If a person believes the most recent research telling us that inflammation is a major contributing factor in such serious diseases as heart attack, stroke, certain types of cancer then they are likely to be interesting in finding ways to reduce its negative impact on health. So why don’t we walk through 7 common sense ideas that just might help in avoiding becoming another health statistic and with a little luck might even slow the aging process a bit.
*Get enough sleep: Many will be surprised to learn that getting from 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep each night is one of the simplest, and best, ways to reduce inflammation in the body. But in order to reap the benefits this must be quality natural sleep not sleep induced by drugs or alcohol intoxication.
*Stay active: According to the American Heart Association about 40 percent of those who have had a heart attack were considered to be inactive. There are many benefits to adopting a moderate 30 minute exercise program each day including promoting cardiovascular health, increasing bone and muscle strength, raising good cholesterol levels, triggering feel good hormones called endorphins, and yes, reducing overall inflammation.
*Reduce dependency on prescription drugs: For some harsh prescription drugs are necessary evil and reducing their use is a complicated issue that is best accomplished with the help of a medical professional. That said, all drugs are chemical compounds and virtually all come with at least a few side effect which could be interpreted as causing inflammation in the body. So the bottom line is to work with your doctor to reduce your dependency on these chemicals if possible.
*Tweak your diet: Most research indicates that diets containing over 20 percent saturated fat or are high in preservatives and food additives trigger an inflammatory response inside the body. Dietary experts suggest sticking to a Mediterranean or Paleolithic diets to keep inflammation at bay. Furthermore, eating baked fish a couple of times a week, or if eating fish isn’t your thing substituting fish oil supplements daily containing around 720 mg of DHA/EPA, are other dietary steps worth considering if your goal is to reduce inflammation in the body.
*Daily vitamin B supplementation: While more research needs to be done to confirm this suggestion what we do know is that vitamin B offsets the damaging inflammatory effects of dangerous amino acids known as homocysteines which are a byproduct of a high protein diet. This fact alone makes B supplementation worth adding to our list.
*Watch your weight: Never have those of us living in the United States been fatter. In fact, we were recently found to be the fattest country on the planet and yes it is true that inflammation and obesity (being 20 percent over your ideal weight) are directly linked.
*Reduce stress: Stress is a version of the human genetic survival mechanism known as “fight or flight”. When a person is under stress the body is flooded with hormones which have a number of detrimental affects including triggering inflammation on a cellular level. Deep breathing, yoga, and other relaxation techniques are excellence choices to bring stress levels down to more manageable levels.