Health Articles

Posted by Nicole on July 9

If you have chronic inflammation or want to prevent the development of inflammatory conditions, a lifestyle which proactively helps you to fight chronic inflammation is essential.

Following are some simple recommendations for how you can help curb chronic inflammation in your daily life.

1. Drink less alcohol.

Depending on the type of chronic inflammatory condition you have, you may want to reduce your intake of alcohol.

The Arthritis Foundation writes, “Alcohol is particularly problematic if you have gout. ‘Gout attacks can be brought on by purine-rich foods or drinks, and beer is high in purines,’ Dr. Costenbader says. Distilled liquor, and possibly wine, can also cause problems for those with gout.”

So, minimizing alcohol intake may be wise if you suffer from gout.

Curiously, however, if you have rheumatoid arthritis, you may want to make sure that you are drinking in moderation, as doing so may actually help reduce your inflammation.

2. Eat an anti-inflammatory diet.

The next recommendation for adjusting your lifestyle to fight chronic inflammation is to make sure that your diet is optimized for that purpose.

That means eating foods which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as fatty fish or flaxseed.

It also means staying away from foods which are high in omega-6 fatty acids, such as those which are fried in unhealthy oils.

3. Take a supplement to decrease inflammation.

One of the easiest things you can do to help fight inflammation each day is to take a natural supplement.

Some supplements which can help you to decrease inflammation include Turmeric, Boswellia, Ginger Root, and Quercetin.

Taking this type of supplement can have a cumulative effect over a period of weeks or months. So, try using it for several months before judging its effectiveness.

4. Get plenty of sleep.

When you under-sleep, inflammation in your body increases. Make it a habit of getting a full night of sleep every night if possible to reduce inflammation.

5. Take care of your oral health.

Surprisingly, inflammation in your mouth can increase inflammation in the rest of your digestive tract. Make it a point to brush and floss every day to prevent inflammation throughout your digestive system.

6. Exercise.

It doesn't take a lot of exercise to reduce inflammation. Indeed, research shows that working out for just 20 minutes can produce a significant effect.

UC San Diego Health quotes Suzi Hong, PhD, as saying, “Our study found one session of about 20 minutes of moderate treadmill exercise resulted in a five percent decrease in the number of stimulated immune cells producing TNF [a protein which regulates inflammation]. Knowing what sets regulatory mechanisms of inflammatory proteins in motion may contribute to developing new therapies for the overwhelming number of individuals with chronic inflammatory conditions, including nearly 25 million Americans who suffer from autoimmune diseases.”

Hong continues, “Our study shows a workout session doesn’t actually have to be intense to have anti-inflammatory effects. Twenty minutes to half-an-hour of moderate exercise, including fast walking, appears to be sufficient.”

So, try scheduling a few small workouts throughout the week. You do not need to spend hours a day exercising to get inflammation-reducing benefits.

7. Take care of your mental health.

Something else which can promote inflammation is stress. As explained in this article, "Central to this social signal transduction theory of depression is the hypothesis that experiences of social threat and adversity up-regulate components of the immune system involved in inflammation. The key mediators of this response, called proinflammatory cytokines, can in turn elicit profound changes in behavior, which include the initiation of depressive symptoms such as sad mood, anhedonia, fatigue, psychomotor retardation, and social-behavioral withdrawal.”

While some stressors are unavoidable, it makes sense to reduce those which you are able to in order to curb inflammation and also possibly prevent or lessen depression.

Give Lifestyle Changes Time to Take Effect

Chronic inflammation takes time to form, and also takes time to fight. So, be patient with your new lifestyle habits and give them time to reduce your inflammation. Remember, if you want to speed up the process, a supplement to decrease inflammation may help.