Finding Your Inflammatory Balance
Let’s be honest, a lot of people are realizing that unhinged, chronic internal inflammation is not a good thing. In fact, emerging research indicates that inflammation may be a factor in a variety of health challenges.
So, How Do We Cool Our Jets? Support Healthy Inflammation
Easy, if you’re willing to do the work. And once you start doing it, it feels sooooo good it doesn’t feel like working anymore. What I’m talking about is not found in a pill. It’s about our daily habits.
For example, if we are chronically dehydrated, what happens according to Traditional Chinese Herbalism, is that we become dryer and hotter inside. Basically, internal inflammation increases. It’s like having your car engine rev without oil surging through the mechanical elements. That engine is going to get overheated.
So, hydrate. Let’s do our best to make sure we’re getting enough water throughout the day. I try to drink at least 4 quarts a day. A wide-mouth mason jar is perfect for this.
Another Lifestyle Consideration is Diet. What We Eat Matters
You know those times when you go out for dinner and have a wee bit of red wine, maybe some dessert and a heavier, oilier meal. Have you ever woken up the next day with some aches, some creakier joints? It may be due to what you ate and drink the night before. Sugar and alcohol, for example, may trigger our inflammatory response.
So, let’s eat healthy foods. Vegetables, fruits, nuts, healthy grains and oils…all this matters to overall health, as well as the health of our inflammatory response.
What Else? Let’s Talk About Stress
Ugh. We live stress sometimes, so why would we want to talk about it?! Well, if our stress response is constantly activated, this too can release a cascade of inflammatory chemicals inside our bodies. If we’re constantly living in a heightened stress reaction, these inflammatory chemicals may be constantly released.
Let’s do what we can to support a healthy stress response. You know those things that bring you peace. Do those. For me that’s time in my garden, hiking in the neighboring forests and mountains, swimming in our local rivers and lakes. Time in nature like this isn’t always possible so another important tool for me is meditation, something I do daily if only for a few moments.
Let’s do this! Let’s hydrate, eat wholesome foods and balance our stress response for a healthy inflammatory response.