How to Combat Inflammation
Inflammation: the word alone sounds scary enough, especially if you’ve ever heard anyone in the health community talk about it. However, there are a few easy things you can do to combat and prevent inflammation, along with the other, long-term health complications it can cause.
But before we dive into how to prevent inflammation, let’s get one major misconception out of the way: inflammation is not always a bad thing. In fact, it’s natural, and it’s a sign that your body is working the way it is supposed to. When you take a fall, suffer a cut, or even catch the flu, your body sends out inflammatory responses, in the form of white blood cells, to fight off any foreign toxins that might’ve entered the body. Inflammation is the body’s natural way of protecting itself against bacteria that may have accessed the blood stream through an open cut or scrape, or that nasty bug you caught from a grimy door handle or that one coworker who refuses to take a sick day. If our bodies didn’t produce these inflammatory responses, a simple cut or flu could be a lot more serious than a band-aid or a couple cans of chicken noodle soup.
However, sometimes our bodies send out inflammatory responses when there’s not an immediate need for them. This is called chronic inflammation, and this is the kind of inflammation you should be worried about. Usually due to a lifestyle imbalance or another underlying condition, sometimes our bodies’ solution to illness becomes the problem itself.
While acute inflammation is pretty easy to spot—pain, redness, heat, and swelling at the site of an injury, or the stuffiness, fever, and excess mucus that usually accompany colds and other infections—chronic inflammation is a much quieter killer. Chronic inflammation can feel like lower back pain, long-term stomach issues, low energy, swollen lymph nodes, and brain fog. Left untreated, it can cause serious disease, such as Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 2 diabetes. In other words, it’s definitely an issue you want to get in front of.
So what causes chronic inflammation, you’re probably asking yourself after realizing how long you’ve had that weird lower back stiffness, or the number of alarms you have to set on a Monday morning. The most common causes of chronic inflammation include autoimmune diseases, continued exposure to toxins like pollution, industrial chemicals, or even cigarette smoke, as well as untreated, ongoing acute inflammation.
There are a few other lifestyle factors that are known to contribute to chronic inflammation, such as heavy alcohol use, high body mass index or obesity, frequent, strenuous exercise, or lack of movement, chronic stress, and smoking cigarettes. Now that we’ve talked about the issue, let’s talk about the solutions.
One of the best things you can do to minimize chronic inflammation is eliminate lifestyle factors that can cause it. This can look like prioritizing regular movement, cutting back on alcohol and cigarettes, as well as eliminating stressors when you can and coping with them when you can't.
However, nutrition can play a major role in preventing inflammation as well. You are what you eat, and diet has a lot to do with keeping chronic inflammation at bay. It all boils down to the vitamins and nutrients in the food we consume. However, some vitamins are more efficient at reducing and preventing chronic inflammation than others, and those with lifestyles or health conditions that contribute to chronic inflammation may want to prioritize the following:
Vitamin C: This powerful antioxidant helps reduce inflammation by neutralizing free radicals and supporting collagen production, which are crucial for building and repairing connective tissues. Vitamin C also boosts the immune system, improving the body's ability to fight off infections and reduce inflammation.
Glutathione: Glutathione is an antioxidant that helps detoxify the body. It has also been shown to reduce inflammation.
Magnesium: A mineral that helps regulate inflammation, it can be found in dark leafy greens, nuts, and seeds.
Zinc: Zinc is a mineral that helps to boost the immune system. It can be found in oysters, red meat, and beans.
B Vitamins: B vitamins, including B6, B9 (folate), and B12 play crucial roles in immune function and reducing inflammation. They support cellular metabolism, nerve function, and the production of red blood cells, which are all vital for maintaining a healthy inflammatory response.
We all know that vitamins are a great thing, and their benefits extend far beyond minimizing inflammation. The only problem with them is the amount of time it takes for enough of a specific vitamin to build up in the stomach, reach the bloodstream, and make a difference in the body. That’s why regular vitamin infusions can be so helpful for those struggling with chronic inflammation or hoping to offset lifestyle factors that can cause it.
The digestive system often breaks down the vitamins in our food inefficiently and disposes of them before they even get a chance to reach the bloodstream, especially when it’s affected by existing inflammation. On the other hand, infusions allow vitamins and minerals to go straight in to the bloodstream from the start, where they won’t have to face overactive digestive acids or a leaky gut. That way, the body can efficiently absorb and utilize those vitamins and nutrients, with a higher concentration reaching cells and tissues.
Chronic inflammation isn’t just a dangerous precursor to other illness. It can be a pain by itself—literally. Vitamin infusions provide rapid relief for patients struggling with low energy levels, impaired cognitive function, or chronic pain. Because the vitamins in an infusion don’t need as much time to be absorbed and metabolized as those in food or supplements, clients can enjoy relief from chronic symptoms right away.
Vitamin infusions also offer a targeted, tailored approach to chronic inflammation, dependent on the client’s needs. By evaluating vitamin deficiencies, lifestyle factors, and underlying causes of the inflammation, the vitamins and antioxidants with the biggest impact can be isolated and administered to treat clients most effectively.
Vitamin infusions offer a valuable adjunct therapy for reducing and treating inflammation. While they can't replace healthy lifestyle changes, they provide a direct and efficient way to deliver essential vitamins into the bloodstream, helping the body combat inflammation and support overall health. Click here to book now and get ahead of inflammation.
