WAYS TO MANAGE INFLAMMATION

/
 

Inflammation can arguably be underlying the root of most, if not all, chronic disease. I even find it to be a culprit for most hair and skin concerns! So in my practice, I use one of the basic tenants of naturopathic medicine: removing the obstacle to cure which often comes in the form of identifying the triggers for inflammation and removing them to allow the body to start healing itself.

So what is inflammation? It is a process that happens to help protect your body from infection, illness or injury. When your body is trying to fight infections, more immune cells are produced as part of the inflammatory response. It is essential for survival but that chronic, or ongoing, inflammatory chemical signaling is what is problematic and can lead to or manifest as:

  • fatigue

  • weight gain/loss

  • joint pain

  • allergies

  • skin disorders such as eczema, psoriasis

  • sleep disruption

  • gas/bloating/constipation/diarrhea

  • mood changes

  • hairloss

  • acne

  • decreased tolerance to certain foods aka food sensitivities

  • development of autoimmune disease

  • hormone imbalances

  • PMS

  • accelerated aging (internal and external!)

    ETC

And for the most part, inflammation is something you can control by modifying your diet and lifestyle. Common triggers include

  • gluten! -we can talk more about gluten in another post but basically there’s value in avoiding gluten (but not in buying processed, gluten-free versions of everything ..such as donuts or cake. Sorry to burst your bubble but gluten free donuts *aren’t* health foods

  • dairy

  • sugar

  • conventional meat 

  • fragrances and chemicals in various household supplies and cosmetics 

  • and something less commonly addressed with regard to inflammation: chronic stress and suppressed emotions 

Therapeutic supplementation can also be beneficial. (But of course, they will work best if you incorporate change in your daily life primarily!) These are some general nutrients that can be helpful for general inflammation however, as mentioned it is important to identify the source causing inflammation as well.

  1. Turmeric

  2. Quercitin, antioxidants

  3. High quality fish oil with high levels of EPA

  4. B6

  5. Magnesium

  6. CoQ10

See below for some of my favorites.

How do you know if you’re inflamed? Well you might be experiencing some of the symptoms mentioned above. You can also have your doctor run a lab marker called CRP which assesses inflammation.

If you’d like to work together to tackle some of your health goals, feel free to email for more information.