Top 5 Sources of Inflammation and How to Reverse Them
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When it comes to inflammation, you’ll find that it is the root cause of nearly every modern, chronic illness. Cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune disease, and even some cancers. This can all be traced back to the body’s inability to keep up with the bombardment of inflammation we experience on a day-to-day basis.
So, how do you know what is causing your inflammation and how can you fix it?
No worries, I’ve got you! We’re going to bring light to 5 top sources of inflammation and how to actually make some changes in your life in order to significantly minimize your exposure to them by knowing what they are, where they are coming from, and how to adjust your diet and lifestyle to significantly reduce your inflammation levels and get you on the path to optimal health.
INFLAMMATION
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Inflammation is not always bad; in fact, inflammation is the body’s natural defense against a threat. Chronic inflammation, however, is the one we need to pay attention to. It ignites when too many pro-inflammatory catalysts have built up and the body feels it needs to stay in defense mode all the time.
Below are the five biggest triggers that lead to chronic inflammation. Start with these, and it will help you identify the root cause of your symptoms and prevent (or reverse) chronic illness!
Top 5 Sources of Inflammation
Foods
I always say it starts with food. Today so much of our food is processed with so much garbage and our bodies go into natural defense mode because it doesn’t recognize what we’re putting into our mouths as food. Eating a poor diet is #1 when it comes to inflammation. Eat garbage, feel like garbage. Your body is trying to tell you something.
Our diets today are full of inflammatory foods such as gluten and dairy, fried foods, corn, soy, skyrocketing levels of sugar, and highly processed junk. Food just isn’t the same as it used to be. These foods wreak havoc on your gut and set you on the path to autoimmune disease and chronic illness.
Take a little inventory of the list above. Is it possible you consume some of those? Do you suffer from chronic inflammation or one of the diseases I’ve mentioned? It might be time to start a little elimination diet and rid your body of these nasty triggers.
Try eliminating the above-mentioned foods and try eating more of an anti–inflammatory diet of foods like leafy greens, healthy fats, and clean-sourced protein. This is one of the best ways you can reduce your risk of chronic illness.
Leaky Gut
I’m always talking about gut health. I mean seriously, if you’re eating any of the things I’ve mentioned above, it’s more than likely that you have a leaky gut. When you have a leaky gut, you can bet that what you are eating is pretty much LEAKING back into your bloodstream. These toxins, microbes, and immune-triggering food particles to flow freely throughout your bloodstream–where they can do some serious damage.
Poor diet can indeed lead to a leaky gut. Other factors include medications, gut infections such as SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth) and Candida overgrowth, and stress.
Leaky gut causes chronic inflammation when these particles escape into your bloodstream. The particles are seen as foreign invaders by your immune system, our bodies puff up like a puffer fish in order to protect us by using inflammation to attack them in the same way it would fight off a virus or bacterial infection. As this happens over and over again, you start to see chronic issues with inflammation.
To help heal leaky gut naturally, I recommend my 14 day detox. Over the 14 days, we work on sealing and rebuilding a healthy gut lining by eliminating certain foods and triggers along with repairing the inflammation in the intestinal lining.
Infections
Underlying infections, both bacterial and viral could be adding to your inflammation levels. Your body is fighting to protect itself from these infections and releases antibodies, this is a KEY factor in autoimmunity.
The presence of viruses such as Herpes simplex, Epstein-Barr, Hepatitis C which are viral or (Lyme, H. Pylori, Yersinia enterocolitica, E. coli which are bacterial can lead to autoimmunity.
This is HUGE when it comes to autoimmune diseases. So many people are on meds that are NOT even helping the symptoms, in fact, they are making things worse in some cases.
I have worked with people on reversing their autoimmune diseases. We’ve worked on changing diet and lifestyle which has significantly helped reduce their symptoms
Toxins
In today’s world, toxins are all around us. Literally—in our air, water, food, furniture, and beauty products—everywhere. It’s hard to avoid them. Environmental toxins are a major source of inflammation, they’re all around us.
Below are a few of the toxins we’re exposed to:
- Medications such as antibiotics and birth control
- Mercury and other heavy metals in fish and amalgam fillings
- Plastics, including BPA
- Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and GMOs in non-organic produce
- Hormones in our food (especially dairy products)
- Air and water pollution
- Chemicals in our cleaning products and beauty products
- Alcohol
- Cigarette smoke
When we are exposed to these toxins, the body is constantly trying to detoxify, and a toxin overload will alert it to inflame as a means of defending itself. This can bring on big time inflammation.
Reducing exposure to these toxins is super important for lowering your inflammation levels. Start small and try to avoid all unnecessary medications, antibiotics, and birth control to be specific. Are they really necessary? I recommend getting to the root of your symptoms so you can eliminate synthetic medications for good.
Go organic when you can, try to avoid products with chemicals in them, don’t drink or smoke, and ditch the plastic. Start small and be sure to do your research on the products you are using.
Stress
I’m talking all stress. Mental, physical, emotional. Stress comes in many forms and when you are stressed, your body releases hormones including the primary stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol signals your immune system to gear up for fight or flight, and your immune system responds by producing inflammation. Again, it is doing its job and protecting itself.
That’s all fine and dandy if things can go back to normal after a little bout of stress. If things never get a chance to calm down because you are constantly stressed, –whether from a poor diet, sleep deprivation, a stressful work environment, overexercising, or relationship problems–your body never gets the signal to “cool off” and inflammation runs rampant. This can cause your overworked immune system to become suppressed, leaving you susceptible to infection, autoimmune disease, and other chronic illness. You are tapping out your cortisol levels and messing up your hormones which in turn can lead to inflammation.
Who in the world thought stress could lead to chronic inflammation? Crazy isn’t it?
It’s very wise to work on your ability to handle stress. I know it sounds impossible but your health depends on it. Work on getting in a little more ZZZ’s every night, start eating a nutrient dense diet, give yourself time to relax daily (even if it’s just 5 minutes).
Final Thoughts:
Now that you have a better grasp on what may be causing your body’s chronic inflammation and how to simmer it down, it’s up to you to make the changes in your life towards a healthier, calmer, more vibrant lifestyle. It’s time to take your health into your own hands. By working on eliminating the inflammation in your body with these lifestyle strategies, YOU can prevent and reverse chronic illness, and enjoy a life of overall improved health and wellness!! It’s all in your hands.
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