Inflammation is the body’s appropriate and healthy immune response to an injury or infection. Pull a muscle, catch a cold, or get a bee sting, and your body responds with pain and swelling and a healing process begins. But if the immune system goes awry and fails to shut off, inflammation may become chronic and cause permanent damage to the body.
Chronic inflammation refers to a maladaptive process that is believed to contribute to a variety of medical conditions including heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. This kind of inflammation may not be so readily apparent, but can be detected by high levels of certain established biomarkers like C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the blood. Reducing levels of these biomarkers has been a target for a number of nutrition studies. Omega-3s, L-carnitine, lycopene, astaxanthin, folic acid, CoQ10, resveratrol, and vitamins C and D are a few nutrients that are gaining attention as natural anti-inflammatories. Perhaps the best-studied are the omega-3 fatty acids; researchers have found that increased blood levels of the omega-3s DHA and EPA were associated with reduced levels of the inflammatory biomarker CRP.
Researchers have pointed to western diets and lifestyles as major culprits in the rise of chronic inflammation. Although these may appear hackneyed, the following healthful lifestyle choices are your best defense against inflammation:
6 NATURAL WAYS TO REDUCE INFLAMMATION
Maintain a healthy weight. Excess weight can induce a pro-inflammatory state. Doctors are concerned about your waistline because studies show that visceral fat, located deep in the abdominal area, causes more inflammation than general obesity.
Eat a diet low in saturated fats and rich in complex carbohydrates, including fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Avoid trans fats and sugar that promote inflammation and incorporate the healthful fats, the omega-3 fatty acids, DHA, and EPA, which can boast powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
Take an omega-3 fish oil supplement containing 1000 mg DHA+EPA. Increasing your omega-3s while maintaining low saturated and trans fats also help all lipid parameters – lowers LDL and total cholesterol, raise HDL, and decreases TG.
Exercise more. While helping to maintain a healthy weight, exercise can decrease inflammation and CRP levels, as well as lower LDL, increase HDL, lower blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease, and on and on…
Don’t smoke or linger in smoke-filled areas. Air pollution and, of course, smoking have been linked to an increased incidence of heart disease, asthma, and other inflammation-related conditions.
Reduce stress. At the very least make an effort to manage stress in all ways possible: set limits on the demands you face and give yourself a regular time out, exercise, make proper sleep and nutrition a priority, seek out laughter and love.