Inflammation–Nature's Way to Efficiently Respond to All Types of Challenges: Implications for Understanding and Managing “the Epidemic” of Chronic Diseases

; the pathways of several common conditions are described in detail. The final part of the paper considers the implications of these understandings for clinical care and explore how this lens could shape the physician-patient encounter and health system redesign. We conclude that healthcare professionals must advocate for an anti-inflammatory lifestyle at the patient level as well as at the local and national levels to enhance population health and well-being.