TNF: how your body deal with injury and inflammation

Have you noticed how a slight cut becomes red and swollen within minutes? It pains, and you kick your carelessness.

But what caused the redness and swelling?

The answer is something called TNF or Tumor Necrosis Factor. Don’t stress over the scary sounding name.

It is a signaling molecule your immune system uses to coordinate defense. When cells detect damage or infection, they release TNF into surrounding tissue.

This molecule tells nearby blood vessels to dilate and become permeable, allowing immune cells to flood the area.

You experience this as inflammation.

To do this, first, it recruits immune cells to the site of injury or infection. The molecule makes blood vessel walls sticky, allowing white blood cells to adhere and migrate into affected tissue.

Second, it activates your immune arsenal. TNF signals other immune cells to multiply, produce antibodies, and release antimicrobial compounds.

Third, it induces fever by acting on your hypothalamus, raising body temperature to an environment where pathogens struggle to survive.

Brilliant biological engineering at work.

TNF was designed as a short-term alarm. When it stays elevated over long periods, the very mechanism meant to protect you can cause damage.

In your joints, persistent TNF degrades cartilage and bone, causing conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

In your cardiovascular system, it promotes atherosclerosis by damaging arterial walls and destabilizing plaques.

In your metabolism, TNF interferes with insulin signaling, contributing to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Your body designed TNF as an emergency response. When it becomes constant background noise, protection becomes destruction.

So what can you do?

The goal isn’t eliminating TNF. The goal is preventing chronic elevation.

Regular moderate exercise lowers baseline TNF by increasing anti-inflammatory signals. Reducing visceral fat matters because adipose tissue actively produces TNF.

Quality sleep allows your body to reduce inflammatory signaling during deep sleep stages. Omega-3 fatty acids and polyphenols from vegetables suppress TNF production at the genetic level.

When you understand TNF, inflammation becomes less mysterious.

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