Your Body on Inflammation

The good, the bad, & the ugly, plus lots of shifts you can make to quell the flames

Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

Your wish is my command.

I asked which topic you wanted to hear about next in an informational article, and inflammation won. So, inflammation it is!

Be sure to vote on the next topic in the poll at the end.

The Bright Side

Inflammation gets a bum rap. I’m sure you’ve heard about it as a precursor to disease and other unpleasant afflictions, which we’ll get to in a minute. But, for the time being, I want to praise our bodies for this amazing response that keeps us alive.

Inflammation identifies “invaders” in our bodies and sends immune cells to the front lines to defend us against bacteria, viruses, and fungi. It creates a barrier to stop the spread of pathogens, and without inflammation, infections would spread unchecked.

• When we are cut, bruised, or otherwise injured, inflammation helps clear the damage, bring nutrients to the injury, and help the body rebuild.

• Inflammation sweeps toxins from our bodies and pushes them to our lymphatic system for drainage and removal.

• Inflammation sounds the alarm when something isn’t right, with redness, pain, swelling, and heat, so we attend to injuries and don’t exacerbate them.

• Inflammation remembers. Once our bodies deal with something that tried to hurt us, it remembers so it can mount a faster, stronger response if there’s a repeat attack, which is the foundation of vaccine medicine.

I’m sure you’d agree, all of this is valuable and impressive.

But problems arise when our inflammation goes from being acute (temporary) to chronic (prolonged for more than three months).

Too much of a good thing is a bad thing.

When our bodies’ natural inflammatory response stops being targeted and specific and instead becomes our daily way of life, it takes a serious toll on our health. If you think of inflammation like fire, we can agree that when it’s contained in a fireplace it’s warm and cozy and comforting. But when it rages out of control, it’s a different story.

According to a large 2024 study in Frontiers in Medicine, up to 35% of American adults have systemic (whole body) inflammation. Among healthy people, 15%. When it comes to mortality, over 50% of deaths tie back to inflammatory diseases. Yowza.

A litany of diseases have been linked to inflammation, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases…the scary list goes on, and there’s not a single one I want, thank you very much.

So, what the heck is going on and what can we do about it?

You won’t be surprised to hear that our diet and lifestyle affect our bodily inflammation. Some of it is within our control, and unfortunately, some of it is not— unless you can find a corner of the planet with no air pollution, soil damage, or radiation. Good luck, and send me your address.

Short vs. Long Term

When we have acute inflammation (like an ankle sprain), we can treat it with non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen. But those drugs can create problems of their own, like stomach and kidney damage, so they’re not long-term fixes. Next after NSAIDs would be corticosteroids (like prednisone), but they, too, have side effects, such as weakened immunity and gut health which can lead to nutrient deficiency and, you guessed it, more inflammation—an ugly cycle indeed.

What’s a body to do?

Avoid low quality foods, especially highly processed frankenfoods. (That’s what I call the chemical-laden food-things the commercial food industry tries to pass off as safe for human consumption.) If it has any sort of artificial flavor, color, emulsifiers, binders, gums, or other additives, it will contribute to your inflammation. Read labels as if your life depends on it: it does.

But, also, don’t become neurotic.

Yeah, we can take the frantic label reading too far, and that’s not good either. Stress contributes to inflammation, and there’s more than enough of it to go around in modern life. So, you’re better off aiming for progress over perfection. Start shifting your unhealthy behaviors into healthier ones slowly so you don’t shock your system or regress back to a bowl of Cheetos. (Been there, done that.)

And… this may sound basic, but it’s important…pay attention to what you’re eating and how you feel afterwards. You may have food allergies or sensitivities you don’t know about. Plus, our bodies change over time, so you may not have had trouble with dairy before, but you do now. You know your own system best, especially what’s “normal” and what’s not. Blood and allergy tests can help identify sensitivities, and you might be surprised. I mean, how would I have ever known cheddar cheese wasn’t my friend? Sad but true.

Good, better, best

In an ideal world, you’d live a squeaky clean, non-toxic, stress-free life. That’s literally impossible for most of us who are on the grid and within commuting distance of a metropolitan area. So, here’s what we can aim for across the different aspects of life that are within our control to improve.

Diet:

• Good: Eat whole foods

• Better: Eat organic fruits and veggies and pastured meats

• Best: Grow your own garden; raise your own eggs/meat

Household:

• Good: Stop using air fresheners and fabric softeners

• Better: Clean with all-natural cleaning supplies

• Best: Make your own non-toxic cleaning supplies (recipes abound online)

Stress:

• Good: Turn off the news or other media sources that upset you

• Better: Turn your attention to activities that bring you joy

• Best: Meditate for 10 minutes 3x a day

Fitness:

• Good: Walk after meals for 20 minutes

• Better: Incorporate weight training into your routine 2-3x per week

• Best: Get up from your sedentary desk and move every hour or get a walking pad/standing desk

Community:

• Good: Get a pet and/or talk to a friend or family member daily

• Better: Make weekly in-person plans to see people your care about

• Best: Spend 1:1 unplugged time daily with your loved ones and pets

Mindset matters

Personally, out of everything, I find stress to be the hardest thing to control. Daily life can seem like hassle after hassle, and everything takes longer than it should. Shifting our mindset from one of frustration to one of positivity can seem silly, but it really does help decrease bodily stress, cortisol production, and grouchy moods.

For example, when your children refuse to straighten their rooms, instead of doing it for them or being frustrated by it, consider the blessing that your children spent time last night in your home, safe. When the electric bill comes in and is higher than you expect, be grateful for your heat and lights as they are conveniences millions of people don’t have. When eggs cost $7 per dozen, be grateful you don’t have a deadly food allergy to eggs, which would be a lot worse than overpaying temporarily.

Happiness is an inside job. It often comes down to frame of mind. This is something I work on every day. It’s a practice.

Final thoughts

We, collectively, need to get our inflammation down. We need to nourish ourselves with the most nutritious food we can find or grow, and we need to nourish our spirits with activities and people (and solitude) that bring us peace and joy. Sometimes we get so caught up in the churn of busy-busy-busy life, we forget to LIVE. Small changes right now, today, can snowball into big improvements for our health and longevity.

Try a 1 minute meditation right now.

Just take deep, slow breaths in and out for one single minute. Then, leave me a comment of Ohm.

Be healthy! I want you to stick around for many more decades! We have lots more to talk about! xo

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From me to you

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