Chronic inflammation is a key factor to almost all chronic, degenerative diseases as it causes great harm and damage to your body. Making some lifestyle changes is critical in reducing chronic inflammation and getting yourself back on the road to enjoying life again.
How to reduce chronic inflammation
- Diet: decrease intake of inflammatory foods and replace with increase amounts of anti-inflammatory foods. Sound easy? Inflammatory foods are in everything....especially your "convenience" foods.
- Avoid simple sugars like sodas and fructose corn syrup, refined carbohydrates and high-glycemic foods.
- Reduce saturated and trans fatsthat linger in body and release inflammatory proteins into the bloodstream. Trans fats increase the bad (LDL) cholesterol and decrease the good (HDL) cholesterol.
- Meat: processed (salted, cured, fermented, smoked, preserved), red meats unless grass-fed organic
- Dairy products
- Baked goods
- Butter and margarine
- Minimize intake of antibiotics and NSAIDS: may contribute to leaky gut by harming the gut microbiome
- Excercise regularly to maintain optimal weight and strengthen the heart, muscles and bone and reduce risk of cardiovascular disease
- Sleep: ideally 7 to 8 hours helps to stimulate human growth hormones and testosterone in the body to help rebuild itself
- Stress less: focus on ways to stress less. We cannot control all of our stressors. Learn how to manage those we cannot.
- Stop smoking
- Turmeric: contains curcumin is beneficial in reducing inflammation
- Micronutrients: Magnesium, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Zinc, Selenium
- Fish Oil: richest source of omega-3 fatty acids
Your old foods and habits may seem like old friends that you rely on for "comfort" when not feeling well. Adding these new foods and habits will start your journey down the road to enjoy life again. However, if those "old friends" continue to hang around, if they are not completely replaced and removed, you may be tempted to be pulled into those inflammatory habits and food again.
If you find yourself already in a chronic inflammatory condition, consider seeking medical help for possible tests.
Having a concise place to start is always beneficial. Consider some of these classes and freebies.
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