Acute inflammation is a normal and beneficial physiological response to life’s little insults. But chronic inflammation is known to lead to many disabling conditions ranging from acne to autoimmune disorders. One can minimize chronic inflammation by managing four major causes. 1. Eat an Anti-inflammatory Diet This is a simple but not necessarily easy practice. Like everything else, we are habitual animals and have developed long standing habits of eating certain kinds of foods. In order to reduce inflammation in our bodies, we have to consider what we are putting into our bodies that cause an inflammatory reaction. Simply put: SUGAR, WHEAT & DAIRY are know to increase inflammation in the body. Eating too much of these foods on a regular basis will lead to dangerous chronic inflammation. 2. Fill up on Fiber Multiple scientific experiments have proven that eating plenty of fiber, in the form of foods containing lots of fiber (ie. leafy greens and legumes) as well as nutritional fiber supplements (psyllium husk, etc.), is tremendously beneficial to our gut bacteria. Those bacteria are key to a healthy immune system as well as lowering the body’s inflammatory response. 3. Make Anti-inflammatory Spices staples in your diet
Eating foods spiced with a generous amount of turmeric can improve inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and other metabolic syndromes, even anxiety. Adding black pepper can enhance the beneficial effects of turmeric by up to 2000 percent! Garlic and ginger are also both rank highly on the anti-inflammatory index. 4. Have a Healthy Stress Management Plan Inflammation isn’t just caused by food. Chronic stress is also associated with inflammation and many other health issues. A regular and well balanced exercise and meditation regiment (ie. Chi Gong and Tai Chi) is just as important as a healthy and balanced diet.
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Mark is a Qi Gong and Tai Chi instructor and gives classes and private lessons in Carmel Valley, CA Archives
November 2020
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