How Can I Reduce Inflammation?
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- By: Healthy Beings Staff
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- Immune
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- November 25, 2021
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- 8 Min read
Acute localized inflammation is one way that our immune systems work to keep us healthy. It prevents infection from spreading and limits the damage done by injuries, but it’s quite different from chronic systemic inflammation. Chronic systemic inflammation is a driving force behind many serious, often life-threatening illnesses. While these problems may be difficult to deal with daily, there are easy, tangible ways to reduce inflammation.
What is Systemic Inflammation?
There are two major causes of systemic inflammation, and they usually happen together: an overreaction of the immune system to threats that aren’t present and oxidative stress.
Overreaction
When the immune system detects a dangerous germ or other threat, it swings into action, sometimes to a fault, overreacting too much. This leads to the immune system releasing specialized cells and chemicals that destroy invading germs, clear the body of toxins, and prevent infections from spreading.
In chronic inflammation, our bodies never perceive an end to the threat, even when the harmful agent is long gone. White blood cells and inflammatory hormones like histamine stay in the bloodstream in amounts that should only be present during a real infection or injury.
The damage is often done by cytokines, inflammatory chemicals that attack cells, causing them to swell and leak some of their contents into the bloodstream. The immune system is fooled into attacking these injured cells, leading to more damage, increased inflammation, and so it goes in a harmful loop.
Oxidative Stress
Then there’s oxidative stress, which comes from energetic and damaging molecules called free radicals. Free radicals come from the processes our cells use to make energy, and normally the body can process them without too much trouble.
However, some foods and food ingredients cause free radicals to increase and build up to such a high degree that the body’s cells and tissues are harmed. This type of damage, called oxidative damage, increases dramatically when we consume foods that are full of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).
Omega-6 PUFAs that come from fresh, unprocessed foods are not harmful and in fact can be beneficial. Omega-6 PUFAs only change into a leading cause of whole-body inflammation when they’re industrially treated and processed for use in industrial food production. Processed omega-6 PUFAs can be found in most fast foods, packaged foods, such as chips, and other ultra-processed foods.
When PUFAs are digested and broken down by our tissues, they release energetic and destructive compounds called free radicals. Free radicals latch onto cell walls, damaging them. Your cells then must use up energy to repair the damage caused by free radicals.
This constant cycle of fighting off the damage caused by free radicals causes the cells and tissues of your body to age prematurely and impairs their ability to work correctly.
Diseases and Disorders - Reasons to Reduce Inflammation
Oxidative stress and its more serious relative oxidative damage are two of the biggest contributors development of obesity.
Unlike chronic localized infections like arthritis, which cause pain and visible swelling, systemic chronic inflammation isn’t painful. The disorders caused by systemic inflammation, on the other hand, are dangerous and cause a lot of pain. Diseases and conditions caused or worsened by systemic inflammation include:
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Ways You Can Quickly Reduce Your Inflammation
You can start to reduce inflammation today. There are easy-to-take steps that will begin to lower your systemic inflammation almost immediately.
Eat an Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Better Health to Reduce Inflammation
The most effective way to reduce inflammation is to change your diet. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is unhealthy and a huge contributor to inflammation throughout your body. It involves regular consumption of high amounts of sugar, ultra-processed foods, trans fats, sodium, fast food, and high-fructose corn syrup - a known inflammatory ingredient in sodas.
It can be hard to stop eating foods you love, so it’s a good practice to start adding anti-inflammatory foods to your diet as you reduce your intake of fast foods, added sugars, and refined foods as you aim to reduce inflammation in your body.
An anti-inflammatory diet gets most of its calories from plant- based foods like:
- Dark green leafy vegetables, like kale, Swiss chard, and spinach.
- Antioxidant-rich vegetables like bok choy, beets, and broccoli.
- Berries, such as blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries.
- Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir, and yogurt.
- Foods containing polyphenols, which are powerful anti-inflammatory antioxidants that remove oxidants from your system by rendering them harmless. This includes plums, red or purple grapes, onions, cherries, green tea, and foods containing curcumin (turmeric).
- Coldwater ocean fish like salmon, cod, mackerel, tuna, and herring. These fish are full of omega-3 fatty acids, which most people don’t get enough of. They balance out the effects of omega-6 PUFAs.
You can also reduce your oxidative stress by adding supplements to your diet. Some of the best help the body produce glutathione, one of the most effective of all antioxidants that can help reduce inflammation. Other effective and important antioxidants include resveratrol and vitamins A, K, D, C, and E.
Behavioral Changes to Help Reduce Inflammation
Adopting healthy habits, like adding exercise to your routine, is an excellent way to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. As little as 20 minutes of moderate exercise per day can significantly reduce inflammation throughout your body.
Environmental Changes
Environmental toxins, like those found in mold spores, can accumulate in the body, and cause systemic inflammation. While it’s not always possible to completely change our environment, you can detoxify your body of these toxins.
Some detoxifications strategies include drinking plenty of water every day and boosting your intake of antioxidants, particularly glutathione, alpha-lipoic acid, B vitamins, and n-acetyl-l-cysteine, and the B vitamins.
Next Steps for Reducing Inflammation and Its Health Risks
If you’re concerned about systemic inflammation and the conditions that come with it, consider consulting your physician about a treatment plan that addresses your unique needs. If you prefer a more individualized approach and would like a professional health expert to work with you, consider seeking a health coach. A health coach can guide you step-by-step to help you reduce inflammation and achieve better health all around.
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