Inflammation Station

Inflammation.

This word is thrown around a lot, but what is inflammation and what do we do about it?

Inflammation is basically your body's response to threat. It's how we fight infection, kick start our immune system, and provide protection. Too much inflammation in the body can be negative and cause a variety of issues including joint pain or digestive problems. Chronic inflammation can also be a sign of an autoimmune disorder.

Inflammation can be caused from a variety of things. Typically with acute inflammation we know the stressor - we got a cut on our toe or we touched poison ivy. Chronic inflammation may be a little trickier to get to the root of. Here are some common reasons for chronic inflammation:

• diet - probably the most common

• long term exposure to chemicals

• autoimmune disorder

• untreated acute inflammation

Diet is a major contributor to inflammation (as well as lifestyle). Inflammation can be a sign of a food allergy or sensitivity that you may not even be aware of. If you feel like you're experiencing more inflammation than normal or any of the symptoms above try an anti-inflammatory diet for a days (or weeks).

An anti-inflammatory diet is pretty much a Mediterranean diet which consists of:

• fatty fresh wild caught fish

• fresh fruits and vegetables

• lots of healthy fats

• moderate amount of nut

try and avoid:

• sugar

• processed foods

• greasy foods

• trans fat

• vegetable oil

• processed meat

Other areas that may affect inflammation include stress levels, exercise, and anxiety. Assess your lifestyle as a whole if you feel that you're dealing with unnecessary inflammation.

My favorite resource for inflammation information is Dr. Will Cole's book The Inflammation Spectrum. He provides a quiz you can take to see where your inflammation is, what foods might be causing the inflammation, and a sample meal plan for an elimination diet to figure out what might be triggering your inflammation.