How do certain foods reduce inflammation, while others feed it, leading to more health complications? Food is information. Our bodies do best with real food because it what our physiology and digestion recognize and metabolize most easily to nourish us. This could be why ultra-processed foods and ingredients that make up a large portion of the food supply are said to favor inflammation, because they are more difficult for our bodies to work with. The information contained in processed food is confusing to the body when receive too often.  Real food contains information like nutrients, fiber, hydration that are normally removed with processing. These components to real food are used to replenish anti-inflammatory pathways and allow cellular physiology to operate appropriately. When cellular physiology is operating appropriately, inflammation will be kept at appropriate levels.

Inflammation is not something that we can ever reduce to zero because it is essential for health. But food can certainly contribute to pushing inflammation beyond what is normal and cause damage.  

Inflammatory damage from food is not just what the food is but the environment and how we consume it. Our environment and behavior of eating effects how our gut and resident microbes’ function. The root of many inflammatory states begins in our guts. Eating foods that we are allergic to will certainly create an inflammatory cascade. Overeating or eating meals with too much complexity relative to our digestive capacity is a route to inflammation at the level of the gut, no matter what the actual meal contains. Another example is eating too quickly, eating while stressed or fatigued. And of course, excessive alcohol damages the gut and favors an inflammatory tendency.  

How does someone figure out the right anti-inflammation diet for them?  Meet with professionals to determine potential sources of inflammation in your food, environment and lifestyle. Sometimes inflammation can be coming from counterintuitive sources that seem unrelated to the area most affected.  

What are some ways to reduce inflammation in the body? / Are there any things you can do to reduce inflammation in the body fast? Food is always the place to start. Food is an opportunity each of us have, usually multiple times a day, to favor pro or anti-inflammatory states in our physical bodies.  

What causes inflammation in the body and how do you know it is inflamed?  Inflammation is a local or systemic response from our immune system to begin a healing process. Inflammation is not an inherently bad phenomenon. In healthy expression it begins a cascade of processes that repair damage, protect from disease causing microbes and bring your awareness to an area of your body that needs attention. Inflammation becomes a problem when it is chronic in nature, neglected or unrecognized and the effected tissues do not have a chance to recover.  The classic signs of inflammation are redness, swelling, heat, pain and loss of function. This is more easily observed in injuries and inflammation at the skin level. However, these processes can occur internally, out of sight, in any area of the body. Clinical signs, symptoms and laboratory testing confirms this.