Inflammation: What it is and how to manage it

The definition of inflammation is "a localized physical condition in which part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot, and often painful, especially as a reaction to injury or infection." To me it is even more than this. It is my body fighting itself. When you have an autoimmune disease/disorder your body usually is creating too much inflammation and it is fighting itself.

Naturally our bodies need inflammation in balance. We have three types of prostaglandins, two are anti-inflammatory and one is inflammatory. Prostaglandins are compounds that have a hormone-like effect on almost every system in our body. Proper inflammation in our body is supported when we eat a balanced fatty acid diet. It is the prostaglandins that control inflammatory function.

Our ancestors ate a wide variety of healthy fats. Sadly today most people eat far too many refined fats that are basically toxic before they are even on the store shelves. But, there are ways to change this. Think about what fats your grandparents would have eaten. That is an easy starting point. These are simple ingredients without further refining and processing or use of solvents and deodorizers to make them shelf stable.

Eat these fats:

• Butter and Ghee (grass fed)
• Tallow, Lard, and Schmaltz (cow, pig, chicken fat from grass fed animals)
• Olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil (cold pressed and organic)

Healthy fatty acid deficiency is epidemic in the United States. We need fat to survive, much less thrive. Fat is a major source of fuel for our brain and heart. Inflammation is considered a major factor contributing to heart disease. Many cognitive disorders are linked to inflammation. When we eat a healthy diet and get proper sleep our brain has time to detoxify and rest. When we eat low-fat diets our entire body pays the price. Fat helps us feel satiated after a meal, that is why we are often starving after low-fat meals. We are not satisfied. My grandma always said "Everything tastes better with butter", she was completely correct.

Most saturated fats and all trans-fats are inflammatory. If you chose to eat saturated fat (like in beef) be sure to eat grass-fed beef.

Avoid these fats:

• Canola oil
• Hydrogenated fats (margarine)
• Vegetable oil
• Safflower oil
• Corn oil
• Sunflower oil

Whether you have an autoimmune condition or standard inflammation, there are numerous things you can do to improve it. Inflammation presents in many ways, some are: arthritis, Hashimoto's, gluten sensitivities, depression, ADD/ADHD, heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's, cognitive disorders or Alzheimer's. Diet and lifestyle can have a huge impact on your day to day life.

Let's discuss the types of inflammation:

Acute: you are building something and cut your hand. Your body goes into immediate action to send healing inflammatory cells to the site of the injury. Our body is supposed to have this reaction to protect against pathogen infection and to aid in healing.

Chronic: (here in lies the problem), your poor body is always in a state of 'injury' and your immune system is always on and sending inflammatory cells all over your body. Many of these cells will cause damage and often eventually create an autoimmune condition like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Hashimoto's, lupus, etc. Personally, my autoimmune condition is Mixed connective tissue disease and can present as RA and/or lupus.

What affects our overall inflammation? The health of your gut, your diet, and stress.

When our bodies are in a chronic state of inflammation we will be feeling it. Some symptoms may be:

• Fatigue
• Swelling
• Rash
• Digestive issues
• Joint pain
• Fever
• Decreased range of motion

Ways to decrease inflammation through diet and lifestyle changes. You can do one or all of these, anything you do will support a more balanced inflammation throughout your body.

Do this:

• Eliminate sugar: too much sugar can systemically create inflammation
• Eliminate alcohol
• Eliminate gluten (wheat, barley, rye, etc)
• Maintain a healthy BMI
• Stop smoking
• Decrease stress
• Clean up toxins in your environment and personal care products
• Take vitamins: A, B6, C, D, Magnesium, Zinc
• Avoid fried foods
• Avoid processed and cured meats
• Yoga

Eat this:

• Beet juice
• Citrus
• Grass fed beef
• Mixed fatty acids (see list Eat These Fats above)
• Use nut and seed oils to make homemade salad dressings and marinades
• Pasture raised eggs
• Fatty fish: salmon, anchovies, sardines
• Leafy greens
• Flax seeds
• Turmeric
• Garlic
• Ginger

I hope you can see that when we eat and live to support our body's healthy inflammation levels we will do so much more than that. Many other symptoms or issues may be positively supported when you follow the above suggestions. Inflammation is a major player to many health issues. Small changes can have a large impact.