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How To Reduce Inflammation

Inflammation can become a pain, especially when it’s long-lasting. But did you know that inflammation can be managed through a few lifestyle changes? This post will help you to understand inflammation better and learn ways to manage it.

What is Inflammation?

Let’s start with the basics. Inflammation is the way your body heals and fights against things that are harmful or toxic. These include infections, toxins and injuries (1).

There are two types of inflammation:

Acute inflammation is your body’s immediate response to a foreign substance or activity, for example a cold. This usually only lasts a few hours or days, and the symptoms are more noticeable. You might feel pain, or spot some redness and swelling (1).
Chronic inflammation lasts longer and leaves your body feeling constantly alert, and can have negative impacts on your organs and tissues. You might feel tiredness, feverish, see redness or rashes, feel abdominal or chest pain or notice mouth ulcers (1).

What Causes Inflammation?

Acute and chronic inflammation are caused by slightly different things.

Acute inflammation happens when the body thinks that a foreign substance is attacking it or an unusual activity is happening. In order to protect itself, the body increases blood flow to this area and releases antibodies and proteins. Think of these as little soldiers to help fight off the injury or infection (1).
Chronic inflammation can have a few causes (1):

It can happen when acute inflammation or the causes of acute inflammation are left untreated. This can be a long-lasting injury or infection.
Another cause of chronic inflammation may be an auto immune condition when the immune system mistakes healthy tissue as foreign or invasive, so the body tries to fight off the healthy parts of itself.
Being exposed to irritant substances, harmful chemicals and air pollution for a long period of time can also lead to chronic inflammation.
Factors like smoking, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption and chronic stress can all increase the likelihood of chronic inflammation happening.

How to Manage Inflammation?

Inflammation can be managed and reduced through some changes in lifestyle. Here are some ways:

1) Diet Dos and Don’ts

It is best to consume anti-inflammatory and antioxidant foods (1). Here are a few examples:

Olive oil
Leafy greens (we recommend kale and spinach for lots of nutrition)
Tomatoes(these are great antioxidants)
Fish with fatty acids (we advise salmon, sardines and mackerel)
Nuts
Fruits(cherries, blueberries and oranges have anti-inflammatory properties)

You can also avoid foods that are commonly linked to increasing inflammation (1):]

Refined carbs (like white bread and pastries)
Fried foods
Red meat
Processed meat (such as hot dogs and sausages)

1) Excel with Exercise

Research shows that exercise has many benefits and can reduce inflammation in a number of different ways (2). We won’t go through the mechanisms of exercise in detail, but here are some examples of exercises we suggest (3):

Cycling
Walking (even just 30 minutes to 1 hour a day helps)
Yoga (this can have wonderous advantages for both mental and physical health)
Weight training

1) Nutritional Needs

It is so important to keep your nutrients in check and supplements are an easy yet effective way to do this (4).You’ve probably heard about omega-3 fatty acids and the benefits they provide, but let’s talk about this some more.

Omega-3fatty acids like Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) can reduce inflammation, improve eyesight, enhance brain function and maintain joint mobility (5). You can get some omega-3 from oily fish like salmon, but often this isn’t enough. Which is where krill oil supplements can help. – Not only do these provide enough omega-3,but they are convenient and have ready to use ‘building blocks’ to replenish the store for your cells!

1) Sleep and Sweet Dreams

It’s nothing new that sleep is crucial to stay healthy. Your beauty sleep doesn’t just help you feel refreshed, but it allows the body to heal and recover from inflammation. Now, inflammation can become a barrier in achieving good quality sleep, but there are ways that you can improve your routine to feel refreshed and rejuvenated. For example, have a consistent sleep routine, turn off electronics an hour before bed and try to relax before sleeping (6).

No Stress, No Mess

Stress has never been good, but did you know that stress can lead to inflammation? When you’re stressed, your body enters the “fight-or-flight” mode. This means it thinks there is something attacking it, so will either want to avoid that situation, or will fight it (causing inflammation). So, one thing we recommend is do enjoyable things to reduce stress and relax! Maybe light a candle, go for a walk or listen to your favourite music! (7)

References

1) https://www.healthline.com/health/chronic-inflammation

2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3320801/

3) https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7677835/5-exercises-you-can-do-at-home-to-reduce-inflammation/

4) https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/krill-oil-benefits#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2

5) https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/dha-benefits#:~:text=Summary%20For%20general%20good%20health,used%20with%20your%20doctor's%20guidance.

6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257651/

7) https://haybio.com/pages/product-collection

8) https://www.soundsleepmedical.com/blog/is-there-a-connection-between-sleep-and-inflammation/

9) https://www.everydayhealth.com/wellness/united-states-of-stress/link-between-stress-inflammation/