All about Inflammation

Inflammation is your body’s response to foreign particles. Learn the two main types of inflammation: chronic inflammation and acute inflammation.

Person suffering from knee inflammation

If you even looked up the word health in 2019, you definitely saw something about inflammation.

Inflammation is your body’s protective response to foreign particles, like bacteria and viruses, trying to enter the body. There are two main types of inflammation: chronic inflammation and acute inflammation.

Acute inflammation is a short-term process that takes place usually in response to an injury, like a broken toe or a twisted ankle. Typically you’ll experience pain, swelling and redness around the inflamed area and difficulty moving (Nature Journal).

Chronic inflammation is long-term process, and while acute inflammation is pretty easy to spot, chronic inflammation can go on for a long time without ever being noticed. It’s been related to anxiety, fatigue, diabetes, digestive issues, and depression, to name a few. Pretty much any autoimmune disease or disorder can be related in some way to chronic inflammation, and it’s this kind of inflammation, if undetected, which can lead to a whole host of other issues including Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease (Parsley Health).

There are various symptoms that accompany chronic inflammation, including hives, rashes, joint pain, or gastrointestinal issues, but what can actually be done to address inflammation?

There’s one pretty straightforward way: diet.

Our food has a very real affect on inflammation in our bodies, and so learning to eat the right foods can go a long way in helping to fight inflammation.

The diet is unlikely to surprise you, as it contains a lot of the typical hallmarks of a healthy diet:

  • Healthy oils; avocado and olive oil
  • Antioxidants; these are typically found in berries, leafy green vegetables, beans, whole grains, and nuts.
  • Omega-3 fatty acids; common in oily fish

What you won’t find a lot of in an anti-inflammatory diet are dairy products, vegetable oils, and meat, as these tend to be high in omega-6 fatty acids. Don’t cut them out though, the goal is to find the balance, so that you don’t find yourself definitively in these acids which help with metabolism, bone health, and brain function.

Are you curious about the anti-inflammatory diet? Would you give it a try?

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