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How Can We Manage Inflammation

Yasmine Mucher

Updated: Sep 23, 2024

So last we talked all about inflammation and how it occurs in the body. Just a little recap, inflammation is a totally normal part of our bodies' immune response. Acute inflammation occurs due to infection or injury, and it is how our body starts the healing process; chronic inflammation is a consistent low grade immune response in our body that, rather than promoting healing, is linked to conditions such as high blood pressure, certain cancers, certain autoimmune disorders, various neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, gastro-intestinal disorders, and metabolic disease, including type 2 diabetes.


Now this may sound scary, how can one thing potentially be responsible for so many different diseases in our bodies? Especially considering how many things can cause inflammation in the body! But not to worry, because we're chatting here about all the different ways we can reduce inflammation, and there are LOTS of them.


Let's dive in:


  1. Diet


    There are so many ways we use our diet to influence inflammation in the body! Firstly, we can

Fried foods increase inflammation

limit our intake of foods that increase inflammation in the body. This include foods that are ultra processed, foods high in saturated fat or sodium, refined carbohydrates (think bleached flour, refined sugars), and dairy products. Of course we can enjoy these products from time to time, but to help manage inflammation, it's important that we limit and space out our intake of these kinds of foods.


On the other hand, we can add in lots of different kinds of foods that can help quell inflammation in the body. Fruits and vegetables can be anti-inflammatory for a few different reasons. First, different fruits and vegetable have different phytochemicals, i.e. non-essential plant compounds, that can have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects in the body. Some of these you may have heard of are lycopene found in tomatoes, resveratrol in grapes, and carotenoids found in pumpkins and carrots. Second, fibre from fruits and vegetables helps to support our gut bacteria and function. As we spoke about in the last blog, SIBO, or small intestine bacterial overgrowth can be a cause of inflammation in the body. Without healthy gut bacteria, and without healthy waste elimination patterns, inflammation can build up in the gut and influence the rest of the body. A diet high in fibre is shown to support both gut bacteria and consistent waste elimination.


On the topic of gut health, pre- and pro-biotic foods can also help manage our gut bacteria, and prevent inflammation in the gut and the rest of the body. Probiotic foods contain bacteria and contribute to our microbiome; this includes foods like yogurt, cottage cheese, kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, miso, and buttermilk. Prebiotic foods feed these gut bacteria and allow them to thrive; these are typically higher fibre foods such as bananas, apples, sweet potatoes, oats, onions, garlic, dandelion greens, and chicory root.


omega-3s for inflammation

Foods high in omega 3 fatty acids can also have an anti-inflammatory effect. This includes foods like salmon, tuna, flax seed, walnuts, avocados, and olive oil. If these aren't foods we can fit into our regular diet, an omega-3 supplement is an easy replacement. We want to make sure that in the foods we eat, there are more omega-3 fatty acids than omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids are pro- inflammatory, and are found in unhealthy ratios in foods like seed oils, foods made with or fried in seed oils, safflower oil, and margarine.


One more, but certainly not the last or the least we can do with our diet to help manage or decrease inflammation in the body is to regularly include spices, herbs, and tea. These three things are packed full of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant compounds. There is lots of research proving the anti-inflammatory effects of ginger, garlic, rosemary, cinnamon, and turmeric, and it's know most spices and herbs have some beneficial properties to them. (Have you checked out our Spicy Saturday Instagram posts?) Teas, specifically green teas and black teas as well have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties to them and regular consumption can help manage inflammation in the body. The use of spices and herbs is so important we're having a whole event about it coming up in October, are you coming?


2. Stress Management

Now, we all know that stress is bad. Fine, but that knowledge isn't going to magically get rid of the stress in our lives. We can accept to a point that stress is going to be present in our lives. While the amount of control we have over our jobs, workplaces, social environment varies, we cannot control things like war, sudden illness, accidents, and other emotional stressors. What is within our control is things we can do to manage the effects of the response to psychological stress on the body. Stress stimulates our sympathetic nervous system, or our "fight or flight" system; we can use activities that stimulate our parasympathetic system or our "rest & digest" system to balance out this activation and decrease the effects of

parasympathetic nervous system activation

sustained emotional stress. Activities that activate our parasympathetic system include meditation, breathwork, spending time in nature, journaling warm baths/showers, light exercise such as walking, and quality time with loved ones. Other activities may be individual to you. Think things that help you wind down such as reading a book, watching a tv show, crafting, or playing music. Regularly making time for things that activate our parasympathetic nervous system or bring us joy can help manage our bodies' overall response to stress.


3. Environment

Toxins in our environment can trigger our immune system and cause chronic low grade inflammation. Such toxins can come from several places such as:

  • air pollution,

  • off-gassing from furniture or flooring,

  • dust or mold build up in our ventilation systems,

  • heavy metals or other substances contaminating our water,

  • chemicals in our cleaning products,

  • chemicals in our skin, hair, and make up products,

  • and chemicals in some feminine hygiene products

I know this is a big list, but there are tons of easy ways we can decrease our exposure to these toxins. First off, using an air filter in your home or work place can help decrease exposure to air pollutants, including smog, smoke, harmful chemicals, and mold. Regularly cleaning your HVAC system can help with this as well. Using a water filter can help reduce our exposure to contaminants in our water (if using a reverse osmosis system, don't forget to remineralize your water!). Lastly, it is so important to choose cleaning and self care products that aren't high in chemical known to be harmful to our bodies. While we may only use a little bit each use, a little bit builds up over time. Our skin in absorbent, so what goes on our bodies, eventually goes into our bodies. The Environmental Working Group has an amazing Skin Deep Database and Cleaning Product Database that can help you find products that have low toxicity to the body.


4. Sleep

Sleep manages inflammation

A lack of quality sleep disrupts our bodies' ability to recover from the stress of daily life. If you aren't regularly sleeping 7-9 hours per night, or even if you are in bed that long, wake up multiple times a night, it's likely you aren't getting enough quality sleep, and therefore are contributing to chronic inflammation in the body. Clean up your sleep routine by making sure your sleep space is dark and cool, and that you get in bed with enough time to fall asleep and sleep for 7-9hrs. Try to avoid blue lights and eating for 2-3 hours before bedtime. If you have trouble getting sleepy at night, start by trying to get 15min of morning sunlight every day. By seeing sunlight first thing in the morning, it helps to regulate our bodies' circadian rhythm, or internal clock, meaning it help the body to know when it's time to wake up and when it's time to get sleepy.


6. Exercise and Lifestyle.


While on the one hand it's true that too much exercise can contribute to inflammation in the body, and that there is definitely some inflammation that occurs after intense workouts, it's also true that a sedentary lifestyle contributes to chronic inflammation. Regular low intensity movement helps the body in so many ways to manage chronic inflammation. First up, sweating helps our body get rid of environmental toxins like those we previously talked about. Improved blood flow from moving helps our body cycle out the waste products of inflammation and bring new blood, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. Exercise also acts as a means of stress management for many people, helping to decrease the inflammation response from psychological stress.


In terms of lifestyle, two of the biggest impacts we can have is by quitting smoking or vaping, and limiting our intake of alcohol. Both these things are shown to increase inflammation in the body, both acutely and chronically. When we are trying to manage our bodies' overall inflammation, these are easy changes that can be implemented.


Inflammation is a normal part of our bodies' function. However, when inflammation runs unchecked at a low level for an extended period of time, it can wreak havoc on our bodies' tissues and organ systems. While this may seem daunting, as there are so many different things that can cause inflammation in the body, there are just as many things we can do to minimize inflammation and the effects of inflammation. Even choose just one or two things from this list, and it can help make a difference in your life!


Not sure where to start? Contact us here to book your initial consult, or drop by our studio at 1122 Finch Ave W, unit 21-22, weekdays 8am-8pm.







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