Inflammation

Everyone who has had a sore throat, rash, hives or a sprained ankle knows about inflammation. Those are normal appropriate responses of our defense system to infection or trauma. We need inflammation to survive. 

The trouble occurs when that defense system runs out of control as a rebel army bent on destroying its own country. Most people are familiar with overactive immune responses and too much inflammation in common conditions like allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune disease, or asthma. But few people know that hidden inflammation run amok is at the root of all chronic illness: heart disease, obesity, diabetes, dementia, depression, cancer, and even autism.

We may feel healthy, but if this inflammation is raging inside of us, then we have a problem. So what is the best way to control inflammation while we’re still upstream? First, identify the triggers and causes of inflammation, and then help the body’s natural immune balance reset by providing the right conditions for it to thrive.  

Everyone is treating the downstream effects of inflammation, instead of addressing the cause: multiple problems that are really linked together by inflammation. 

Causes of inflammation:
1. Poor diet: mostly sugar, refined flours, processed foods, and inflammatory fats such as trans- and saturated fats
2. Lack of exercise
3. Stress
4. Hidden or chronic infections with viruses, bacteria, yeast, or parasites
5. Hidden allergens from food or the environment
6. Toxins such as mercury and pesticides
7. Mold toxins (mycotoxins) and allergens 

Once you figure out the cause and get rid of it, how do you live an anti-inflammatory lifestyle? Here are 7 disarmingly simple, but extraordinarily effective ways: 
1. Eat a whole-food, high fiber, plant-based diet which is inherently anti-inflammatory 
2. Eat healthy fats from olive oil, nuts, avocados, and omega 3 fats from small fish like sardines, herring, sable, and wild salmon 
3. Exercise 
4. Learn to actively relax to engage your vagus nerve, the powerful nerve that relaxes your whole body and lowers inflammation, by doing yoga, meditation, deep breathing, or even taking a hot bath 
5. If you have food allergies, find out what they are, and stop eating them 
6. Take probiotics (“good bacteria”) daily to help your digestion to improve the healthy bacteria in your gut which reduces inflammation 
7. Take a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement which helps reduce inflammation