A No Nonsense Approach to Fighting Inflammation in The Body

Posted: Sep 09, 2010 |Comments: 0 |

The topic of fighting inflammation is one that seems to be coming up more and more lately as the world of medicine begins to recognize that reducing inflammation in the body could be one of the primary cornerstones for curing disease in the future. It this article we will take a journey through the inflammatory process and then explore a few ways of fighting inflammation both safely and effectively from a natural health prospective. So if you have a few minutes to spare why don't we get started.

What are we fighting anyway?

Do you have an old knee injury that hurts every time you try to become more active? What about a food allergy that flares up from time to time? What about eating that spicy food even though you know your acid reflux will probably flare up? Or what about that tiny paper cut that became irritated and red, required a dab of your favorite topical antibiotic to facilitate the healing process? These are all examples of inflammation.

A narrowly defined description of inflammation would go something like this; A redness, swelling, heat, and pain in a tissue that  comes from the body's protective response to chemicals, physical injury, or to infection. In a nutshell inflammation is an immune reaction which triggers a flood of white blood cells into the infected or damaged area.

So far so good, after all without this response the body would be vulnerable to all kinds of diseases, conditions, and ailments. But it seems the reason why inflammation can become so problematic is that as we age our bodies become less proficient at knowing when to shut down the inflammatory process.

The bottom line is more aches and pains, slower healing, a weaken immune system, and more inflammation.

Other factors such as smoking, genetics, or diseases such as atherosclerosis, can make matters worse.

What can you do to diffuse this ticking time bomb?

*Be smart about dietary fats: The primary group of hormones that trigger the inflammatory process are known as prostaglandins. The body needs fatty acids to produce these hormones. The dietary fats which seem to cause us the most trouble are trans fats, saturated fats, and triglycerides. To avoid fueling the flames of an overly zealous immune response we should limit these types of fats.

Fats to limit are full fat dairy, buttery spreads which are solid at room temperature, coconut oil, safflower oil, all hydrogenated oils, organ meats, and processed meats.

Foods containing  either healthy or neutral fats (polyunsaturated or monosaturated) that are worth including in any diet designed specifically for fighting inflammation include canola oil, avocado oils, flax, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, tofu, along with soy products. 

*Get fishy: Have you heard the terms DHA or EPA discussed lately? While you may, or may not, have heard these terms you probably have heard something about omega 3 fatty acids of which DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) are two of the most important.

These extremely healthful omega 3 fatty acids are found in abundance in cold water fatty fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel) and are thought to work directly to reverse inflammation in the body. At last count there were over 60 diseases and conditions that consuming between seven and nine hundred milligrams of DHA/EPA daily are thought to help. The amount needed is equivalent to 2 servings of cold water fatty fish a week. If fish is not appealing, not readily accessible, or simply too expensive,  fish oil supplements could be an option worth considering.

Other tips for fight inflammation include not smoking, steering clear of secondhand smoke, not heating food at temperatures of over 250 degrees for long periods of time, recognizing and eliminating food sensitivities, exercising regularly, and reducing stress.

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