Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, hardening of the arteries, gout and inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease have something in common: so-called inflammasomes play a key role in the development of all these diseases . These protein complexes are something like the fire devils of our defense system. The body always forms them when it has to fight against external enemies such as viruses or bacteria. However, new studies show that the protein complexes are not only created in response to external enemies, but also when something goes wrong in the body’s metabolism.
For example, if uric acid crystals accumulate in the tissues or joints , they can trigger a gout attack. Something similar happens when a certain type of the protein substance beta-amyloid is formed in the brain. Then inflammasomes trigger the development of Alzheimer’s. It is not yet known exactly how the protein complexes ignite these and other fires. Nevertheless, work is already being done on drugs that nip such undesirable inflammatory reactions in the bud.
In the course of inflammasome research, however, it became apparent that there is already something that keeps the proteins in check: omega-3 fatty acids. There is a particularly large amount of it in linseed oil (up to 70%), hemp oil (90%) and oily sea fish (approx. 2%).
