The typical Western diet is considered a possible cause of systemic inflammation. Systemic inflammation is now associated with Western lifestyle diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer and obesity. Researchers have investigated the association between diet and systemic inflammation and shown that diets identified as pro-inflammatory are significantly associated with systemic inflammation1, as measured by the presence of C-reactive protein. In elderly subjects this systemic inflammation in in turn associated with detrimental effects on kidney function, particularly the glomerular filtration rate. This suggests a possible link between diet and kidney function, at least in the elderly, and suggests that a typical Western diet may impair the ability of the body to eliminate toxins. However, clinical trials would be needed to verify this as the cause and effect cannot be inferred from this epidemiological approach. The list of diseases associated with pro-inflammatory diets is certainly increasing as more data is published.
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