6 Strategies to Combat Chronic Inflammation

Chronic inflammation can affect any and every part of your body.

From autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s Disease and Inflammatory Bowel Disease, to obesity and psychological depression, chronic inflammation can adversely change the function of many of your bodily systems. Not to mention altering your ability to function in Life.

Chronic inflammation is generally defined as a condition in which your body is constantly responding as if it is fighting off some dangerous substance. The problem lies in that the threat does not really exist, so all of this response, which is terrific when we really need it, goes to healthy tissues and your body just gets worn out. Getting fatigued like this then sets the stage for developing other diseases.

So what causes Chronic Inflammation?

The term covers a number of conditions that all have the common factor of your body having mounted an inflammatory response. In general, an inflammatory response is one in which your immune system moves chemicals and fluids to particular parts of your body in an effort to defend the body from what it perceives as invaders.

As an example, the common mosquito bite introduces contaminants from the insect into our skin. Your body’s response is swelling and redness at the site of this infection. (The itchiness is also a result of this chemical response.) Once the invading contaminants have been subdued, the chemicals move out of the infection site and your mosquito bite heals up to where there is no evidence of any infection.

So when your immune system goes haywire in an auto-immune response and mounts this type of action on healthy tissues, like the lining of your digestive tract, lungs, and even blood vessels, you can see that problems can develop over time.

Common causes of chronic inflammation include infection, overuse injuries, and trauma, but can also be caused by irritants introduced to the body through foods, environmental toxins, medications, and lifestyle choices.

So what can you do to address chronic inflammation?

1) Clean up your diet

If you’ve taken the easy way out by hitting the drive-thru on a regular basis, stop. Sugar and flour are the two main dietary culprits associated with chronic inflammation. Stay away from processed food and eat whole foods (lean meats, fruits, vegetables).

2) Consult with your healthcare professional

Chronic inflammation can be connected with other conditions or the use of certain medications, so make sure to work with your provider. If your provider chooses to do so, dietary supplements may be prescribed. Supplementation with vitamin B, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, magnesium, glucosamine and chondroitin, probiotics, and several other substances have been found to have anti-inflammatory effects in the body.

3) Get up off the couch

The sedentary lifestyle is a known Health risk, so get it moving!

The current Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendation is 2.5 hours of cardio and 2 days of strength training each week for an adult. As that Nike promotion once admonished us, “Just do it.”

4) Reduce stress

The mind and body work together. If one is tired or beaten up, so goes the other. Make the time for relaxation activities. Your exercise program above can fill the bill or that hot bath or that massage or whatever healthy activity that allows you to mentally unplug for a while.

5) Get some sleep

Many of us are not getting enough sleep each night. Sleep deprivation over the long haul can have some majorly negative effects on your body. Stay away from stimulants (i.e. caffeine) prior to bedtime and try getting to bed earlier. The mind and body conduct a lot of repair during those sleeping hours, so anything you can do to assist in this restorative process will pay off for you in the long run.

6) Limit your toxic exposure

Toxins are presented to us from numerous sources in your environment. From the chemicals you use to clean your home with, to the types of makeup and body wash you use, some can contribute to your exposure to irritating chemicals.

For those of us in smog-prone areas, limit your outdoor activities during higher smog portions of the day.

So you can see that many of the sources of irritation that can cause or contribute to chronic inflammation, arise from our chosen lifestyles. So if we have the power to create the problems, we also have the power to respond to them constructively.

Best of luck in your efforts!

Reference:
 http://www.chiroeco.com/article/2015/CE_ISS4_2015/