It's one of those words that's gotten more popular in health marketing in the last few decades, and people are willing to pay real money to do something about it.

這樣的說法在近幾十年來的保健市場中變得越來越熱門，而人們也甘願花大筆鈔票來解決發炎問題。

But inflammation is a normal biological process that our bodies use to keep us safe.

但發炎其實是我們身體用來保護我們的正常生理現象。

We don't want to get rid of all inflammation.

我們不會想要消除所有發炎現象。

So today we're going to dig into the inflammatory response and come away understanding why those health claims need a little bit more nuance attached to them.

所以今天我們要來深入探討發炎反應，並瞭解在解讀這些保健食品上的說法時，可能需要多加思考背後的脈絡。

Inflammation itself is an immune response to some kind of problem in the body.

發炎本身就是對體內發生的某種問題所激發的免疫反應。

That response might be acute, which means it comes and goes quickly, or chronic, it stays around longer.

這種反應可能是急性的，來得快去得也快；也可能是慢性的，會持續更長一段時間。

It could be triggered by any kind of infectious or non-infectious problem in the body, anything from bacteria and a dirty cut, to frostbite, to a splinter.

它可能因為身上任何一種感染性或非感染性問題而引發，從細菌和割傷，到凍傷與刺傷皆有可能。

Regardless of what initiates it though, the response is similar.

不論起因為何，都會引發出類似的反應。

From just living and being a human, you're probably familiar with the five signs of inflammation firsthand: heat, redness, swelling, pain and loss of function.

只要作為一名人類出生長大，你應該對實際體會發炎的五種症狀並不陌生：發熱、皮膚變紅、腫脹、疼痛與失能。

And they range from mildly annoying to seriously debilitating, but they actually serve a specific role in protecting you from further harm and kicking off the healing process

這些症狀的程度從略為惱人到讓人嚴重衰弱皆有，但它們其實都是種能保護你不會繼續受到傷害，並激發一連串治癒反應的特定手段。

Contrary to what some may think, the increased heat is not there to try to bake the infectious agent.

與部分人以為的相反，發熱症狀的原因並不是要用熱燒死感染源。

It's there because the blood vessels around the inflamed body part expanded, bringing more blood to that area.

這其實是因為發炎部位附近的血管們擴張開來，想要將更多的血液送往該區域的關係。

That's also why the area gets more red.

這也是為什麼發炎部位會看起來更紅潤的原因。

You are passing more red blood cells through the inflamed tissue, just like how your cheeks get warm and red when you blush.

通過發炎組織的紅血球變得更多，就像臉頰在變紅時會變得溫暖而紅潤那樣。

Our blood is warm, and with more blood flow, we feel more heat.

我們的血液相當溫暖，而當有更多的血液流過時，我們便會感覺更熱。

Along with more blood, the vessels that transport that blood expand and become more permeable, which fills that area with fluid and shows up externally as swelling.

有了更多血液通過之後，傳輸血液的血管便會擴張，提升了通透性，讓該區域充滿了液體，並讓它從外部看起來顯得腫脹了起來。

Pain comes from the stimulation of pain receptors from the initial injury, or from the inflammatory response itself.

而疼痛則來自痛覺受器所受到的刺激，可能來自一開始的傷口或是發炎反應自身。

Finally, the loss of function could come from either increased swelling, which reduces mobility, or from healthy tissue being replaced with less flexible scar tissue over time.

最後，失能的原因則可能來自因腫脹而降低的靈活度，或是因為體內本來的健康組織隨著時間經過被較為缺乏彈性的癒傷組織取代的緣故。

And that's only what we see from the outside.

而這只是我們從外部觀察所得到的結果。

Our immune systems orchestrate all these different chemical messengers called cytokines. "Cyto" for cell, "kine" for movement.

我們的免疫系統協調了這些被稱為細胞激素 (cytokine) 的化學物質信使。「Cyto」的意思是細胞，「Kine」的意思則是移動。

They're chemicals that get cells to move to the inflamed area.

它們是能將細胞移動至發炎區域的化學物質。

You may have heard about cytokines in the context of a cytokine storm before, when these messenger molecules recruit more immune cells, which release more cytokines, which recruit more immune cells...

你可能曾在「細胞激素風暴」這個詞中聽過細胞激素，而這指的是這些信使分子們招來了更多的免疫細胞，這些免疫細胞釋出了更多的細胞激素，然後又招來了更多的免疫細胞...

And you get this feedback loop that can cause sepsis or death.

這個循環不斷持續下去，最後可能導致敗血症或死亡。

And during the normal acute inflammatory response, they're recruiting mostly white blood cells to the area to attack any pathogens.

在正常的急性發炎反應中，它們呼叫到發炎區域的大部分都是白血球細胞，藉此來攻擊在場的任何病原體。

And all of this is a thing so that your body can stomp out whatever trying to hurt it, whether it's a bacterial infection or a sprained ankle.

這一切都是為了讓你的身體能夠解決掉正在試著傷害你的東西，不論是細菌感染或是扭傷腳踝。

But sometimes this process takes a little bit longer.

但有時這個過程需要花上較長的時間。

Our bodies continue to ship chemical messengers and white blood cells to the site, and if that creeps into the multiple weeklong territory, it's classified as chronic inflammation.

我們的身體會持續將化學物質信使與白血球細胞送往現場，而如果這樣的過程持續了數個星期，便會被認定為慢性發炎。

You don't always need an acute inflammatory response to develop chronic inflammation though, like rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the joints.

不過不見得需要先有急性發炎反應才會發展成慢性發炎，像類風濕性關節炎就是會使關節發炎的自體免疫疾病。

There was never one big injury that kicked it off.

這樣的疾病並不需要一個大傷口也能觸發。

Either way, chronic inflammation is where this whole inflammatory response gets more problematic.

無論如何，慢性發炎是發炎反應中較為棘手的領域。

For instance, patients with atherosclerosis, a narrowing of the arteries around the heart that predisposes folks to heart attacks, will have elevated cytokines and inflammatory proteins in their blood.

舉例來說，動脈粥樣硬化，一種會讓心臟周圍動脈變得狹窄，提升患者心臟病發生機率的疾病，其患者血液內的細胞激素和炎性蛋白質會有所上升。

Because of that, health care providers might look for inflammatory markers in your blood as a way of predicting your risk of heart disease.

有藉於此，健康照護人員會藉由查看血液中發炎指標的方式，來預測你的心臟病風險。

If your liver experiences too much inflammation, you can permanently damage the hepatocytes, cells that play a big role in metabolism and immune function.

如果肝臟中的發炎反應過多，可能會永久性地傷害肝細胞，而這些細胞在新陳代謝與免疫功能上扮演了重要角色。

Your lungs are in the same camp.

你的肺部也是如此。

One of the reasons that cigarette smoking is so lethal is because it causes a constant inflammatory response in the lungs.

吸菸之所以如此致命的其中一個原因，便是它會引起肺部持續性的發炎反應。

That can narrow and stiffen the tiny airways in your lungs, making it harder for air to pass through.

這會讓肺部微小的氣管變得狹窄、僵硬，使空氣難以通過。

So in the case of livers and lungs, chronic inflammation literally leads to worse organ function.

所以對肝臟與肺部來說，慢性發炎毫不諱言地會使器官功能變差。

With that in mind, you can see why people would want to reduce inflammation, and certain drugs do that but through different mechanisms.

考慮到上述層面後，便能理解為什麼人們會想要降低發炎反應，而特定的藥物能以不同的機制來做到這點。

Like if you've gotten injured, you might have taken ibuprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ,or NSAID, for the pain.

例如假如你受傷了，你可能會服用布洛芬這種非類固醇消炎藥 (NSAID) 來止痛。

It works by inhibiting certain enzymes in your stomach that make compounds called prostaglandins.

它的原理是通過抑制胃中會形成一種稱為前列腺素的化學物質的酵素來止痛。

Those prostaglandins keep the inflammation process going, so by inhibiting the enzyme that makes them, ibuprofen reduces inflammation.

這些前列腺素會讓發炎過程持續進行，所以通過抑制會製造出它們的酵素，布洛芬便能藉此減少發炎反應。

Or people with rheumatoid arthritis might take a drug that reduces inflammation by inhibiting one of those chemical messengers called tumor necrosis factor alpha.

患有類風溼性關節炎的人，則可能會服用一種能夠通過抑制叫做腫瘤壞死因子-α 的化學物質信使來減少發炎的藥物。

Both drugs results in a reduced inflammatory response, but take different paths to get there.

兩種藥物都能使發炎反應減輕，但達到目的所採取的途徑不同。

Knowing all that, we can't say that inflammation is clearly bad or clearly good.

瞭解到了這些，我們沒辦法斷言發炎反應究竟完全是好是壞。

We need this process in order to survive, but too much for too long can be harmful.

我們需要這個反應才能生存，但如果太多則會對身體有害。

Thanks for joining us for season two of Seeker Human!

感謝收看第二季的 Seeker 人類！

I had so much fun with season one, and I'm stoked to bring you more videos on this channel.

我在第一季的時候玩得很開心，而我很興奮能夠在此頻道為各位帶來更多的影片。

Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos like this one, and follow us on all the social media. We're @seeker on everything.

請務必訂閱我們的 YouTube 頻道來收看更多像這樣的影片，並在所有的社群媒體上追蹤我們。我們在所有平台上的名字都是 @seeker。