Inflammation of the body: what solutions to remedy it?
Have you ever complained of chronic joint pain ? Do you experience intestinal or abdominal pain on a fairly regular basis? Do you have skin problems?
These various symptoms often reflect the sign of an autoinflammatory reaction. There are many factors that can induce and increase the risk of developing this type of reaction.
What are they and how to fix them? That's the whole point of this article!
What is inflammation?
Have you ever noticed redness on your skin when you might have cut yourself? A pinkish to red color, usually accompanied by swelling and a feeling of warmth due to a splinter? This is called an inflammatory reaction.
When these sensations last a few hours, everything is normal! It's a sign that your body is functioning perfectly well.
This reaction is a natural and automatic process triggered by our body to defend itself and heal itself against an attack (infections, illnesses, injuries, foreign bodies).
Faced with this danger, the body will mount an army of soldiers to protect itself. It will begin producing more white blood cells, immune cells, and cytokines to fight infections. This is what causes the symptoms I mentioned at the beginning. This phenomenon is called acute inflammation.
“Intelligent, you might say?” Yes, of course! Our body is a marvelous machine!
When this process continues for several weeks or months, things become much less fun. This is called chronic inflammation. This is exactly what happens with stress. Acute stress is vital because it allows us to move, to flee from danger, and it is thanks to it that the human species has been able to survive to this day. But long-term stress that becomes chronic is absolutely not your friend!
Chronic inflammation is like chronic stress; it's best to avoid it and limit it. And we'll tell you how.
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How to recognize an inflammatory reaction?
Acute inflammation
This reaction is characterized by redness, swelling, fairly sharp and intense pain, and warmth in the area affected by the inflammation. Typically, this is what happens when you get bitten by a mosquito. It's red, itchy, and may swell (depending on your sensitivity).
Chronic inflammation
This reaction is sneaky because it starts out silent. You see that sandal you're so excited to slip into when the warmer weather arrives. That beautiful pair of shoes that seem to fit you perfectly. But after a few hours of walking, you start to feel a little pain, which is completely bearable. Until you develop a blister that will make it impossible to walk at all.
Chronic inflammation is silent at first; it doesn't say anything. That's why we continue in this "bad" direction because we're not aware of it! But it settles in comfortably and one day, it too will rear its ugly head.
Recurrent abdominal pain, skin problems (such as rashes), menstrual pain in women, vision problems. But also diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, intestinal disorders, and certain cancers.
An inflamed body is a risk factor for developing health problems. Isn't it time to smother that little flame before it burns out?
Where does chronic inflammation come from?
Chain reactions, uncontrolled, silent at first, then painful and persistent later... This is exactly the definition of chronic inflammation.
So-called chronic inflammation can last for several months or even years if you do nothing to prevent it from developing. Imagine your car traveling at 130 km/h for days and days without stopping. It's very likely that at first everything is fine. Then you reach reserve and at the same time the engine light tells you that it's overheating. But you persist and keep driving. What do you think is happening? Your car is not operating in the "normal" context for which it was designed. And it's guaranteed to break down! It's exactly the same with your own machine, your body.
An unsuitable diet, overactivity, intense and lasting emotions such as chronic stress, or even possible nutritional deficiencies are all factors that will cause your body to overheat. After a certain time, a duration that varies depending on the stressors and your state of vitality, your body risks giving up. The pains that were dormant yesterday are now reawakened but still bearable until they become too intense to live with...
But let's stay optimistic! We have several solutions to offer you to integrate into your daily life to improve your lifestyle and reduce the risk of developing chronic inflammation.
Our 3 tips to limit inflammation in your body
Tip #1: Limit pro-inflammatory foods
It is made up of what are called pro-inflammatory foods, that is to say foods which tend to keep the flame lit or even rekindle it.
We are talking here:
• cow’s dairy products: yogurts, white cheese, milk and cheeses.
• meats, especially red meats, which disrupt the body's acid-base balance by making it acidic. This acidification of the tissues promotes their inflammation.
• saturated, processed and hydrogenated fats found in processed and ultra-processed foods such as: pizza, burgers, ready meals, industrial cakes, chips etc. Also processed products called “healthy” and “gluten-free”.
• industrial sugars which are also found in ultra-processed products but also white sugar.
Consumed occasionally, these foods won't be problematic. But consumed regularly or daily, they'll act like alcohol being put on a fire!
Our solution: To avoid them, be sure to read the ingredient list carefully, keeping it as short as possible. Also, remember that ingredients are listed in descending order of presence. In other words, a product whose ingredient list begins with sugar or palm oil isn't a good sign...
Tip #2: Choose an anti-inflammatory diet
Unlike pro-inflammatory foods, these will smother the flame and thus limit inflammatory reactions. Here is a short list of the main anti-inflammatory foods to consume regularly:
- Eat raw, unprocessed foods that are as natural as possible.
- Consume foods rich in antioxidants such as: red fruits (blackberries, blueberries, bilberries), apples, green tea, beets, broccoli, red grapes, goji berries, spinach, cabbage, and celery. In short, as many fruits and vegetables as possible. To increase your portions of fresh vegetables, you can try vegetable juices, real vitamin and nutrient bombs which, unlike meat, will alkalize the body and therefore help maintain an optimal acid-base balance. A glass of fresh vegetable juice every day is the ultimate anti-inflammatory gesture!
- Consume foods rich in omega 3 to counterbalance the excess of more inflammatory omega 6, such as: walnuts, flax seeds, chia seeds, small oily fish.
- Consume cold-pressed, organic, virgin vegetable oils rich in omega-3, such as: linseed oil, rapeseed oil, walnut oil, camelina oil, or hemp oil. These oils should be kept in the refrigerator and consumed as seasonings because omega-3s are not resistant to heat or light. If you do not eat small oily fish, you can consume 1 to 2 tablespoons per day of one of these oils of your choice to maximize your omega-3 intake.
- Choose semi-whole or whole grains instead of their refined white version: wholemeal flour, wholemeal or semi-wholemeal rice, buckwheat, quinoa, rye, wholemeal semolina, millet, spelt, etc.
- Consume spices like turmeric regularly! It's an essential spice for reducing inflammation thanks to its anti-inflammatory active ingredient: curcumin. Consider combining it with a little pepper or ginger for proper absorption. Much more effective than ibuprofen! We recommend trying golden milk, a comforting hot drink made from turmeric, which makes it a delicious and anti-inflammatory beverage.
We regularly observe an imbalance of lipids in our diet. Very often, our eating habits lead us to consume too much omega 6 and, conversely, not enough omega 3. It can sometimes be difficult to consume enough, especially when you are vegetarian or vegan.
In summary, to reduce the risk of developing a chronic inflammatory reaction, the equation is relatively simple: limit the consumption of pro-inflammatory foods and integrate anti-inflammatory foods into your diet daily.
Tip #3: Take action on chronic stress
Chronic inflammation induces physiological stress in our bodies. But it also works the other way around. Yet, who among you hasn't felt overwhelmed? Overwhelmed? Moody? Exhausted? If that's you, don't miss this last piece of advice.
It is well known that our current lifestyle is a source of stress. We increasingly live in polluted environments, in environments conditioned by speed and reactivity with the famous “action/reaction” that everyone knows so well.
Chronic nervous stress reignites this little flame that grows day after day. Here are some tips to help you learn how to better accept your stress, experience your emotions, and thus smother the flame of inflammation that lies dormant within you.
Learn to relax
- Make “stops” in your life: reduce the use of the famous To Do List, which is beneficial for organization but can also have its limits if used excessively... We advise you to focus on 3 to 4 tasks maximum in your day so as not to let yourself be overwhelmed by this desire to do too much, which can make you feel very guilty.
- Practice regular physical activity that you enjoy. You don't need to run a marathon every day! Get your body moving like yoga, Pilates, walking, swimming, or even gardening! Just 20 to 30 minutes of movement a day will be very beneficial for your body and mind.
- Reconnect a little more with nature, and do so in an awakened way. Nature has a powerful healing power over us that we are far too unaware of.
- Try guided meditation or meditation on your own: 5 to 10 minutes of meditation per day will do you a lot of good! Apps like 7Mind, Petit Bambou, and Meditopia offer very interesting guided meditations and visualization exercises.
- Really breathe! Try cardiac coherence, for example, which is an excellent tool for reducing blood pressure. Apps like RespireLax are very useful for guiding us through the correct breathing rhythm.
- Do stretches in the evening before going to bed or in the morning when you get up, in a calm and subdued atmosphere.
Some anti-stress plants
In aromatherapy, you have essential oils of sweet orange, true lavender, and bitter orange, which help regulate the effects of stress. You can diffuse them in your living room or bedroom, 30 minutes before bedtime.
In herbal medicine, some plants can be consumed as an infusion throughout the day, such as: valerian, passionflower, linden, lotus flowers, hawthorn, bay leaf, poppy, St. John's wort.
Plants and essential oils are powerful. Don't hesitate to contact a therapist (naturopath and/or aromatherapist) to guide you on which ones to use depending on your situation.
Conclusion
Now you're ready to take back the reins and extinguish the flame of inflammation while rekindling the flame of your heart. Don't hesitate to adopt the baby steps method: choose just a few actions to implement. Once they're firmly established, you can then move on to others. Graduation and patience are the keys to natural health.
Alexandra Portal
Naturopath - Natural health coach
