An inflammatory response is the most common way our body uses to fight against injury or infection and heal itself. But this could turn out to be detrimental to your health if it becomes chronic.
Since chronic inflammation can last for a week, month, or even years, it could result in several health issues.
However, certain ways can not only help you decrease the inflammation but also boost your well-being.
In the article, we have highlighted the causes of chronic inflammation, the importance of following a diet, food items you should and shouldn’t eat, and other tips to deal with it.
Before we take a look at the causes, let’s understand what inflammation is
As mentioned earlier, inflammation is one way of your body to protect and heal itself from an injury, infection, or illness.
When the inflammatory response of your body is activated, it raises the production of immune cells, and substances like cytokines and white blood cells to fight against infection.
Usual symptoms of short-term (acute) inflammation are quite visible and include:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Heat
- Redness
But when it comes to long-term (chronic) inflammation, the symptoms are not noticeable since they occur within the body. This inflammation can result in health problems like fatty liver disease, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
Chronic/long-term inflammation can happen even to individuals who are obese or under a lot of stress.
When checking for inflammation in your body, doctors usually test certain aspects of your blood like its homocysteine, IL-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), and TNK alpha.
Causes of Inflammation
Certain factors of your lifestyle, normally your recurring habits, can cause inflammation. This includes consuming massive amounts of high-fructose and sugar syrup, which is also a major cause of obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes.
Eating packaged and processed food items containing trans-fat is equally responsible for causing inflammation and damaging your endothelial cells.
Additionally, following a sedentary lifestyle which involves loads of sitting can also lead to inflammation.
The Importance of Following a Diet
If you’re trying to decrease inflammation, then try eliminating inflammatory food items and eat more anti-inflammatory products.
Create a diet that includes nutritious food items that are rich in antioxidants and stop eating packaged food. This is because antioxidants help you lower the radical level in your body which is also one of the causes of inflammation.
A diet that is filled with anti-inflammatory food items offers the perfect balance of fat, protein, and carbs during every meal. Ensure you’re also consuming the right amount of herbal vitamins, fiber, and minerals that your body needs on a regular basis.
The best anti-inflammatory diet would be the ‘Mediterranean Diet’, as it has proved to decrease the inflammatory markers in your blood like IL-6 and CRP.
But you can also choose any low-carb diet to decrease inflammation especially if you’re experiencing the metabolic syndrome. Or else, go for any vegan diets as they are also proved to lower the inflammation.
Food Items You Shouldn’t Eat
Certain food items are known to increase the chances of long-term inflammation. So it’s best to not include them in your diet. These food items include:
- Sweetened beverages like aerated drinks
- Carbs like white pasta and white bread
- Desserts like cake, ice cream, candy, and cookies
- Meats such as sausages, hot dogs, and bologna
- Packaged foods like pretzels, crackers, and salted chips
- Oils such as corn and soybean and others made with processed seeds.
- Trans and saturated fats
- Alcohol
Food Items You Should Eat
Make sure you include these food items in your everyday diet:
- Veggies like Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage
- Fruits like cherries and grapes
- Fruits with high-fat like olives and avocados
- Healthy fats like coconut and olive oil
- Omega-rich fish like herring, anchovies, sardines, and salmon
- Good fats like walnuts and almonds
- Dark chocolate
- Green tea
- Spices like cinnamon, turmeric, and fenugreek
Additional Useful Tips
After planning a healthy diet for yourself, ensure you’re including other habits in your lifestyle including:
- Consuming supplements: Consuming some herbal supplements is known to decrease your inflammation. A good example is paractin supplement, which contains an extract that combats respiratory infections and can lower the overall inflammation in your body.
- Daily exercise: Working out every day can also help you lower the inflammatory markers in the blood along with the perils of other chronic diseases.
- Sufficient Sleep: Getting at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep is crucial to keep yourself physically and mentally fit.
Conclusion
Chronic or long-term inflammation is harmful to your health and results in various health-related diseases.
In most of the cases, the lifestyle you lead and the diet you follow plays a huge role in driving inflammation or making it worse. So ensure you’re opting for anti-inflammatory products, as they are the best for your well-being and overall health.
