Have you had blood tests done for inflammation and your standard inflammation marker C-Reactive Protein (CRP) has come back “within range”, so your told “your tests are normal there is nothing wrong”?

 

Yet… your body doesn’t feel quite right, maybe you’re:

• more tired than usual
• puffier or heavier
• foggy-headed
• achy
• hormonally out of sync
• more reactive to food or stress

 

So you wonder: my CRP is normal, I don’t have inflammation, but why do I still feel like this?

 

 

The short answer… because inflammation is more complex than one blood test can show.

Let’s unpack what that really means and why relying on CRP alone does not mean you don’t have inflammation.

 

What does CRP actually tell you?

CRP (C-reactive protein) is a marker of acute inflammation. And it is excellent at picking up things like:

• infections
• injuries
• major inflammatory responses

If CRP is high, something is clearly going on. However, CRP is not designed to detect:

• low-grade inflammation
• metabolic inflammation
• hormonal inflammation
• gut-driven inflammation
• stress-related immune activation

 

CRP tells us when the house is on fire. It doesn’t always tell us when there’s smoke building quietly in the walls.

 

Quietly smoldering inflammation is the kind of inflammation that most people live with but shrug it off as other issues or tell themselves, “It’s just aging”.

 

Many of us are not dealing with a major illness, we have that quiet, background inflammation that slowly builds when life gets full and our self-care slips down the list.

This kind of low-grade inflammation is what we often push aside and make excuses for…

 

 

Low-grade inflammation doesn’t usually spike CRP, but it does have an affect on how you feel as inflammatory signals are communicating with your:

• hormones
• metabolism
• brain chemistry
• immune balance
• detox pathways

 

Over time, this constant on-going inflammation matters, our bodies can only make allowances until it can't and now you have a ‘diagnosis’.

 

What does hidden inflammation look like?

 

Our bodies are responding to inflammation all the time, and this is normal, but when our bodies are giving us constant, regular signals it is trying to tell you something is out of balance.

You can get out of balance from having a lifestyle that does not support your body:

• an increase in sugar and refined carbs
• more alcohol
• later nights and shorter sleep
• irregular meals
• more stress and social pressure
• less movement
• more sitting and travelling

 

While none of these is usually a problem in the short term as your body is designed to respond to inflammation, but when these sorts of things become your norm and your body starts giving you signals regularly, it’s your body trying to tell you something is not in balance, maybe it's:

• blood sugar swings
• insulin demand
• gut permeability
• oxidative stress

 

So, although you might not have a CRP level that is indicating you have inflammation, if you’re experience symptoms, this is your body trying to tell you something is out of balance, even though your CRP is normal.

 

 

 

The different faces of inflammation

Not all inflammation looks the same in the body. You can have:

• Metabolic inflammation - Driven by blood sugar swings, insulin resistance, and excess energy demand.
• Gut-based inflammation - From food reactions, microbiome shifts, or digestive stress.
• Hormonal inflammation - Especially during perimenopause, thyroid imbalance, or high cortisol states.
• Immune signalling overload - Where the immune system isn’t “overactive” just constantly switched on low-grade.
• Cellular stress inflammation - Where cells are exposed to oxidative and environmental load over time

 

None of these necessarily raise CRP. But when all of them are unbalanced it will contribute to your bodies inflammatory load. And only when inflammation is significant will CRP rise.

 

Why “normal bloods” don’t always mean “nothing’s happening”

This is one of the most confusing parts of modern health, people are told: “Your tests are normal, so you’re fine.” But “normal” simply means:

• nothing acute
• nothing dangerous
• nothing requiring urgent intervention

 

It doesn’t always mean:

• optimal
• resilient
• balanced
• or fully supported

 

When tests are normal but you don't feel right, you likely don't need treatment, but you do need support for your systems that are under quiet strain.

 

 

 

If you feel off or inflamed and your CRP is normal, you’re not imagining it, it’s your body trying to communicate with you and tell you it needs support.

Inflammation isn’t always a crisis.
Often, it’s a conversation your body is having and it's asking you for support. If you respond with consistency instead of extremes, you body should answer back and start creating balance.

But if you choose to ignore it, explain it away and over time if you do not change your environment to rebalance your body, it can lead you to a diagnostic health challenge.  

 

Start listening to the signals your body is telling you and start making changes to support your body rather than suppress it or fight it.