Inflammation is your body’s natural response to injury or infection, attempting to heal itself. Without inflammation, your body would not be able to heal from wounds or infections. This type of inflammation is referred to as acute or temporary. Chronic inflammation is prolonged, keeping your body on high alert at all times, which can lead to more serious health problems such as arthritis, depression, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Chronic inflammation can be caused by a poor diet, smoking, too much alcohol, and chronic stress. It can often go unnoticed for a long time attacking internally, until there are noticeable symptoms of a serious health problem. Understanding the causes of inflammation and taking healthy steps to help lessen chronic inflammation is crucial.
Food can play a huge part in reducing inflammation. Eating antioxidant rich foods and natural anti-inflammatory foods will help supply your body with the necessary nutrients it needs to support healthy functioning. Choose the wrong foods in your diet, and you could be accelerating the inflammation process and throwing your immune system out of whack.
Some foods That help fight inflammation are:
green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, collards)
berries
tomatoes
olive oil
nuts
fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel)
Foods that can cause increased inflammation in the body are:
refined or processed foods
red meat
dairy
foods high in sugar
refined carbohydrates
Other powerful anti-inflammatory ingredients you can add to your diet are ginger, garlic and turmeric. Turmeric specifically contains curcumin, a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound. It helps to inhibit pro-inflammatory enzymes in the body and also neutralizes free radicals.
Are you interested to learn more about different ways to change your diet or what foods you might be eating that may be causing inflammation?
We offer the ALCAT testing in our office. This is a great way to know if the common foods you are eating on a daily basis are causing inflammation within your body and triggering the headaches, body aches, insomnia and lack of energy you might be feeling. You can also work with our registered dietitian program through Nutrilynk® to help you with better food choices and assist you with your health goals. Please let us know how we can help!
