That ache you woke up with this morning? Or a stiff back? You don’t know what to do about it, but doctors say that with age, your body develops a slow, silent form of inflammation, and it has a name – ‘inflammaging’, age-related inflammation.
You need to understand that inflammation is an immune response to injury and infections. When you get hurt or catch a cold, your immune system releases white blood cells to protect the affected area this is called acute inflammation, and it’s actually a good thing. The problem begins when this response doesn’t switch off even after the threat is gone. That’s chronic inflammation.
Inactivity, long-term exposure to toxins, chronic stress, poor sleep, chronic stress, smoking, pollution, gut imbalance are among the most common triggers that keep your body’s defence system running explained Dr Paramjeet Maras, a general physician popularly known as Dr Education on Instagram.
Research studies also suggest that a modern lifestyle is a major contributor to inflammation.
But you don’t need a detox or a supplement stack to improve it.
We asked experts to explain more about how and why inflammation impacts health and what we can do about it.
WHAT CAUSES INFLAMAGGING?
Inflammaging is a chronic, low-grade condition of inflammation that is associated with ageing. According to the paper titled ‘Immunology of Ageing: The Birth of Inflammaging’ published by Prof. Franceschi, it is a by-product of our immune system’s lifelong struggle to cope with different types of stress.
There is no one reason for inflammation, according to Dr Himanshu Aggarwal, Consultant-Rheumatology, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Ghaziabad.
He explained that repeated exposure to infections, long-term metabolic imbalance and even changes in gut health may add to this low-grade inflammatory burden over time. Also, lifestyle factors such as poor diet, physical inactivity, chronic stress, insufficient sleep and environmental exposures contribute; it’s a result of a confluence of factors, he noted.
LIFESTYLE IMPACTS INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE
There are multiple studies that have looked into the impact of urbanisation, changes in eating habits, lifestyle and how these factors contribute to the rise in inflammatory diseases.
A study published in Nature Medicine highlights the impact of diet on the immune system and metabolism. The study mentioned that a switch of just two weeks from a traditional African diet to a Western diet causes inflammation and reduces the immune response to pathogens.
Another 2025 study published in Nature Ageing highlights that inflammaging is largely a byproduct of industrialised lifestyles, not a universal concept.
This study analysed two groups – older persons from modern, industrialised societies who lived in Singapore and Italy and two Indigenous communities, the Tsimane from the Bolivian Amazon and the Orang Asli from Malaysia. The results highlighted “the Tsimane and Orang Asli showed markedly different axis structures with little to no association with age and no association with age-related diseases.”
“Inflammaging is common, but it does not affect everyone equally. How strong it becomes is dependent on genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors. Some people may be minimally affected; some may be more vulnerable to conditions related to inflammation,” said Dr Aggarwal.
It’s important to understand that research studies ageing in terms of cell age (biological age) instead of chronological age explained Dr. Rajeev Chowdry, Director, Internal Medicine, Yatharth Super Speciality Hospital, Faridabad.
He expalined that “a person’s lifestyle has a large impact on how much and when the effects of inflammaging will be seen. For example, individuals who eat an unhealthy diet, are sedentary, experience chronic stress, and are exposed to environmental toxins are more likely to experience the effects of inflammaging sooner than those who have a healthy lifestyle and take care of themselves”.
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT?
While there is no specific diet or treatment, experts recommend eating an overall healthy diet, switching to healthier alternatives and taking care of sleep and stress management.
“You cannot get rid of inflammaging, but you can modulate it and slow it down. The key is a balanced, anti-inflammatory lifestyle,” said Dr Aggarwal.
He noted that cutting back on processed foods, refined sugars and trans fats is important while including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and healthy fats to your diet.
Dr Paramjeet Maras explained that “the best treatment is lifestyle correction: regular exercise, weight control, good sleep, stress reduction, healthy diet, and management of diabetes, blood pressure, fatty liver, and other hidden conditions.”
He stressed the importance of resistance training, brisk walking and cardio.
“While ageing is universal, the degree of inflammaging varies greatly depending on lifestyle, body composition, environment, and metabolic health”, he added.
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