for this is because insulin resistance lays the foundation for virtually all chronic disease, as it promotes chronic inflammation and speeds up your body’s aging processes.

A recent study^1,2 looking at extreme longevity confirms this view, concluding that having very low levels of inflammation in your body is the most potent predictor for living beyond 100 years of age.

Inflammation levels also corresponded to people’s ability to live independently and maintain cognitive function throughout their life.

Chronic inflammation can be the result of a malfunctioning, over-reactive immune system, or it may be due to an underlying problem that your body is attempting to fight off.

But many of these “problems” are actually rooted in an unhealthy (inflammatory) diet and lack of exercise.

How Can You Determine If You Have Chronic Inflammation?

In contrast to acute inflammation, chronic inflammation typically will not produce symptoms until actual loss of function occurs somewhere. This is because chronic inflammation is low-grade and systemic, often silently damaging your tissues over an extended period of time.

This process can go on for years without you noticing, until a disease suddenly sets in. Since chronic inflammation tends to be “silent,” how can you determine if inflammation is brewing in your body?

Clinical tests used in allopathic medicine include:

  • C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test, which measures a protein found in your body that signals responses to any forms of inflammation
  • ESR (sed rate) test, which checks for non-specific indicators of inflammation

But you can also use your fasting blood insulin level to gauge inflammation.  Although this test is typically used to screen for diabetes, it’s also a marker for inflammation.

Typically the higher your fasting insulin levels are, the higher your levels of inflammation tend to be. Clinically, I have found this test far more useful than the other markers for inflammation.

Diet and Exercise Are the Primary Ways to Combat Chronic Inflammation

Avoiding processed foods, which are high in inflammatory ingredients such as refined sugars and processed fats like trans fats and vegetable oils as the video above discusses, and getting regular movement and exercise are two of the most potent ways to help normalize your insulin levels and avoid insulin resistance.

Diet accounts for about 80 percent of the health benefits you reap from a healthy lifestyle, and keeping inflammation in check is a major part of these benefits. It’s important to realize that dietary components can either trigger or prevent inflammation from taking root in your body.

If you have not already addressed your diet, this would be the best place to start, regardless of whether you’re experiencing symptoms of chronic inflammation or not.

To help you get started, I suggest following my free Optimized Nutrition Plan, which starts at the beginner phase and systematically guides you step-by-step to the advanced level.

But diet is not the only component that will have a profound impact on your health and longevity. It’s really about addressing your total lifestyle, and physical activity is a major component of that.