I’m guessing that we’ve all heard of inflammation before, but have we really thought about what it does to our bodies? First, let’s define it. The National Cancer Institute defines inflammation as “redness, swelling, pain, and/or a feeling of heat in an area of the body. This is a protective reaction to injury, disease, or irritation of the tissues.” While this rings true, there are actually two different types of inflammation. One type is necessary and the other can lead to many health issues.
Acute Inflammation
This type of inflammation is short term and necessary for the body’s proper healing. For example, if you sprain your ankle, you will experience some redness and swelling in that area, as expressed in the definition above. This is a normal response to an injury and will subside when the healing is complete. That is the key point; the healing is complete and the inflammation will decrease. On the other hand, we have…
Chronic Inflammation
This type of inflammation has more of a long-term response, or low-grade inflammation that can cause serious health problems. It’s a response that lingers around causing the body to be in a constant state of stress. This can lead to chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, autoimmunity and more. There are numerous ways that we can inflame our bodies and most of the time it’s lifestyle related.
Diet
This is likely to be the biggest way we pose inflammation on our bodies. Tune into my next blog post all about high inflammatory foods. It is important to be educated on what a healthy diet looks like so that you are aware of what can and does trigger an inflammatory response. Even if we don’t have an immediate reaction to a certain food, it’s still doing something to the body. I believe this is why chronic inflammation is so prevalent in today’s society. We’ve normalized feeling sick and tired all of the time! This is not normal. I think too many people put up with “symptoms” for too long, until their health is in danger.
In general, eating whole foods is the healthiest way to go. To stay away from processed foods that have added chemicals and preservatives is important too.
Stress
Stress can be both physical and psychological. In either case, chronic stress can have negative consequences on the body. When we are presented with a stressful stimuli, our bodies enter what is called the “Fight or Flight” response. In an instant, after something happens that we perceive as stressful, there are many reactions taking place in us. To briefly summarize a few of the reactions – our digestive system suffers, our muscles tense up, we are producing epinephrine, adrenaline and cortisol, and we experience a rapid heart beat. The body cannot differentiate between a life threatening event (being chased by a bear) or a non-life threatening event (sitting in rush hour traffic), thus the “Fight or Flight” response is the same for either scenario.
Chronic stress is when our body is constantly in this “Fight or Flight” response. We are not able to relax our bodies systems and this can lead to chronic inflammation. It is important that we learn to handle stress well and practice healthy stress-reducing habits such as breathing exercises, prayer, journaling, mindful morning and more.
Chemicals
I’m sorry to say that we live in a huge toxic world, my friends. There are so many toxins and chemicals that we come in contact with at least on a daily basis. Chemicals can be found everywhere including cleaning products, beauty products, processed foods, energy drinks, pharmaceuticals and more. I understand that it is impossible to 100% eliminate your exposure to chemicals, unless you live in a bubble of course. The goal here is to greatly decrease your exposure to them with taking steps such as replacing household cleaning items with more natural and less harsh ingredients; doing research on natural makeup or hygiene products; eliminating processed foods from your diet; and enjoying some fresh air (go for a hike in the woods!).
As a health coach, I put a considerable emphasis on making healthy lifestyle changes that will benefit yours and my health in the long run. I know that I am not going to notice an immediate difference today after using my Coconut Milk Face Wash vs. one filled with parabens and other chemicals in it. It gives me peace of mind, however, knowing that I am giving a conscious effort to eliminate inflammation on my body in any way that I can. Think of it more as taking preventative measures… totally worth it to me!
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