Inflammation is the body’s natural immune response to injury, infection, or harmful stimuli such as toxins or pathogens. It involves increased blood flow, immune cell activation, and the release of chemicals that cause redness, heat, swelling, pain, and sometimes loss of function in the affected area. While acute inflammation helps heal and protect tissues by eliminating harmful agents and repairing damage, chronic inflammation—when it persists too long or occurs without obvious injury—can contribute to various diseases, including arthritis, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, and biological aging. This fact has led to creation of the term “inflammaging”. While inflammation can be accompanied by pain and the other aforementioned signs, it depends on the tissue affected; brain inflammation may present with poor memory, depression, or anxiety. Inflammation in the arteries does not produce pain early on but contributes to high blood pressure and plaque formation aka clogging of the arteries. Muscle and bone loss can result from chronic inflammation, all while body fat accumulates. Inflammation is essential for defense and healing but needs to be well-regulated to avoid damaging healthy tissues, contributing to all the degenerative diseases, and accelerated aging. While there are many potential causes of inflammation, imbalance in the gastrointestinal flora is one of the most important causes.
Conventional medicine uses different medications to suppress inflammation, primarily non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and steroids. Both of these types of medications are fraught with serious side effects, including ulcers, kidney damage, and blood vessel disease from NSAIDs. Steroids produce the same adverse effects plus bone and muscle loss, fat gain, diabetes, cataracts, insomnia, neuropsychiatric changes, and increased infections. NSAIDs and steroids are associated with increased risk of death. Incredibly, these medications actually can impair healing and accelerate degeneration in the very tissues they are being employed to treat! Addressing inflammation with these medications is like doing watch repair with a jack hammer.
Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) are the body’s natural solution to inflammation.
SPMs are powerful, naturally occurring lipid compounds that play a critical role in actively resolving inflammation and restoring tissue health. SPMs are also among the best supplements for inflammation. I was surprised when I learned that inflammation doesn’t simply stop when the injurious agent is eliminated. Resolving inflammation is an active process in which SPMs play a central role. Unlike conventional anti-inflammatory drugs that smother certain biochemical reactions, SPMs orchestrate a controlled shutdown of the inflammatory response and promote healing without immune suppression. In fact, SPMs help fight infection! SPMs are truly among the best supplements for inflammation.
Derived from dietary omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), SPMs include resolvins, protectins, maresins, and lipoxins. It’s worth noting that while it’s in vogue to demonize omega-6 PUFAs on social media, science reveals that they are essential for making these amazing inflammation-resolving biochemicals! SPMs work by stopping the influx of inflammatory cells like neutrophils, enhancing clearance of cellular debris and pathogens, switching immune cells toward healing modes, and directly promoting tissue regeneration. Their balanced action prevents chronic inflammation. Click here for a great video about SPMs. Be prepared for some technical language.
What makes SPMs the best supplements for inflammation? What sets SPMs apart is their ability to resolve inflammation while supporting normal immune defense and tissue repair. Emerging research shows promising therapeutic potential for SPM-based treatments in conditions driven by unresolved inflammation, ranging from arthritis to brain disorders. Embracing the science of SPMs encourages a shift from merely suppressing inflammation to harnessing the body’s own resolution pathways for lasting health.
Why do people lack SPMs? It appears that genetics, inactivity and diet provide part of the explanation. If an individual’s diet is lacking in long chain omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil), the building blocks for some important SPMs, deficiency of SPMs is virtually guaranteed. SPM levels tend to decline with aging (and inadequate SPMs contribute to aging). Physiological functions interact in a web-like fashion and therefore shortcomings in a variety of processes may suppress SPM levels. For example, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress appear to reduce SPMs. Certain medications, like the NSAID Ibuprofen, may interfere with the initiation of inflammation resolution, thereby reducing SPM biosynthesis!
The body-wide, almost magical effects of SPMs have been demonstrated in animal studies. Take a look at results on the search engine of the National Library of Medicine – PubMed. I think you’ll agree that SPMs are best supplements for inflammation. Thus far, human research with SPMs has primarily focused on musculoskeletal conditions. Supplemental SPMs effectively enhance the body’s natural inflammation resolution processes, reduce chronic pain, and improve functional and quality-of-life measures in humans. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in osteoarthritis patients showed that 8 to 12 weeks of SPM supplementation significantly reduced pain scores and improved quality of life without adverse effects. Blood tests for inflammatory biochemicals showed significant improvement.
This natural inflammation-resolving system is a crucial target in integrative medicine approaches focusing on optimal immune resilience and recovery. I was pleasantly surprised to see the American College of Cardiology recently acknowledge the importance of inflammation as a causative factor in cardiovascular disease; recommending blood tests for the inflammatory protein hs CRP to identify those at risk. I first heard about the role of inflammation in heart disease more than 30 years ago and have been measuring hs CRP regularly for decades! Amazingly, this publication from the ACC acknowledges the interconnectedness of systems in the body, as it discusses the influence of aberrant blood sugar, infections, and periodontal disease as some of the causes of inflammation. I suppose it will take more time for them to recognize the significant contribution of intestinal dysbiosis, leaky gut syndrome, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, dietary glycotoxins, food sensitivity reactions, toxicity, and low-grade metabolic acidosis as other major inflammatory triggers. I consider all of these in my Functional Medicine work-up for inflammation. I was even more surprised to find a discussion of SPMs as important modifiers of cardiovascular disease progression in this recently published paper, “Inflammation and Cardiovascular Disease: 2025 ACC Scientific Statement” from the American College of Cardiology. I have been using SPMs with my patients for 10 years. I use the one that was formulated by the scientists who discovered SPMs. It is also the one used in published research: SPM Active. I recommend everyone have periodic blood tests for hs CRP and other inflammatory biochemicals. If inflammation is present, I endeavor to investigate, identify, and ameliorate the underlying causes while simultaneously supplementing SPMs the best supplements for inflammation.
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