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How To Reduce Inflammation In The Body (And Why You NEED To Do This)!
By Todd | October 25, 2007
When you take a close look at the word ‘disease’, it is interesting to note that its roots are: ‘dis’ and ‘ease’ which reminds us that even the most serious medical conditions started out as a minor malfunction (or dis-ease) in the body.
Most doctors and scientists agree that the initial manifestation of virtually every illness known to man is inflammation in our cells. Therefore it is imperative for us to attain a better understanding of what causes inflammation and integrate lifestyle choices that prevent it from happening!
What is Inflammation?
Inflammation is usually associated with heat, swelling, redness and pain in the body. “Silent inflammation” is the more dangerous version because it falls under the radar screen of our senses, and causes illness to become more prominent without us noticing.
Symptoms (aching back, cough, headaches) are nothing more than the physical manifestation of silent inflammation. By the time we notice symptoms our cells have already been inflamed for quite some time.
Food As Medicine
Nutrition FAR exceeds medicine when it comes to treating and preventing silent inflammation (in fact, there are no “medications” that currently target it)!
Because of this, it can be a life-changing event to begin thinking of your food AS medicine, and intentionally eat foods that not only taste good, or are convenient, but serve a higher purpose for treating the body like a drug!
This is a truly revolutionary concept, and one that can transcend the way you look at your food choices over the long term. Here’s a simple guide of some common foods and how they relate to inflammation:
FATS
Although the word emits a negative connotation, FATS are essential to good health and consuming a fair amount of high quality fats is critical to reducing inflammation in the body.
Most omega-6 fats, found in margarine and corn and safflower oils, are inflammation-causing substances. In contrast omega-3 fats, found in fish (wild salmon, mackerel, sardines and anchovies especially) and vegetables, have an inflammation-suppressing effect.
Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) is an omega-6 fat that enhances the anti- inflammatory effect of omega-3 fats. Both GLA and omega-3 fish oils have been found helpful in arthritis and other inflammatory disorders. GLA is found in leafy green vegetables, olive oil, walnut oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, canola oil, avocados, nut butters and macadamia nuts and (again) have anti-inflammatory properties.
When it comes to getting good fats, I highly recommend taking a high quality fish oil ever day. This can do wonders for your long-term health!
SIMPLE CARBS
One of the reasons inflammation occurs is from a rapid rise in blood sugar, which causes biochemical changes in the cell. Staying away from sugar and high-glycemic (simple) carbohydrates, which the body rapidly converts to sugar, is one of the best ways to decrease inflammation.
When blood sugar goes up rapidly, sugar can attach itself to collagen in a process called “glycosylation,” or the Browning Reaction, increasing inflammation
Good (complex) carbohydrates, which are low on the glycemic index include: apples, apsaragus, beans, broccoli, blackberries, blueberries, cabbage, cantaloupe, citrus fruits, green beans, honeydew melon, kiwi, leafy greens, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, spinach, strawberries
Bad (simple) carbohydrates, which are high on the glycemic index include: bananas, breads, carrots, cereals processed with added sugar, corn, French fries, fruit juices, mangos, pancakes, papaya, pasta, peas, popcorn, white potatoes, white rice, sugar, waffles.
Get Plenty of Antioxidants to Fight Inflammation
One of the greatest things you can do to fight inflammation in the body is to eat foods that are flush with antioxidants, compounds that fight off free-radical cells. Free radicals are the pesky little devils that roam around your blood stream, getting into your tissues, causing damage to cell walls, certain cell structures, and genetic material within the cells.
In the worst case scenario and over a long time period, such damage can become irreversible and lead to disease (like cancer).
In my article The 5 Greatest Foods For Your Health, I talk about a bunch of foods that are very rich in antioxidants, like most forms of berries, raw cacao (chocolate) and leafy green vegetables.
Illnesses Caused by Inflammation
According to Barry Sears MD, author and creator of “The Zone Diet” inflammation can be the impetus for a great number if illnesses including: Arthritis, obesity, type-2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, alzheimer’s, asthma and allergies.
According to Dr. Sears, there are 3 simple stages to disease: Wellness==> silent inflammation==> chronic disease. So the pathway to extended wellness lies in reducing and preventing the quiet irritations that disturb our normal energy flow.
Listening to your body for signs of inflammation is crucial for maintaining long-term health. Start becoming more aware of it, look at food as good tasting medicine, and get some antioxidants in your life!
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Topics: Alternative and Holistic Healing, Nutrition, Health |
I haven’t heard much about inflammation, especially silent inflammation. Yet another good reason to drink coffee! (Coffee in an antioxidant right?)
Posted by: Ian on October 25th, 2007 at 10:46 amTodd, this has been an excellent, informative article!
Posted by: zhereford on October 25th, 2007 at 12:51 pmI wasn’t fully aware of the causes and implications of inflammation.
yeah, about that coffee, the world’s favorite fruit — not so fast. research shows coffee drinkers have higher rates of inflammation and less than a single cup or so (6oz) causes inflammation.
www.teeccino.com/consumerheart.aspx
arthritis, and very many manifestations of pain is greatly exacerbated by inflammation.
check your medicine cabinet and you’ll likely find that the majority of analgesics work, at least in part, by reducing inflammation.
Posted by: dotfoot on October 25th, 2007 at 2:32 pmThanks Z and Ian– glad you enjoyed this story!
Posted by: Todd on October 26th, 2007 at 9:32 amGreat info! Thanks.
Posted by: kathylynn on October 26th, 2007 at 11:17 amThanks Kathylynn! Much appreciated…
Posted by: Todd on October 26th, 2007 at 11:26 amhey dotfoot…didnt see your comment there until mjust now, but great points and thanks for sharing! (I do have to admit though, I did just have a cup of coffee
Posted by: Todd on October 26th, 2007 at 1:37 pmI’m sorry, but I would NEVER consider a website devoted to selling a coffee substitute as a source of factual information about coffee. Anymore than I would consider a sugar company a good source of information about sugar! Facts are easily and slickly misrepresented on such sites.
Posted by: F. Dalton on November 6th, 2007 at 5:40 pmThanks for the comment F Dalton, and I am assuming you are referring NOT to my article about inflammation, but to the comment made from “dotfoot” about coffee and its substitute…? Just making sure, thanks!
Posted by: Todd on November 6th, 2007 at 5:58 pmInflammation actually serves a great purpose in our bodies, without which, our lives may not be possible. When an infectious substance breaches our skin, for example, immune cells rush to that area in order to fight the microbe and ensure our healthiness. However, chronic inflammation, such as arthritis, is not really good for us at all. In fact, in some diseases, such as Helicobacter pylori infection, chronic inflammation is considered to be one of the main causes of cancer.
Posted by: Nuruddeen on December 23rd, 2007 at 2:04 amNuruddeen– Thanks for the comment…and yes, since our bodies are constantly in contact with foreign substances, our immune system is contantly fighting off illness and disease; the result of which often causes some type of inflammatory response (like a red mark on our skin, for example).
But in this article, I was really talking about “silent inflammation”; or the kind which is beneath the surface of noticeability. Silent inflammation is always the first reaction our bodies create to ANY disease…and it is therefore important to understand how to stop it from occurring!! That is the point I was really trying to make.
Thanks again for the comment Nuruddeen!
Posted by: Todd on December 23rd, 2007 at 11:53 amTodd
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Posted by: tlqgw on February 1st, 2008 at 2:09 pmHi Todd I was really interested to read in your article that high sugar content in the blood causes inflammation. I am a Type Two Diabetic and have flare ups of pain in my tissue hips, legs especially. I will try harder to keep the sugar levels even to see if this makes a difference.Thanks Roberta
Posted by: Roberta Bray on March 14th, 2008 at 9:41 pmHi Roberta– I must tell you, that in my experience type II diabetes is almost 100% preventable through nutrition and lifestyle choices. In my training as a health counselor we saw case study after case study which showed how a shift in habits eliminates this ailment. I am glad this article helped…and let me know if you would like some more information!
Posted by: Todd on March 15th, 2008 at 12:48 pmTodd
Dear Editors,
I am involved in the teaching of immunology, I liked the picture at the top of Todd’s article and I would like to ask permission to use it.
In case you grant the permission, could please tell me how i will reference the picture.
Thank you
Dr. Maria Hatzistilianou
Posted by: Maria Hatzistilianou on April 2nd, 2008 at 3:19 pmPediartician - Immunologist
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Great information! I’m allergic to all berries. Can you suggest a substitute?
Posted by: Yvonne on June 3rd, 2008 at 9:19 pmI wanted to ask I have a raised inflammed itchy rash on my left forearm, that will not clear up, I know I’m not a diabetic. And I don’t eat simple carbohydrates. So can you please tell me what can be causing this. I do have arthritis on my knees-surgery x3 each. I was a 5 mile jogger before my knee injuries/surgeries,which I no longer jog. So can you advice what I can do. Thanks
Posted by: Enid on August 4th, 2008 at 9:52 pmEnid