What is inflammation?
Inflammation is your bodies normal response to injury, infection, or any harmful substance that it encounters.
We’ve all experienced it in some form like stubbing your toe or getting a papercut and the swelling, redness, and pain that come with it.
When tissues are injured, our immune system releases chemicals like histamine and prostaglandins, which recruit blood flow to the injured area to protect and heal it (1).
This is your immune system’s defense mechanism to protect your body and kickstart the healing process.
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What is chronic inflammation?
While this immediate and localized response is essential for healing, constant inflammation can be extremely harmful.
It is the chronic, low level inflammation that is a common cause of many inflammatory diseases that are so common today such as heart disease, neurodegenerative disease, cancer, and arthritis (2).
These diseases are the result of low level, chronic inflammation in our bodies that create mild and largely undetectable daily symptoms.
When we ignore these symptoms, the inflammation over time can lead to serious diseases. This is the difference between good (acute) inflammation and bad (chronic) inflammation.
What causes chronic inflammation?
There are so many pollutants in the air, in our food, and in our everyday products that we use. Our body recognizes these toxins and starts a response to fight them. The problem is that we encounter these things every day, leading to constant inflammation. To top all of this off, our stressful lives aren’t helping the problem.
- Inflammatory diet
The food that you eat is directly related to the level of inflammation in your body and there are a lot of inflammatory ingredients that you may be eating on a regular basis. When you eat something that you’re body disagrees with, your gut triggers an inflammatory response. When this happens over time, more and more toxins are released into your blood causing the inflammation to spread.
While everyone reacts differently to foods, the most common inflammatory food culprits include gluten, dairy, trans fats, and sugar.
You should also pay attention to the quality of the food that you eat. It’s great to eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and lean protein, but conventional produce and meat can be loaded with pesticides and pumped with hormones. Thankfully, Detox Organics uses 100% organic ingredients and is loaded with anti-inflammatory vegetables, fruits, herbs, and plants.
- Environmental toxins
We are exposed to pollutants every day that our bodies have to protect us from. For those of us living in more urban environments, just walking outside can create an inflammatory response (3). This is why it’s so important to support your body with nourishing foods so that it has the tools to remove these toxins and fight off free radicals.
- Too little exercise
We all know that exercise and diet are the two most effective tools we have to better our health and it does a great job at combating inflammation.
One study found that people who were sedentary had a lot higher level of a chronic inflammatory marker (CRP) than those who exercise (4).
A recent study found that just 20 minutes of exercise per day can protect against chronic conditions with low-grade inflammation (5).
- Stress overload
Stress plays a huge role in inflammation. When our body is exposed to constant stress, we actually lose the ability to regulate the inflammatory response (6). Cortisol is our stress hormone that is partially involved in regulating inflammation, but high levels can also cause inflammation.
When cortisol is chronically elevated, our body becomes desensitized to it and it can no longer do its job.
Signs of inflammation
Chronic inflammation can be sneaky. It shows up in many ways that can easily go unnoticed. If you have any of the symptoms below, be sure to take steps to put out the flames before spreads into a massive wildfire.
- Digestive stress: bloating, diarrhea, constipation, gas
These symptoms of digestive stress are a sure sign that you have something wrong with your gut. Inflammation in the gut is often leaked into the bloodstream, causing more widespread inflammation (7). If you frequently feel bloated after a meal, this is a sign that there is inflammation in your gut.
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- You have achy joints
Do you wake up in the morning with sore joints or feel a constant ache in your joints? When chronic inflammation is present, you have inflammatory chemicals traveling in your blood. These chemicals can enter our joints and cause localized inflammation (7).
- You have skin issues like acne, eczema, skin redness, itchy skin
Inflammation is most visibly detectable through the skin. Whether caused by foods we ingest or skin products we use, your skin will tell you when something is wrong. Psoriasis is becoming more and more common and researchers are seeing a strong link between psoriasis and inflammatory conditions (8).
- You’re always tired
Do you feel like no matter what you do, you are constantly low on energy? This chronic fatigue is often related to low-grade inflammation in the body (7). Studies show that people with chronic fatigue have significantly higher amounts of inflammatory markers in the blood (9).
- You have excess abdominal weight
Can’t seem to get rid of that excess weight around your belly? It could be because your body is in a constant state of inflammation. This is a type of fat is known as visceral fat, which is fat that surrounds your organs.
These fat cells actually secrete inflammatory cells causing a hotbed of inflammation throughout the body (10).
How to reduce inflammation naturally
Diet is one of the most powerful tools we have to combat inflammation.
By adding healing, anti-inflammatory foods to your diet and removing inflammatory, processed foods, you will start decreasing pro-inflammatory markers in your blood, reducing your risk of developing serious inflammatory diseases, and start looking and feeling like your best self.
Eat more antioxidant rich foods like vegetables, fruits, spices, and whole grains.
Foods that are rich in antioxidants will reduce inflammation by killing off free radicals in your blood and support your liver's detoxification process to get rid of any inflammatory chemicals that are floating around. Keep reading to find out the top 9 anti-inflammatory foods!
Avoid these top 5 inflammatory foods: gluten, sugar, dairy, alcohol, and trans fats/fried foods.
With all of the convenience, packaged foods that we are surrounded with every day, it can be hard to tell what is healthy or unhealthy.
The best rule of thumb is this: if there’s an ingredient on the list that you wouldn’t cook with yourself or have never heard of, don’t eat it!
Food companies love to sneak inflammatory additives, stabilizers, and sugars into their products while still claiming they are healthy or ‘high in fiber’. Don’t fall into the trap!
Now making all these changes might sound intimidating. To make it easier on yourself, have one scoop of Detox Organics Chocolate Superfoods in the morning to boost your immune system and fight inflammation. One scoop is loaded with 10 pounds of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and plants!
Exercise regularly and relax a little!
As mentioned earlier, not getting enough exercise can increase pro-inflammatory markers in your blood. Try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day whether its walking, running, weight lifting, or yoga.
Since stress plays such a huge role on inflammation, it’s super important to take small steps to reduce stress and exercise is an excellent option. Some other simple techniques are deep breathing, spending more time with friends and family, or meditation.
Foods that fight inflammation
To fight inflammation, focus on foods that are rich in antioxidants, fiber, omega-3 fats, and polyunsaturated fats. Here are some top anti-inflammatory foods:
- Green leafy vegetables
- Walnuts
- Broccoli
- Beets
- Blueberries
- Olive oil
- Fatty fish
- Turmeric
- Flaxseed
⚠️ DETOX ORGANICS HAS 10 LBS OF VEGETABLES, FRUITS, HERBS, AND PLANTS PER SCOOP!
Final thoughts
- Acute inflammation is our bodies natural response to injury and helps us heal.
- Chronic low-level inflammation can cause several symptoms that can lead to serious chronic diseases.
- Fight inflammation by eating a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods and removing processed foods. Find time to exercise everyday and find ways to relieve stress.
- Top inflammatory foods: gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol, trans fats/fried foods
- Top anti-inflammatory foods: green leafy vegetables, walnuts, broccoli, beets, blueberries, olive oil, fatty fish, turmeric, flaxseed.
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Resources
- Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0072482/. Accessed January 9th, 2018.
- Murakami M, Hirano T. The molecular mechanisms of chronic inflammation development. Front Immunol. 2012;3:323. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3498841/
- Chuang KJ, Chan CC, Su TC, Lee CT, Tang CS. The effect of urban air pollution on inflammation, oxidative stress, coagulation, and autonomic dysfunction in young adults. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2007;176(4):370-6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17463411
- Esteghamati A, Morteza A, Khalilzadeh O, et al. Physical inactivity is correlated with levels of quantitative C-reactive protein in serum, independent of obesity: results of the national surveillance of risk factors of non-communicable diseases in Iran. J Health Popul Nutr. 2012;30(1):66-72. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22524121
- Dimitrov S, Hulteng E, Hong S. Inflammation and exercise: Inhibition of monocytic intracellular TNF production by acute exercise via β2-adrenergic activation. Brain Behav Immun. 2017;61:60-68. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159116305645
- Available at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120402162546.htm. Accessed January 9th, 2017.
- Louati K, Berenbaum F. Fatigue in chronic inflammation - a link to pain pathways. Arthritis Res Ther. 2015;17:254. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4593220/
- Reich K. The concept of psoriasis as a systemic inflammation: implications for disease management. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2012;26 Suppl 2:3-11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22356630
- Louati K, Berenbaum F. Fatigue in chronic inflammation - a link to pain pathways. Arthritis Res Ther. 2015;17:254. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4593220/
- Available at: https://source.wustl.edu/2007/03/belly-fat-may-drive-inflammatory-processes-associated-with-disease/ . Accessed January 9th, 2018.