I Am Inflamed and So Are You... Now What Do We Do About It?

I was on vacation the other week and it was glorious! The weather was beautiful and I felt revived by the sand on my toes and the salty air of the shore. (This is the actual view from the beach house!) While there, I did however get really inflamed. When I was eating crab legs one night, I punctured my thumb— right at the juncture between the nail and the skin. The next morning, my thumb was red and swollen and bruised. It was inflamed. 

Okay, I know that’s not what you think of when I say, “I was inflamed,” but that’s what inflammation as a body function looks like. Red, swollen, puffy and sometimes filled with puss — or white blood cells— an inflamed area of your body looks like this because the body has sent additional blood to the injured area. Flooding it with healing nutrients, white blood cells to fight infection and extra fluids to hydrate and protect, your body creates a hot spot of healing at the site of an injury. This serves to both rebuild and repair damaged tissue and protect it from further injury. We feel pain, tenderness and limited mobility and this prevents us from using the hurt body part and making things worse.

So, inflammation helps us heal and protects us. While doing so, our bodies release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline and put us in a state of fight or flight in case we need to deal with imminent danger. In the wild, this also serves as a protective mechanism. Sick and injured animals are the weakest and the most prone to attack from predators. In this condition, we need to be on high alert and have extra energy so that we can run or protect ourselves.

If inflammation is a natural body mechanism and it’s a good thing, why do we keep hearing how bad inflammation is for us? Well, inflammation is a good thing when it occurs in these isolated cases of injury and recovery. However, the body sees everyday occurrences like family conflict, work deadlines and financial troubles as stressors. In response, it releases those same stress hormones to address the onslaught. Because these stressors are constant, we call this state of being chronic stress.

In the case of an injury, after your body has sufficiently healed, the immune system turns this process off and reverses the inflammatory activity. (Hence, my thumb is now normal-sized and flesh-toned once again!)The trouble with chronic stress is that your body never gets the signal that the healing is over and the inflammation can stop. It continues perpetually, taking a huge toll on your adrenal glands, which produce cortisol and adrenaline. The result: fatigue, disrupted sleep, poor digestion and a weakened immune system that leaves you prone to sickness and disease.

In addition to daily emotional stress, the foods we eat today are highly inflammatory. Sugary and processed foods, fast food, feed lot meats and pesticide-ridden vegetables all produce an inflammatory response in our bodies. The personal care products we use everyday such as detergents and cleaners, soaps and lotions, perfumes and cosmetics also contain heavy metals and toxic chemicals that illicit a response from our immune systems—some that disrupt our hormones and upset our gut bacteria. It is not necessarily the chemicals in any single item that takes a toll but the sheer volume of exposures and the regularity with which they occur that becomes a problem.

Experts now believe that inflammation is the genesis of all disease. It is certainly a huge contributing factor. Let’s imagine your immune system is armed with soldiers. If your soldiers are busy fighting a long-term war, how well will they be able to protect you from a multitude of smaller attacks? You will have injuries and be exposed to viruses and sickness. That’s a natural part of life. Your body’s ability to protect itself as it was designed to do will be compromised by chronic stress and the accompanying sustained systemic inflammation. You will have to minimize this to be able to adequately keep disease at bay.

Let’s face it. your soldiers are tired. So how do you give them a break, reduce inflammation and allow your body the peace it needs for healing?

1) Cut out processed foods. I know it sounds super simple but it’s crazy hard to do. What I’ll say is, cut out as many processed foods as you can. If it comes in a package, try to skip it. Processed foods contain preservatives and additives such as artificial flavors and colors. Some of these like high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils are man-made and your body does not know how to process them. Slowly nudge yourself towards a cleaner diet.

2) Eat lots of fruits and veggies — preferably organic.  Each family of fruits and vegetables offers vitamins and phytonutrients that protect your health. Most colorful plant foods are high in antioxidants, which keep you young from the inside out. The Mediterranean Diet is well known for it’s anti-inflammatory qualities. It’s components— extra virgin olive oil, fresh fish, onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers and fresh herbs— collectively dilate blood vessels and promote blood flow, serve as anti-bacterial/anti-fungals and optimize nerve and brain function. This goes to show that a style of eating that includes a variety of fresh vegetables and herbs in every meal will promote good health and keep sickness at bay. Create your own style of eating that includes the varieties of plant foods you enjoy. By choosing organic, you can begin to avoid chemicals such as harsh pesticides and herbicides that leach into your food and subsequently find a home in your body.

3) Move your body regularly.  If you’re an exercise-phobe, I’m not saying the dreaded “E” word necessarily. I’m saying move more. Vacuuming your house, gardening and raking leaves all count as movement and they are multi-purpose to boot! As a personal trainer, I’ve had clients in their 80s who still mend fences and feed horses. Whatever you choose to do, if you like it, you will continue to do it, so it pays to find something you really enjoy. Don’t be afraid to be adventurous. Challenge yourself to get out of your box and learn something new about you and your body’s capabilities.  Mixing up the types of movement you do will engage different muscles and articulate your joints in new ways. This keeps you strong and limber. The bottom line: the more you move your body, the more independent you will be as you age.

4) Practice some form of self-care frequently. Self care is self love. Period. Love yourself enough to discover what fills you up inside and commit to doing it on a regular basis. This can be as simple as walking your dog at sunset or meeting a friend for lunch. If you’re an introvert, me-time with a journal and a cup of herbal tea may do the trick. First, knowing what feeds your soul is key. Then, making time for it as a practice should follow. No guilt required.

5) Connect. I mean really connect, not ping someone on Facebook. Studies show that people who feel connected to others live longer and enjoy a better quality of life. Find people who enjoy what you enjoy — a book club, investment club, trail riding, walking, politics — and do it together. We are social beings. We need other people. So, as tempting as it may be to kick off your shoes after a busy day at work and nestle in front of the TV, try to engage yourself with others at least one or two days a week instead. You will find that it lifts you up and you will be lifting others up as well. Win-win.

Though inflammation is a body function, you can probably see that more goes into our health than just the physical components of what we eat and drink. Taking time to nurture our whole selves goes a long way towards reducing a persistent inflammatory response. Start by making small changes and add new habits incrementally. Soon, you may notice that symptoms you had have all but disappeared. Be persistent and self-compassionate. Change can be hard, but the payoff is invaluable!

If you’d like to know more about how to optimize how you feel, let’s chat. One conversation may be the very thing you need to get started on your journey towards health and happiness! I look forward to hearing from you.