We are continuing our Top 12 Strategies for staying healthy with our second strategy, reduce inflammation. We all know when we get a cut on our skin that it becomes red and inflamed, this is our body’s response to protect us and heal. The health risk of inflammation is when we have Chronic Inflammation in our body. These signs may be an indicator that our body is chronically inflamed.
- Digestive issues – regularly having digestive issues can indicate chronic inflammation
- Abdominal fat – that spare tire can indicate inflammation
- Insulin resistance – elevated fasting blood glucose or Hgb A1C is an indicator of inflammation and a precursor to Metabolic Syndrome which leads to Diabetes
- Tired all the time – if our body is always trying to correct inflammation it will leave us tired.
- Skin conditions – as our largest organ, skin rash, eczema or blotchiness can indicate inflammation
- Bleeding gums – the gums are the window to the body, bleeding gums can indicate inflammatory gum disease
- Brain Fog – constantly being inflamed can cause us to feel “foggy” or “spacey”
- Puffiness in the face or under the eyes – it’s not just a possible lack of sleep that can create puffy eyes or face, if we are waking to that every day, it is possibly chronic inflammation.
To reduce inflammation, we need to put out the fire by increasing our antioxidant consumption. To do this, we need to increase our consumption of fruits and vegetables. Eat largely plant-based meals (75% from plants, preferably non-starchy) and choosing animal protein sources that are pasture-raised and/or grass fed. A Vitamin C source (probably the most well-known antioxidant) should be included every day. Visit my website for more information on reducing inflammation and including more antioxidants in our daily meals.
