You may be wondering How Can I reduce Chronic inflammation? So, in todays article we are going to share with you eight tips to reduce the damaging effects of chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is linked to depression, anxiety, autoimmunity, gastrointestinal problems, hormone imbalances, heart disease and cancer. Identifying inflammation and getting inflammation under control is essential if you want to regain control of your health. Here are eight ways to naturally address inflammation, when you or a loved one suffers from a chronic health problem.

1. Maintain Healthy Blood sugar and Insulin levels.

Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels, preventing insulin resistance is one way you can reduce chronic inflammation. More and more studies show the link between chronically elevated Glucose/Insulin levels with chronic inflammation. If you are overweight, struggle with diabetes or prediabetes you are at great risk for inflammation.

Consuming foods like refined carbohydrates on a regular basis can quickly cause a surge in your blood sugar and Insulin Levels. Do this often enough and you have the perfect recipes for an ongoing inflammatory response.

In previous articles, I talked about chronic inflammation and insulin and how it creates a vicious cycle of weight gain. If you are not already following an anti-inflammatory diet start this today.

2. Support the Gut Microbiome.

The microbiome is another key area that when neglected can lead to a state of chronic inflammation. Processed fast foods that are overloaded with sugars, unhealthy fats, and refined carbohydrates wreak havoc on the integrity of the microbiome triggering chronic inflammation. Prebiotics, probiotics and post biotics along with an anti-inflammatory diet can help improve the health of the GI tract. If you have a history of IBS or inflammatory bowel disease, leaky gut, or SIBO- correcting or improving these intestinal disorders of the gut will go along way in reducing the stress and inflammation on the gut microbiome.

3. Maintain Healthy Hormone Balance

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women and there is a strong link between menopause and an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease. Studies suggest that postmenopausal hormone therapy aimed at restoring hormone balance can reduce cardiovascular disease risk by about half. Much of this reduction is believed to be rooted in the the unique relationship hormones have with chronic inflammation.

Hormone imbalances create a vicious cycle that needs to be tackled head on if you want to get well. When you have hormonal imbalances, you will develop inflammation and the more inflammation you have the more hormone imbalances you will suffer from. So this cycle needs to be broken.

As mentioned, chronic inflammation not only causes heart disease it can also cause or exacerbate thyroid disease, endometriosis, diabetes, osteoporosis, weight gain and acne. Women are most vulnerable to inflammation during puberty, pregnancy, and perimenopause. This is why symptoms intensify during these stages in a woman’s life. Since the level of any one hormone influences other hormones,

Imbalances in any of the major Sex hormones like Testosterone, DHEA, Estrogen, Progesterone can cause widespread chronic inflammation.

Interestingly enough, back in the 1950 and 1960s, androgens started to be used as doping because of its anabolic effects. The loss of androgens during aging was linked to muscle and bone loss. In addition, testosterone increases insulin sensitivity, and androgen deficiency is linked to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Addressing these hormone imbalances by using test like the DUTCH test is one more things you can do to help reduce Chronic inflammation.

4. Avoid or Minimize Exposure to Synthetic Chemicals

Understanding all the different ways inflammation affects your health is important. Household Cleaning chemicals including synthetic chemicals can be a big driver of chronic inflammation especially for those who have an autoimmune disease. Our bodies are being bombarded daily with not only personal care products and cleaning supplies but from synthetic materials found in our household carpets, furniture, flooring, paint, food storage containers and the list goes on.

It is reported that nearly 26% of the population reports some sort of chemical sensitivity. People who suffer with Fibromyalgia, CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) and Chronic fatigue appear to be more likely to experience Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Minimizing your exposure to these synthetic materials is one step in the right direction at minimizing the immune- inflammatory reaction that takes place. Learn more about how we test for chemical sensitivity and some of the most toxic house hold chemicals here.

5. Maintain A Healthy Weight By Following an Anti-Inflammatory diet

If you want to stop chronic inflammation in your body, eliminating inflammatory foods and losing weight will have a profound impact.  The foods we eat either drive inflammation or they equip your body with the means of fighting inflammation. Being overweight by as little as 20 pounds puts you at greater risk of developing insulin resistance and Metabolic Syndrome. The more insulin resistant you become, the more weight you put on. Being overweight also causes fat cells to become inflamed by increasing another hormone called IGF-1.

6. Exercise

It’s no secret that regular exercise has health benefits, including weight control, strengthening the heart, bones and muscles and reducing the risk of certain diseases.

A  study published in Brain, Behavior and Immunity , found one 20-minute session of moderate exercise can stimulate the immune system, producing an anti-inflammatory cellular response.

But what about over exercising? Over-exercising, can create increased markers of chronic inflammation. When you over-train, you can become systemically inflamed in the process. The stress remains, and the inflammation will not subside.

7. Reduce Emotional Stress

Stress can be internal or external. Psychological stress manifesting in the form of panic attacks, rapid heart rate, or night sweats, Insomnia, RLS is a sign of adrenal dysregulation. One of the most important hormones made by the adrenal glands is cortisol. Cortisol is your body’s general “fight or flight” hormone, kicking in whenever the adrenal glands respond to a threat or stressor.

An increase in cortisol results in dilated blood vessels, increased blood flow to your heart and decreases blood flow to your digestive system. With persistent stress or perceived persistent stress, the adrenal glands and immune system are constantly in overdrive, causing Chronic Inflammation and gastrointestinal disorders like leaky gut and bacterial overgrowth.

It’s important to understand that the parts of your brain that sense pain also responds to social and mental stress.

8. Take Nutritional Supplements

There’s no shortage of incredible foods that help your body fight inflammation. But beyond following an anti-inflammatory diet, supplements can be a powerful tool in helping you lower inflammation. The best supplements for inflammation are going to be things like Alpha lipoic acid, Skull Cap Root Extract, Bee Propolis, Turmeric Root, Resveratrol, Fish oil, Quercetin, vitamin D, magnesium, melatonin, quercetin, bromelain, proteolytic enzymes and Boswellia Serrata.

If you are looking to calm the inflammation in the gut, I highly recommend InflammaCore

Final thoughts

Long standing Inflammation is a common denominator with many, if not all chronic disease. Unfortunately, many of the medications prescribed for chronic inflammation carry risk and multiple side effects. Since chronic inflammation can have multiple causes such as gut dysbiosis, Leaky Gut, SIBO, Adrenal fatigue, hormone imbalances, mold, multiple chemical sensitivity, immune system dysregulation- Truly addressing chronic inflammation can take time- so don’t give up.

The most effective method to address chronic inflammation is to use a multipronged approach that entails baseline testing, anti-inflammatory diet followed by retesting and lastly exercise.

This multipronged approach to inflammation can be lifechanging. Correcting chronic inflammation will leave you healthier, happier, leaner, more energy and motivation to live your life to the fullest.