How to Heal from Chronic Inflammation with Len De Nys | AFP 41

Struggling with fatigue, brain fog, or joint pain? You might be battling chronic inflammation. Join Jeroen Schreel and Len De Nys, a postdoctoral researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, as they uncover how to heal from chronic inflammation and prevent the root causes of modern chronic diseases. Len shares his personal story of reversing severe back pain and brain fog through an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, breaking down the phenomenon of "inflammaging" (how aging drives inflammation), how to test your body for chronic inflammation using CRP markers, and how to use lifestyle as a medicine (nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management) to protect your DNA and live longer. 00:00 Intro 00:41 Ad 01:50 Meet Len De Nys & The Naked Mole Rat Longevity Secret 03:32 Acute vs. Chronic Inflammation Explained 05:11 What is Inflammaging? (The Hallmarks of Aging) 07:15 Len’s Personal Story: Curing Back Pain & Brain Fog 10:46 How to Diagnose Chronic Inflammation (CRP Tests & Symptoms) 13:19 The Top 5 Killer Diseases Driven by Inflammation 15:30 Genetics vs. Epigenetics: What Pulls the Trigger? 17:05 Pillar 1: Anti-Inflammatory Nutrition & Foods to Avoid 21:35 Time-Restricted Eating & Intermittent Fasting benefits 23:40 Omega-3 Fats & Vegan Algae Alternatives 25:50 Pillar 2: How Exercise Trains Your Immune System 28:04 How Much Cardio & Power Training Do You Need? 31:12 The Danger of Under-Resting & Overtraining 33:14 Pillar 3: How Poor Sleep Destroys Your Immune System 35:31 How to Reset Your Circadian Rhythm (The 10-3-2-1-0 Rule) 40:01 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) 42:08 Pillar 4: Chronic Stress vs. Your Nervous System 45:45 The Low-Hanging Fruit to Start Healing Today Relevant papers: - Cifuentes et al., 2024. Low-Grade Chronic Inflammation: a Shared Mechanism for Chronic Diseases. Physiology, 40: pp. 4-25; https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00021.2024 - Baylis et al. 2013. Understanding how we age: insights into inflammaging. Longevity & Healthspan, 2: Article 8; https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-2395-2-8 - Franceschi and Campisi, 2014. Chronic Inflammation (Inflammaging) and Its Potential Contribution to Age-Associated Diseases. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 69: pp. S4-S9; https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glu057 - Giosia et al., 2022. The role of nutrition in inflammaging. Ageing Research Reviews, 77: Article 101596; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2022.101596 - Franceschi et al., 2025. Toward precision interventions and metrics of inflammaging. Nature Aging, 5: pp. 1441-1454; https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-025-00938-7 - Minciullo et al., 2016. Inflammaging and Anti-Inflammaging: The Role of Cytokines in Extreme Longevity. Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis, 64: pp. 111-126; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00005-015-0377-3 - Wunderle et al., 2024. Inflammation and response to nutrition interventions. Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 48: pp. 27-36; https://doi.org/10.1002/jpen.2534 - Stumpf et al., 2023. Inflammation and Nutrition: Friend or Foe?. Nutrients, 15: Article 1159; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15051159 - Calder et al., 2009. Inflammatory Disease Processes and Interactions with Nutrition. British Journal of Nutrition, 101: pp. 1-45; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114509377867 - Beavers et al., 2010. Effect of exercise training on chronic inflammation. Clinica Chimica Acta, 411: pp. 785-793; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2010.02.069 - Rose et al., 2021. The effect of exercise intensity on chronic inflammation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 24: pp. 345-351; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2020.10.004 - Suzuki, 2019. Chronic Inflammation as an Immunological Abnormality and Effectiveness of Exercise. Biomolecules, 9: Article 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom9060223 - Irwin, 2019. Sleep and inflammation: partners in sickness and in health. Nature Reviews Immunology, 19: pp. 702-715; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-019-0190-z - Ranjbaran et al., 2007. The relevance of sleep abnormalities to chronic inflammatory conditions. Inflammation Research, 56: pp. 51-57; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-006-6067-1 - Feuth, 2024. Interactions between sleep, inflammation, immunity and infections: A narrative review. Immunity, Inflammation and Disease, 12: Article e70046; https://doi.org/10.1002/iid3.70046 This episode is sponsored by SciSummary. Use this URL* and Apple Finch Pudding's coupon AFP1 at checkout to get 1 month for free! https://scisummary.com/AFP1 Follow Len on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/len.de.nys Don't forget to join our monthly AFP newsletter: https://applefinchpudding.ck.page #ChronicInflammation #AntiInflammatoryDiet #Inflammaging #LifestyleMedicine #HealthScience #AntiInflammatory #SciencePodcast #AppleFinchPudding *This is an affiliate link. By buying a subscription through this link, you support the podcast at no additional cost!