I believe I only said the word "inflammation" once yesterday, and today I want to expound on what inflammation is and what it does within your body.
Have you ever twisted your ankle and watched is swell before your eyes? This is called acute inflammation and it is a healthy process within your body which triggers a series of biochemical reactions. Your body sends white blood cells and other chemicals to the site of the injury or infection to fight off infection and promote healing.
The other form of inflammation is called chronic inflammation. Unlike acute inflammation there are often no symptoms until the sight of inflammation stops functioning. Chronic inflammation can be the result of a mal-functioning and/or over-reactive immune system. It also may be caused by an unknown infection or allergy that your body is trying to get rid of. Chronic inflammation can go on for years without being detected resulting in neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. Studies have shown that chronic inflammation is mainly due to an unhealthy lifestyle.
When your immune system triggers an inflammatory response when there is no threat in your body, this leads to inflammation. Depending on which organ the inflammation is effecting, there will be a number of different symptoms that you can look for. Such as:
- Inflammation in your large intestine: Cramps, excessive gas, constipation and diarrhea
- Inflammation of the small tubes that bring air to your lungs: Asthma attack
- Inflammation of your heart: fluid retention or shortness of breath
- Inflammation of your kidneys: High blood pressure or kidney failure
- Being obese or overweight
- Eating a poor diet
- An existing heart condition
- Poorly controlled diabetes
- A sedentary lifestyle (little, or no exercise)
- Smoking
- Long-term infections
- Stress
If you struggle with any of the eight listed above it might be time to start taking steps to make sure your inflammation is under control. Here are some of the best, natural ways to make sure your insides are not inflamed.
- Eat a healthy diet. Eating a diet that includes real food--vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, legumes and meat. Avoiding pro-inflammatory foods such as sugar, fried foods, processed foods, trans fats and junk food (we all know what that is.)
- Increasing omega-3 fats. Many people in the U.S. are have a ratio of 15:1 omega-6 to omega-3 in their bodies, leaving them prone to inflammation. The recommended ratio is 3:2. Taking high-quality omega-3 supplements (also known as fish oil) can greatly help this deficiency. High-quality krill oil is also a great way to get omega-3 fats.
- Exercise regularly. I think this one is pretty straight forward. ;)
- Quit smoking. Smoking increases inflammation and hardens your arteries. The good news is, that you can revers the damage done to your arteries within 10 years of stopping. Making healthy lifestyle choices is a huge part of this.
- Make sure your waist size is normal. I didn't say it, the doctors did. If your waist size is over 35 inches for a women or 40 inches for a man, you most likely are inflamed and should take steps to lose weight. (Please note that I do recognized that everyone is built differently. I feel that this one could make for some heated debate...)
- Control stress. Excessive stress can leave your body with excessive stress hormones. These excess hormones can lead to the release of inflammatory chemicals. Make sure you are dealing with your stress in a healthy way. Exercise is an excellent way to deal with stress and is also anti-inflammatory!
- Vitamin D. Make sure you are getting enough vitamin D. This is especially important in cold winter months.
I will revisit this topic in my next post and talk about some of the foods that are great for decreasing inflammation.
Until Next Time,
Hope
xoxo
References:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/08/what-you-need-to-know-about-inflammation.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment