Chronic Inflammation

Do you suffer from aches and pains? Are your joints puffy, bloated or swollen? Do you experience stiffness? If you have any of these symptoms, you could be at risk for chronic inflammation. The good news is you don’t have to live with pain. Learn a little about the good and bad sides of inflammation as well as how to prevent and reduce it through simple nutrition and lifestyle changes.

About Inflammation

A normally functioning immune system responds to harmful substances, irritants, infections and injury by instituting inflammation and other processes. Inflammation is actually a healthy and normal response for bodily repair. Redness, swelling, heat, itching, and pain are all signs inflammation is doing its job by sending antibodies to heal the damaged area.

Problem

Problems occur when inflammation becomes chronic as a result of being untreated. Most people seek quick relief in pills like Advil, Tylenol or Ibuprofen masking pain and preventing healing by disabling the body’s ability to detoxify, repair, and protect itself. With additional side effects caused by these drugs these well-meaning people often do more harm than good.

Chronic inflammation not only affects your daily performance but damages surrounding organs and tissues contributing to degenerative diseases like arthritis, heart disease, stroke, obesity, cancer, and possibly even Alzheimer’s. Chronic inflammation can also result in an increase in LDL (bad) cholesterol. You may be surprised to find out that LDL cholesterol does not increase in response to the number of eggs you eat but in response to the amount of inflammatory foods consumed. Experiment and see for yourself!

Solution

Start healing! Pain is present and being felt for a reason. Don’t ignore it but rather get rid of it for good. Get to the root of the problem by making simple nutrition and lifestyle changes. You’ll increase the nutrients in your diet, lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, strengthen your immune system, prevent disease, and even reduce body fat!

Nutrition

Avoid foods high in refined carbohydrates and  excess omega-6 essential fatty acids.

Eat anti-inflammatory foods like green leafy vegetables including kale, collards, spinach, and mustard greens along with with Omega-3 rich wild fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, and halibut. Spice up your foods with garlic, ginger, curry, chili peppers, rosemary, onions, scallions, leeks, chives, and shallots.   

Fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut will add to your anti-inflammatory diet.

Always drink filtered water (which helps detoxify the body), take cod liver oil (essential fatty acids), probiotics (for gut health and immunity), turmeric and bromelain (which offers joint support).

Make lifestyle changes taking long, easy walks for exercise and to relieve stress and tension. Sleep more to give your body the rest it needs to heal and repair itself and see your doctor to be tested for C-reactive protein which is indicative of inflammation within your body. You can use this simple test to see the results of your anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle.