When you get a cut or a scrape, the area usually swells and feels warm.
That’s inflammation.
In the short term (like with cuts and scrapes), it’s a good thing.
Inflammation kills foreign invaders, like germs and bacteria, that are trying to gain access to your body. When you get sick and have a fever, that’s inflammation. It’s going to work for you, helping to kill the bugs making you sick. Another example of inflammation acting on your behalf, protecting your body.
What is Chronic Inflammation?
When inflammation goes from acute (short-term) to chronic (long term, persistent), that’s when inflammation goes from being beneficial to being a problem.
Chronic inflammation in the body has been implicated in many nasty diseases from cancer and heart disease to ALS and asthma.
You may have heard that taking an aspirin a day can help reduce the risk of heart disease (and, more recently, it’s been linked to a reduced risk of cancer as well).
That’s because it reduces inflammation in the body.
Reducing inflammation in the body reduces the risk of many diseases.
From Visual.ly
The kitchen and the foods you eat are a great place to start to help reduce inflammation in your body.
Looking for More Anti-Inflammatory Foods?
Add a few more of these foods to your diet:
- Olive oil
- Walnuts (thanks their omega-3 fatty acids) and other nuts
- Tomatoes
- Leafy greens
- Garlic and onions.
If you want to try an anti-inflammatory diet to help reduce chronic inflammation in your body click here and get access to the easiest menu planning, shopping list building, calorie counting, inflammation reducing plan!
If you want to build a personalized anti-inflammatory diet based on foods that cause inflammation in your body, click here to learn how the Mediator Release Test (MRT) can help reduce inflammation, chronic pain, migraines, skin issues and more.