You may hear about inflammation frequently on your health journey, and here’s the thing: not all inflammation is harmful and you actually want inflammation in the body when it’s working well. However, your lifestyle and diet greatly influence underlying inflammation levels in the body. Your daily habits determine if it becomes chronic inflammation, which contributes to weight gain and chronic disease.
If you want to lose weight and improve your health, understanding signs of inflammation is critical. In today’s article, we’ll walk through what you need to know, including what causes inflammation, the nutrition aspects, and common food sensitivities. Keep reading as we explore:
Let’s dive in!
Inflammation is a term that is used a lot, but what is inflammation, and what causes it?
Inflammation is a normal body process, and part of the body’s immune response. It helps bring resources where they are needed to fight pathogens and heal from an illness or injury.
As a simple example, imagine you scrape your arm on a branch while out for a hike. Pain alerts you to the injury. The skin becomes red, swollen, and even hot to the touch as the immune system brings in inflammation to help prevent infection and heal the wound.
After a few days of healing, you’re as good as new. Inflammation signals turn off, and the signs of inflammation, including redness, swelling, pain, and heat, disappear. Inflammation has done its job, and now the immune system returns to homeostasis.
Acute inflammation is exactly what was just described, a temporary immune activation in response to an irritant. When the threat is over, inflammation subsides. But what is chronic inflammation?
Inflammation becomes chronic when the body continues to produce inflammatory signals (inflammatory markers) despite the absence of an illness, injury, or pathogen. Inflammation signals aren’t turned off after a single event but continue for months or years.
In chronic inflammation, you may not have the same outward signs of inflammation. It’s often underground and silent, but over time, it leads to health issues and the development of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, mental health disorders, and more. Chronic inflammation also contributes to weight gain and obesity.
In chronic inflammation, you may not have the same outward signs of inflammation. It’s often underground and silent, but over time, it leads to health issues and the development of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, mental health disorders, and more. Chronic inflammation also contributes to weight gain and obesity.
In this case, inflammation is often a response to health, environmental, and nutrition factors, such as:
The body has a robust inflammatory response to foods. In general, the standard American diet (SAD) is a pro-inflammatory diet. It’s rich in refined carbohydrates and processed fats, while poor in essential nutrients. This combination contributes to unstable blood sugar, weight gain, and chronic inflammation.
A low-inflammation diet is a whole-foods diet that includes plenty of colorful, fiber-rich plant foods and healthy fats. Think: seasonal fresh produce, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, fish, lean proteins, olive oil, herbs, spices, seaweed, and fermented foods.
However, anti-inflammatory foods can be quite individual, and we must consider food sensitivities. For one person, a particular food may be neutral, but for a person with a food sensitivity, the same food can be pro-inflammatory. The body has an inflammatory response to the food, as if it were a pathogen or irritant. When you continue to eat the food, it contributes to chronic inflammation.
In truth, you can be sensitive to any food. However, the most common food sensitivities include:
An elimination diet is the gold standard tool for identifying food sensitivities. You may also elect food sensitivity testing and then use the test results to inform your elimination diet.
The elimination diet process is simple:
This process allows you to identify your personal food triggers and establish an anti-inflammatory diet to address health concerns and promote long-term health.
The answer to how to decrease inflammation in the body doesn’t have just one answer. From a functional medicine perspective, we work to identify the individual’s root causes, often starting with a personalized elimination protocol. At The Fork, we refer to this dietary approach as our Illumination Diet.
The answer to how to decrease inflammation in the body doesn’t have just one answer. From a functional medicine perspective, we work to identify the individual’s root causes, often starting with a personalized elimination protocol. At The Fork, we refer to this dietary approach as our Illumination Diet.
If you’re curious about acute vs. chronic inflammation and want to understand the inflammatory component of your health concerns or already suspect a common food sensitivity, we can help! Please reach out today.
References
The Fork Functional Medicine
200 9th Ave S.
Franklin, TN 37064
Phone: (615) 721-8008
Fax: (615) 237-8331
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