hs-CRP

What hs-CRP measures

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, or hs-CRP, is a blood marker of low-grade systemic inflammation. C-reactive protein is made by the liver and rises when the body is inflamed; the high-sensitivity version detects the small fluctuations that ordinary CRP tests miss, making it useful for gauging the quiet, background inflammation linked to long-term health.

Why it matters

Elevated hs-CRP is associated with greater cardiovascular and metabolic risk, and it adds information beyond cholesterol alone. The association is reasonably well established, though hs-CRP is a marker rather than a cause — it reflects underlying processes rather than driving them. One important caveat: any infection, injury or recent illness can spike the number temporarily, so it is best measured when you are well and confirmed with repeat testing.

The levers that move it

Inflammation responds to the overall shape of a diet more than to any single food:

• Anti-inflammatory dietary patterns, above all the Mediterranean diet, have the strongest evidence for lower inflammatory markers over time.
• Omega-3-rich fish such as salmon and sardines are associated with reduced inflammation.
• Polyphenol-rich foods — the anthocyanins in blueberries, and curcumin from turmeric — show promise in studies, though the human evidence is more preliminary than that for whole patterns.
• Dietary fibre from vegetables, legumes and whole grains is consistently linked with lower CRP.

Beyond the plate, losing excess weight reliably lowers hs-CRP, regular exercise helps, and not smoking matters a great deal. No single food puts out inflammation; the cumulative pattern is what counts.

The reference range

For cardiovascular risk assessment, an hs-CRP below 1.0 mg/L is generally regarded as low risk. Read this as a broad reference rather than a personal goal, and remember that a transient illness can distort a single reading — interpretation belongs in the hands of someone who knows your full picture.

Selected research

• Effects of Dietary Patterns on Biomarkers of Inflammation and Immune Responses (Advances in Nutrition, 2022) — healthier dietary patterns were linked to lower CRP.
• Efficacy of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers: an umbrella meta-analysis (International Immunopharmacology, 2022) — omega-3 was associated with reduced inflammatory markers, including CRP.

Reference ranges vary by lab and individual. This is general information, not medical advice — discuss your own results with your doctor.

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