Twisted your ankle? Been stung by bee?  Bitten by an ant?

You will have experienced inflammation at some time in your life. Even when you've been ill with the flu or a viral infection you would have had an inflammatory response from your body... and the occurrence increases as we get older.  

When our body sustains damage of any kind, often that area will turn red and swell, even feeling warm to touch and inflammation will occur, it's our body's way of fighting infection and healing the damage. There are 2 types of inflammation - acute inflammation and chronic inflammation:

Acute Inflammation -  A 'short-term' inflammation

Our bodies produce acute inflammation in response to an injury, illness or infection.  When we are injured or come down with a virus, our white blood cells begin to flood the affected area trying to provide protection and healing.  This could last a few hours, or if severe, over a few days. 

Chronic Inflammation - Generally 'long-term' inflammation

Our body is responding the same way as acute inflammation but, there isn't always an injury that needs healing...your body has made a misstep and signals that there is an issue which leads to inflammation that is persistent...and can be made worse by certain lifestyle habits.  This is the one we are going to discuss.
Chronic inflammation is made worse by; smoking, poor diet choices, drinking alcohol, lack of physical activity, too much stress, weight gain, lack of sleep.

How do we know the symptoms?

Feeling tired all the time, unexplained muscle aches and joint pain, stomach issues including constipation or diarrhea, unexpected weight gain, headaches, skin rashes.

Tip: By consuming alkaline foods your body is able to reduce inflammation, essentially assisting to eliminate pain and disease.

How to reduce our risk of chronic inflammation?

It’s generally not that hard, if you are serious. Firstly, start loading up on anti-inflammatory foods - our food choices are just as important as any medications and/or supplements we may be taking for our health as they can protect us against inflammation. Including fresh vegetables and fruits along with reducing refined sugar and processed foods can make a big difference.  Try foods containing omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, tuna, walnuts, grapes, celery, blueberries, olive oil, tea or even spices like ginger, rosemary and turmeric. Check out the Mediterranean diet to start yourself off.

Note: it's important to identify chronic inflammation early so we can prevent long-term damage to our bod. If you are ever concerned, chat to your GP.

Cut back/eliminate inflammatory foods

This one might be tough at first as these are foods like red meat and anything with trans fats, you know, margarine, corn oil, deep fried foods and most processed foods.  We also need to control blood sugar so limiting simple carbs like white flour, white rice, refined sugar and anything with high fructose corn syrup. Build your meals around lean proteins, healthy fats, and whole foods high in fiber (vegetables, fruits and whole grains like brown rice and whole wheat bread). 

Make time to exercise

This is an excellent way to prevent chronic inflammation. 30 to 45 minutes of aerobic and 10 to 25 minutes of weight or resistance training at least 4 to 5 times per week.

How to reduce pain in the meantime?

It can take time to notice the benefits when implementing natural lifestyle changes to assist chronic inflammation (although not that long if you can commit to it quickly). In the meantime transdermal magnesium (magnesium chloride applied topically/to the skin) can assist in suppressing the production of inflammatory compounds and regulate nerve function reducing pain intensity. Magnesium oil spray applied throughout the day and a Magnesium chloride bath three times a week for 20 minutes can be simple and effective forms of application as you implement your new changes.

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