Inflammation - the body on fire

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to damage or injury. When the body detects harm, from physical (sprain, cut), infectious (bacteria, virus) or environmental sources (pollutants, chemicals, unhealthy food), the immune system sends specialized cells to the damaged area(s) that promote pain, redness, and swelling.

Inflammation can sometimes be seen, like the swelling and redness that occurs when you sprain your ankle. This type of inflammation is usually short-term. Pain forces us to rest, while swelling and redness are signs that increased blood flow is bringing cells to heal the injury. In this instance, inflammation is necessary to heal the body.

Silent inflammation (also called chronic inflammation) occurs within the body and generally cannot be seen. It is much more harmful and its long-term damage leads to chronic disease, such as diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disease, asthma, and inflammatory bowel conditions.

Imagine that an injury to your body is like a fire. Your immune system calls the fire department, and they arrive with their sirens and lights, block off the street, and use their tools to put out the fire. The firetrucks cause a necessary disruption to the neighbourhood (inflammation), but after the fire has been putout, they leave and the neighbourhood returns to normal.

This exactly how your immune system responds to harm. It sends white blood cells to the injured area, causing a short-term disruption to the cells around the site, but it’s a worthwhile trade-off to fight an infection or heal an injury.

Now imagine this fire has been burning for a long time and has gotten out of control. Neighbouring homes become damaged, smoke pollution impacts people for miles, and the neighbourhood struggles to continue its normal daily activities.

This is what happens when we experience chronic inflammation. Our bodies become like an uncontrolled fire that causes widespread damage and disease. To heal chronic inflammation, we need to do THREE things: stop feeding the fire, call in reinforcements to help put out the fire, rebuild the neighbourhood by get stronger and plan to make this a lifestyle.

1. Stop feeding the fire: identify the root causes of  inflammation and work toward reducing or eliminating them. Common sources include untreated injury, stressful lifestyle, and exposure to pollutants.     Also look for unhealthy foods, and or foods that specifically irritate  your body. Another cause is infection.
2. Call in reinforcements: Talk to those in the know, those with certifications in health and nutrition, there are many great resources at the health food store or wherever you like to purchase your     supplements. There is a ton of knowledge these days. Anti-inflammatory herbs and vitamins can be a powerful tool for putting out the fire and reducing chronic inflammation. The goal is to stop inflammation at its source.
3. Rebuild the neighbourhood: Eat well, take the supplements geared to your particular inflammatory condition and then start strengthening your body. Your body is your house, it’s only as     strong as you decide to make it. Maintain that healthy lifestyle, this     takes time, patience and a bit of perseverance. The RESULTS are worth it. YOU are worth it.

Chronic inflammation can be easy to miss.

Clues that you may be living with chronic inflammation include fatigue, pain, depression, anxiety, digestive disorders, insomnia, frequent infections, frequent colds and flus, high blood pressure, very low blood pressure, multipleallergies, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBS).A doctor can diagnosis a chronic health condition.

These symptoms are the body’s way of telling us that it is fighting chronic inflammation and could benefit from support.

There are supplements that target inflammation by reducing pain and swelling, increasing the production of anti-inflammatory mediators, and preventing the production of pro-inflammatory cells. These new supplements can work synergistically to provide support for both short and long-term exposures to damage by targeting the underlying mechanisms of inflammation.

Ask me personally anytime for recommendations and more resources.

Love Christina

Strong Stretched Centered Fitness

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