Ways To Reduce Inflammation

Where Is Inflammation Impacting Your Wellness? What is inflammation, why it causes imbalances and ways to reduce it.

What Is Inflammation?

Inflammation generally speaking, is the body’s immune system’s response to an irritant. Inflammation can present itself in many ways but ultimately it is a response to a root cause.

Inflammation as a health problem is triggered by a variety of factors that ends up manifesting itself in a wide-range of symptoms that show up as unique to each individual.

But if you didn’t know how inflammation plays a role in your health, it would be easy to dismiss this issue as none of your concern. 

Inflammation is at the core of most common health concerns and exists on a continuum: from mild symptoms such as weight gain and fatigue on one end, to hormone imbalance and autoimmune conditions on the other. 

Inflammation is determined on an ever changing spectrum, this range of inflammation can fluctuate from day to day and is variable dependant from factors such as foods, stress, exercise and sleep. How you feel is constantly and dynamically being influenced by every meal, every interaction and reaction. Every food you eat is either feeding inflammation or fighting it. Because no one else is you, the foods that work well for someone else may not be right for your body. 

Inflammation Spectrum 

Inflammation can not always be a bad thing, our human systems actually have the ability to produce inflammation as a way to deal with injury and disease. Low grade inflammation doesn’t impact our survival yet actually is the bodies chronic response to diseases, injuries, foreign invaders, that produces a steady, low level of inflammation constantly throughout the body.

What triggers low-grade inflammation?

This chronic kind of low-grade inflammation may continually simmer under the surface. An unhealthy lifestyle that includes smoking, a poor diet, alcohol consumption, sedentary behaviour, stress, and weight gain can cause this type of persistent inflammation.

When accumulated over time and repetition, the inflammation presented begins to build and develop and becomes from acute to chronic. 

The basis of most chronic diseases is inflammation. Which is the starting point for a host of health issues. Research has shown that chronic inflammation is associated with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, obesity, Alzheimer’s and autoimmune diseases. Yet, because chronic inflammation can continue for a long time, it’s not easy to know its exact impact.

What We Can Do About It?

By living in a way which is in favour of an anti inflammatory lifestyle, you are not only improving your overall well-being but also reducing your risk of chronic disease in the process. Read on for the specifics…

Ways To Reduce Inflammation

1. Say goodbye to sugary processed foods. Sugar dependency has become an epidemic with many people relying on glucose spikes, to power through their day. Processed foods are far from optimal and usually lack nutrients and filled with fake ingredients, which our body recognises as toxins. This only contributes to the inflammatory state of our bodies and promotes more imbalance within.
2. Fill up on fresh, real food. The fresher food the better! Local food is more bio-available and the greater positive effect it has on our microbial composition. By eating real whole, nutrient dense foods, we begin to work with our bodies opposed to against them.
3. Re think Oral Care. We know that brushing and flossing teeth regularly is essential for the health of your mouth, but did you know its impact also on the hygiene of your gut bacteria? By keeping up with this habit, it becomes a great easy place to diminish sneaky bad bacteria from entering the gut.
4. Try an elimination diet. A great way to quickly put the brakes on inflammation is by eliminating foods and liquids that have the potential to be toxins, irritants or allergens. For a period of 14 days or more, eliminate not only sugar and processed foods, but also alcohol, gluten (wheat, spelt, kamut, rye, barley, and malt), dairy, soy, corn, eggs and nightshade vegetables (white potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers). Afterwards, reintroduce foods slowly so you learn which ones may be triggers for you. I strongly recommend working with a health coach during an elimination diet, to help you get individual guidance.

5. Exercise balance. Regular exercise is essential, but pushing yourself to the limit with long, hard gym sessions is not. In fact, overtraining actually promotes chronic inflammation, so it may be time to rethink your approach. To find the right balance, work with a qualified personal trainer, find a new way to exercise in a low impact way and trade those long workouts for shorter for effective ones.

That being said, losing excess weight can help reduce inflammation fat cells fuel inflammation. They secrete a type of hormone that contributes to inflammation, so maintaining a healthy weight is an important part of keeping inflammation at bay.

6. Relax the mind and body. Relentless stress weakens your immune system and promotes inflammation, so by regulating back to homeostasis through calming the nervous system, we can turn to mindfulness and meditation practices. Even a few minutes of meditation first thing in the morning or at the end of the day can help quiet your mind.

7. Sleep it Off. When you’re sleeping less than six hours a night, you’re putting your body in the inflammation danger zone. Allow your system at least seven to eight hours of shuteye per night to give it the time it needs to restore, refresh and repair. Coming up short night after night promotes oxidative stress, which leads to chronic inflammation.

8. Minimise Chemical Exposure. Buy organic produce when possible, filter your water, switch from plastic to glass for food storage and reheating and use gentler organic or homemade natural cleaning products. Try to reduce the use of personal care products or use ones with “clean” ingredients.

9. Ditch Alcohol, Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Unnecessary Antibiotics. The over-the-counter “anti-inflammatory” meds or alcohol may seem harmless yet their damage is real, so the less you consume the better. If you’re popping a few ibuprofen every day to manage aches and pains, you’re also throwing off the delicate bacterial balance in your gut, it’s a give and take relationship. This can undermine the integrity of your gut wall, and set yourself up for chronic inflammation.

If your doctor offers antibiotics, and it’s not a critical situation, you may be better off just saying no. Antibiotics kill bacteria, both good and bad, and wind up disrupting your bacterial balance.

Inflammation Takeaway 

Inflammation can impact your health and with incorporation of simple yet effective adaptations, you can overcome your symptoms to go from just surviving through it to thriving.