What Is Inflammation?
Inflammation is a process by which the body’s white blood cells and the substances they produce protect us from infection with foreign organisms, such as bacteria and viruses. However, in some diseases, like arthritis, the body’s defense system — the immune system — triggers an inflammatory response when there are no foreign invaders to fight off. In these diseases, called autoimmune diseases. the body’s normally protective immune system causes damage to its own tissues. The body responds as if normal tissues are infected or somehow abnormal.
Inflammation is your body’s way of protecting itself from infection, illness, or injury. As part of the inflammatory response, your body increases its production of white blood cells, immune cells, and substances called cytokines that help fight infection. Inflammation is the body’s response to injury. It works to heal wounds, but it can also play a role in some chronic diseases. It is the body’s way of signaling the immune system to heal and repair damaged tissue, as well as defend itself against foreign invaders, such as viruses and bacteria.
Acute inflammation often causes noticeable symptoms, such as pain, redness, or swelling. But chronic inflammation symptoms are usually subtler. This makes them easy to overlook.
- Common symptoms of chronic inflammation include:
- You have a “spare tire” around your waist. Build up of belly fat.
- You have high blood sugar levels
- You have digestive problems like gas, diarrhea, bloating or constipation
- You’re tired all the time
- You have skin problems like eczema or psoriasis, or your skin is red and blotchy
When inflammation occurs, the white blood cells are released into the blood or affected tissues to protect your body from foreign substances. This release increases the blood flow to the area of injury or infection, and may result in redness and warmth. This could also leak fluid into the tissues, resulting in swelling. This protective process may stimulate nerves and cause pain,.
The increased number of cells and inflammatory substances within the joint cause irritation, swelling of the joint lining and, eventually, wearing down of cartilage (cushions at the end of bones). Chronic inflammation needs to be relieved as soon as possible. For the body to be in a chronic state of inflammation is allowing long term damage that could be avoided.
Inflammation both chronic and acute can be avoided.
The first place to look is our diets. There are foods that cause inflammation. Night shade plants cause inflammation. Those are tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and potatoes. Other foods to avoid are:
- Processed meat. Meat is not the enemy. In its best form, it can provide essential nutrients
- Foods high in added sugars. Added sugar is bad for your body.
- Refined carbohydrates. Not all carbs are bad carbs.
- Foods made with seed and vegetable oils.
- Artificial trans fats.
Sugar is a trigger for inflammation. Gluten, think of white flour breads, pasta, most baked goods that use flour. When we eat meals full of this type of food we are left feeling the effects of inflammation. which are feeling tired, lethargic and inflamed. When we eat these foods our bodies recognize we’ve made a bad move and mounts an attack, doing its best to eliminate the threat and repair any damage that has been caused. Our bodies are amazing machines that have the ability to repair so much damage from our abusive ways. The problem is that we eat these foods day after day which has us in a constant state of inflammation making our bodies work hard to limit the effects.
The good news is that we can reverse this entire process by going to the source. If we eliminate the cause of the inflammation we can solve the problem permanently. You’ll feel better longer and it also helps your chiropractic adjustments work optimally.
Foods that help with inflammation are : broccoli, blueberries, ginger, fish, celery, beets, coconut oil, turmeric, pineapple and walnuts. Experts disagree about everything from plant versus animal protein to cholesterol in eggs, everyone knows that fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables are non-negotiable. Leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables are particularly valuable, though you should “eat the rainbow” of fruits and vegetables every day.
When you learn what to eat you will also learn what not to eat. To beat inflammation you will need to steer clear of processed oils, flours, and sugars, as well as all preservatives, stabilizers and artificial flavors and colors. Processed foods run the gamut. They include ingredients that have been cured, milled, pasteurized, chemically derived, and altered in every way you can imagine. This also includes most refined pastas, breads, sugary cereals, hot dogs, ice cream, fries, and yes, even pizza.
So, in order to rid our bodies of inflammation we must feed our bodies with whole wholesome foods. This is called having a clean diet. That should be our daily goal. If we achieve this goal out bodies will thank us by giving us more energy, being healthy and vibrant. That is a pretty great payoff for saying no to that cookie or donut. We may find it difficult to be 100% compliant, so give yourself a break if you’d rather have that donut instead of that apple. Try to make healthful choices 90% of the time. Your body will thank you.