Top 10 Tips to Reduce Inflammation
One question I often get asked is: What can I eat or take that will help with inflammation? Often people struggle with inflammation in such ailments as arthritis, fibromyalgia, swelling, stiffness, and pain. Inflammation can also show up in digestive trouble, mood disorders, and brain fog. I would really love to share ten ways we can help reduce inflammation with nutrient-dense foods, supplementation, and beneficial lifestyle activities.
1. Eat the rainbow. Eat a variety of colorful, raw fruits and vegetables. These foods will help to provide antioxidants and phytochemicals (chemicals found in plants) that can be very anti-inflammatory. These foods can include leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and a wide variety of fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, apples, oranges, and bananas.
2. Include healthy fats. Omega-3 fatty acids are especially anti-inflammatory. Foods such as nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, hemp seeds), and wild-caught cold water fish such as salmon and sardines are very helpful.
3. Include herbs and spices. Turmeric, curcumin, ginger, cayenne, and hot peppers all have anti-inflammatory compounds. A tip with including turmeric - consume it with a fat source as well as black pepper in order to be sure that it is absorbed as best as possible. A 1/2-1 tsp of turmeric in a vegetable soup will do the trick. Green tea can also be helpful.
4. Reduce and eliminate inflammatory foods. Foods that can be inflammatory are refined carbohydrates (white bread, white pastas, pastries, cookies, chips), sugar, red meat (especially non-grass fed), processed meats, lard, margarine, processed vegetable oils (like canola, soybean, cottonseed, etc.). Some people may have a sensitivity to certain foods that they may not be aware of, such as a gluten, dairy, soy, corn, or nut sensitivity. Just avoiding inflammatory foods may reduce these symptoms in a relatively short amount of time.
5. Supplementation. Taking good quality supplementation, such as boswellian, MSM, glucosamine, condroitin, berberine, as well as the spices mentioned above in supplementation form can be very helpful.
6. Manual therapies. Manual therapies such as physical therapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, and massage can be very helpful. If you suffer from swelling/edema, compression socks may also be very helpful.
7. Low-intensity movement. Getting in some walking, low-impact aerobics classes at the local pool, gentle walking, and chair yoga can be very helpful for inflammation.
8. Drink water. Drink half your weight in ounces of spring or filtered water. Opt for water from a home filtration system in a reusable glass water bottle instead of plastic bottles. Being well-hydrated has been shown to help with inflammation. 9. Breathe deeply. Take deep breaths and fill your belly with air. By doing this, you help to move lymphatic fluid in the body which can reduce inflammation. Also, deep breathing can help relieve stress. Stress is a huge cause of inflammation in the body.
10. Have some fun. Enjoy some fun, playfulness, and laughter. As was mentioned in #9, chronic stress causes inflammation. By having fun, you will reduce your stress levels and inflammatory conditions in the body.
I hope that the above tips help you in reducing your stress level. It can be very supportive and important to work with a nutrition consultant, such as myself, to be able to incorporate the changes in nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle to help support your health. I am offering a free strategy session if you, or someone you know, could benefit from having this support. Please go to https://www.amypanetta.com/free-strategy-session for more information on how you can get a free strategy session with me!
I want to restate that I am not a medical doctor and this should not be construed as medical advice or substitute for medical advice. This information is provided to support health. Please discuss these suggestions with your doctor. Usually, I include citations from research studies to back up my statements in these blog articles. At the time of publishing this post, I wanted to get the material out without taking the time to include citations. If you are interested in more information or the scientific data behind my tips, please go to www.google.com or https://scholar.google.com and enter the tip into the search bar.
