'Inflammaging' describes the chronic, low-grade inflammation that accumulates with age and drives cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and frailty. It's not the acute inflammation of a sprained ankle — it's a quiet background hum that, over decades, does enormous damage.
The frustrating part is that inflammaging usually doesn't announce itself. It shows up as fatigue you can't shake, joints that hurt for no reason, brain fog, poor recovery, and lab values that drift year over year. Left unchecked, it's a common thread beneath most of the diseases people fear in later life.
What fuels it
- Visceral fat — metabolically active and pro-inflammatory
- Poor sleep and chronic stress
- Ultra-processed foods and excess refined carbohydrate
- Sedentary days and minimal muscle mass
- Gut dysbiosis and leaky gut
- Chronic infections and untreated dental issues
- Excess alcohol
- Environmental exposures (mold, air pollution, endocrine disruptors)
What cools it
- Strength training and consistent daily movement
- A whole-food, protein-forward diet rich in plants
- Omega-3s from fatty fish or quality supplementation
- Deep, consistent sleep
- Stress regulation — walks, breathwork, real recovery
- Losing visceral fat specifically (waist circumference matters here)
- Targeted peptides and metabolic therapies where appropriate
What to measure
hs-CRP, fasting insulin, HbA1c, ferritin, homocysteine, and a comprehensive lipid panel with ApoB give a good window into inflammatory load. Tracking these over time tells you whether your lifestyle is actually moving the needle — or just feeling like it is.
Waist-to-height ratio (keeping your waist under half your height) is a simple, no-cost proxy for visceral fat and correlates well with inflammatory burden.
The compounding effect
Small improvements in each of these levers compound. Better sleep improves insulin sensitivity, which reduces visceral fat, which lowers systemic inflammation, which improves sleep. Once the loop is running in the right direction, biological aging measurably slows.