3 Essential Tips for Lowering Inflammation
Inflammation is at the root of nearly all chronic disease. From heart disease and diabetes, to anxiety and depression, to hormonal imbalances, digestive issues, fatigue and poor immune function.
It’s important to note though, that not all inflammation is bad! Acute inflammation, such as when you get a cut on your finger that gets red and “inflamed”, is a good type of inflammation. Inflammation is a healthy response by your immune system that’s triggered due to damage of some kind. The inflammatory cascade that occurs helps bring nutrients, white blood cells, lymphatic cells, clotting factors and other “ingredients” to the damaged area to help resolve the issue. This is the body’s incredible innate healing mechanisms in action!
Chronic inflammation on the other hand, fuels the fire of chronic illness and it must be addressed on a daily basis for long-term heath by how you eat, drink, think and move!
In the case of heart disease, there is inflammation in the arteries, in mental health imbalances, there’s often inflammation in the gut and brain. Bowel diseases like crohn’s disease stems from inflammation in the gut, but so do food sensitivities and leaky gut syndrome.
You don’t either have inflammation or not, we all have varying degrees of inflammation at any time.
The strange part is that you can have inflammation and not even know it until it rears its ugly head years later in the form of disease. Lowering inflammation is essential for overall health and anti-aging for this reason also.
Here are my top 3 ways to lower inflammation:
Eat an anti-inflammatory diet.
I shared all about my Top 10 Foods to Eat to Fight Inflammation + Meal Ideas in my last blog post!!
In a nut-shell, aim to consume plenty of antioxidant-rich foods like colourful vegetables and some fruits. Eat plenty of healthy fats and skip the trans-fats and industrially processed oils like canola oil and safflower oil that often slip into “health foods”. Work towards removing processed sugars and carbs from your diet as much as possible and opt for natural sweeteners like raw honey and whole, gluten-free grains in moderation. Consume more probiotic foods like sauerkraut, kimchi and coconut kefir, as well as prebiotic fibre, such as from sweet potatoes and artichokes to support healthy gut bacteria.
An anti-inflammatory diet is an essential piece of the inflammation puzzle, but it should also be customized. Oftentimes I find clients are eating foods they assume are “healthy”, meanwhile they may have a hidden intolerance to a certain food that’s creating underlying inflammation.
Balance Your Microbiome to Lower Inflammation
Eating an anti-inflammatory diet as discussed above is key, but it’s always beneficial to work with your natural health practitioner to balance your gut bacteria using the right supplements. You may also consider getting your gut assessed through our Comprehensive GI Map if you’ve been dealing with moderate long-standing or severe gut issues. This is a highly sensitive DNA stool test that can assess for Leaky Gut Syndrome, hidden inflammation, and numerous hidden infections including: parasites, SIBO or bacterial overgrowth, pathogenic (bad) bacteria, candida/yeast overgrowth and more.
Spend Intentional Time Relaxing & Prioritize Sleep
If you have the mentality of “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”, this is a problem! The kind of lifestyle that always keeps you on the go, busy, working long hours, with constant social plans or even exercising excessively is a surprising contributor to inflammation also. We MUST prioritize rest, relaxation and quality sleep. Especially if you desire balanced hormones, are trying to conceive or heal thyroid and adrenal conditions, this is an extremely important area to work on!
What questions do you have regarding inflammation? Leave them below!
Asher Kleiber
Registered Holistic Nutritionist™
