The ‘Rust’ Inside Us

How chronic inflammation is destroying us from the inside out

We have a blind spot in modern medicine. We look at chronic disease and see “bad luck” or “genetics.” We treat inflammation like a symptom to be suppressed with medication.

But as a surgeon who works with metallurgy and biology, I don’t see inflammation. I see corrosion.

I’ve seen what happens when metal corrodes inside the human body. The tissue dies. It turns black. It necroticizes.

Here is the uncomfortable truth: You don’t need a metal implant to corrode. Chronic inflammation is the exact same process, just slower.

You are rusting from the inside out.

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The Science of Corrosion (MACC)

Years ago, I published research on a phenomenon known as Metal-Associated Chemical Corrosion (MACC).

We investigated what happens when the modular junction of a hip replacement—where the ball meets the stem—undergoes “fretting.” If those two pieces of metal rub together under high stress, they release microscopic metal ions into the surrounding space.

The body identifies these ions as foreign invaders. The immune system launches a massive, scorched-earth attack. The result is a pseudotumor—a mass of fluid and dead tissue.

This is a biological reaction to an environmental irritant.

Why does this matter to you? Because Harvard Medical School has identified chronic inflammation as the common denominator in the four major killers: heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

The mechanism is identical to MACC. When you flood your system with processed sugars, seed oils, and stress hormones, you are introducing “ions” your body doesn’t recognize. Your immune system attacks your own vascular walls, your joints, and your brain tissue.

The “Car on Fire” Scenario

I saw this recently with a patient I’ll call Robert.

Robert came to me for a total knee replacement. He was 54, a high-performing executive, but he was in agony. He limped into the exam room, sweating, clearly uncomfortable.

Here was the engineering conflict: His X-rays didn’t match his pain. He had moderate arthritis, yes. But his pain levels were a 10/10. Structurally, his knee was a “flat tire.” But clinically, he was acting like the car had exploded.

I looked at his labs. His C-Reactive Protein (CRP)—a marker for systemic inflammation—was through the roof.

I told him the truth most surgeons won’t say: “Robert, I can replace the tire (your knee). But the car is on fire. If I operate on you right now, the risk of infection and failure is unacceptably high because your body is already fighting a war on three fronts.”

Robert was living on fast food, sleeping 4 hours a night, and drowning in cortisol. He wasn’t just “unhealthy.” He was an environment of rapid corrosion.

The Anti-Corrosion Protocol

We delayed surgery. We put him on what I call an Anti-Corrosion Protocol.

Six weeks later, he returned. He hadn’t had surgery yet. But his pain had dropped from a 10 to a 4.

Why? Because we stopped the rust. His joints were still arthritic (mechanical failure), but the surrounding tissue was no longer being attacked by his own immune system.

If you want to stop rusting, you have to treat your body like a high-performance alloy that needs environmental protection. Here are the 5 variables I control:

1. Eliminate the Oxidizers (Diet) Processed sugar is a biological accelerant. If your food has a shelf life of 5 years, your body treats it like a foreign object—just like those metal ions. Eat real fuel. If it didn’t grow or walk, don’t eat it.

2. Drain the Swamp (Lymphatics) Corrosion happens in stagnant environments. Unlike your heart, your lymphatic system (your waste removal piping) has no pump. It relies entirely on mechanical motion to clear waste. If you sit at a desk for 12 hours, you are stagnating. You need motion to flush the system.

3. Shut Down the Factory (Visceral Fat) Robert had significant belly fat. In medical school, we used to think fat was just stored energy. We now know that visceral fat is biologically active tissue. It acts like a gland, pumping inflammatory cytokines into your blood 24/7. Losing the gut isn’t vanity; it’s removing a toxic waste factory from your chassis.

4. Stop the Acid Rain (Cortisol) Chronic stress releases cortisol. In short bursts, it saves your life. In constant drips, it eats away at your sleep and recovery. You must have a mechanism to flush cortisol—exercise, meditation, or prayer.

5. The Maintenance Window (Sleep) You cannot repair a machine while it is running at redline. Deep sleep is the only time your brain cleans out metabolic waste (beta-amyloid). If you cut sleep, you skip the maintenance cycle.

The Bottom Line

Corrosion is a natural law of physics. Entropy dictates that things break down. But in the human body, the rate of corrosion is a choice.

Robert eventually got his knee replacement. He recovered in record time because his system was clean.

Are you coating your system, or are you letting it rust?

R. Michael Meneghini, MD

If you liked this, share it with someone who feels “achy” all over but can’t pinpoint why. Next week, we are diving into “The Stability Paradox”…

why adding complexity to a system often increases the risk of failure.