First of all, what is inflammation? When your body is under attack in some way, it responds with inflammation. When you sustain an injury, have an infection or perhaps eat something that you’re intolerant to, inflammation is part of your body’s immune response.

Inflammation can be a helpful thing because it promotes healing and fights a harmful virus or bacteria. But ongoing, low-grade inflammation leads to a myriad of related health issues that can be disruptive to your daily life.

Sometimes, ongoing inflammation is the result of a chronic disease; we won’t be delving into that cause in this article. Today, we’re examining the chronic, low-grade inflammation that stems from lifestyle elements such as diet, activity levels and stress management.

DIET

Sugar: Research shows that sugar is a common cause of chronic, low-grade inflammation. Eliminating or significantly limiting your intake of foods with added sugar should help control the presence of inflammation.

Gut bacteria: Studies suggest that a gut microbiota that’s out of balance can trigger inflammation. Incorporating pre/probiotics into your diet is a simple way to restore the balance and ensure a bacterial imbalance doesn’t affect your immune response. We recommend incorporating probiotic foods (i.e. fermented foods) and nutritional supplements with added probiotics (i.e. Activated Nutrients Daily Superfood) into your diet.

Anti-inflammatory foods: In addition to eliminating inflammatory foods and fostering the bacteria that can keep your body balanced, there are also foods that fight inflammation. Wholefoods rich in fibre, turmeric, ginger, garlic or omega-3 fatty acids are all natural anti-inflammatories.

ACTIVITY

Numerous studies link exercise to a healthy immune system. Having a healthy immune system means more than just fending off the flu; it also means that your immune system isn’t continuously bombarding your body with low-grade inflammation.

One study, published in Brain, Behaviour and Immunity, found that even a quick 20 minute exercise session at moderate intensity had anti-inflammatory effects. That’s the key take away, but for a detailed break-down of the experiment and its findings, visit Medical News Today.

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Chronic stress can have devastating effects on the body. One study, conducted by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, found that stress has a negative impact on the body’s ability to regulate inflammation. According to the researchers, this is likely because long-term stress “alters the effectiveness of cortisol to regulate the inflammatory response because it decreases tissue sensitivity to the hormone.”

Controlling inflammation is one of the many reasons to incorporate stress management tactics into your life. Over time, stress can profoundly damage your body, so it’s something to start thinking about today.