There seems to be a misconception in this country about the “normal” aging process. Many people believe that as we get older, it is acceptable and even expected to live with daily aches and pains. I am here to tell you that you should NOT accept this as a standard in your life. You should NOT accept living in pain every day. This is NOT “normal”, and there is something you can do to reverse it or avoid it from happening to you!
What is Inflammation?
Inflammation by definition refers to your body’s process of fighting against things that are harmful to it in an attempt to heal itself. These harmful things include infections, injuries, and toxins. When there is damage to the cells inside of your body, chemicals get released that trigger a response from your immune system.
Most of us think about inflammation in the acute form, like when trip and sprain an ankle. The ankle visibly swells in response to the injury.
Chronic inflammation is something you may not have heard about before, but it is something that affects most of us every day, without even knowing it. Chronic inflammation is happening on the inside of your body and is not visibly seen or obviously noticeable. It does however, lead to other serious conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and depression. It is also reversible and avoidable.
Where Does Inflammation Come From?
Remember when I said inflammation is a response to toxins? The toxins I am referring to is the food that we consume and put into our bodies. By consuming a diet high in sugar and/or highly processed foods, our bodies respond by swelling and giving us joint pain. Lovely, right?!
By eating a healthier diet full of natural foods that our bodies were intended to break down and use as energy, we eliminate the swelling and eliminate the pain. Crazy huh?
So, what kinds of foods cause inflammation?
The most prone inflammatory foods contain:
- Gluten
- Corn
- Dairy
- Sugar
- Artificial Sweeteners
- Bad Oils
- Soybeans
- Alcohol
By eliminating these inflammation causing foods from your diet, you will eliminate the inflammation. Eliminate waking up with stiff joints. Eliminate walking up the stairs and feeling pain in your ankles and knees. Eliminate back and neck pain that has been aggravating headaches for years. Eliminate taking harmful medications to manage your daily pain that can ultimately lead to kidney and/or liver damage.
Have you ever considered trying an elimination diet? Discovering firsthand that symptoms you’re suffering from on daily basis can improve or go away completely by simply cutting out a specific food, can be life changing! If you are still on the fence about whether this is something you should consider, learn Why People Chose to Go Gluten Free.
Maybe Dairy is Causing Your Stomach Troubles. Whatever the case may be, if you are living with daily aches and pains, trying something simple like an elimination diet is totally FREE!
Foods to Eat the Decrease Inflammation
You may be thinking at this point “yeah, that sounds great… but then what do I eat?” The answer is simple. You eat a diet that is full of whole foods. Foods that will fuel your body in the way it was intended to operate. Foods that have not been highly processed and chemically altered to maintain unrealistic shelf-life expectations.
Foods that decrease inflammation:
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Nuts
- Fish
- Lean meats
- Whole Grains
- Healthy fats (such as olive and coconut oil)
There are so many “fad diets” out there these days that I cannot say if one is better or worse than the other. The important thing to do is to set a plan and to stick with it! You do not need to follow what Suzy down the block is doing to lose 10 pounds before summer. Instead, find something that you can sustain long term. Otherwise, there is really no point in doing it.
Finding out that eliminating certain foods from you diet will make you feel better, sleep better, and improve your mood is one thing. Eliminating those foods from your diet and making a lifestyle change that lasts a lifetime is what we help our clients do at Twin Oaks Health. To learn more about whether Twin Oaks Health can help you, click here!
