Answering A Burning Question: How Do We Reduce Inflammation?

There are some obvious signs of inflammation, such as puffy and sore gums, sore joints and chronic stuffiness.  However, there are some tests that can be done to tell if your inflammation levels are higher than they should be.

C-Reactive Protein is a simple blood test that measures levels of CRP, a powerful inflammatory marker.  Results higher than 1.0 flag an inflammation problem.

Fibrinogen is an important contributor to blood clotting and levels rise in reaction to inflammation.  Optimal fibrinogen levels should range between 215 and 300 mg/dl

Food Sensitivity panel may need to be checked if your inflammatory markers remain high.  Food allergies, like casein from dairy and gluten from wheat are known to spark an inflammatory cascade in sensitive individuals.

Breast thermography provides one of the best visual clues to the presence of inflammation in breast tissue.  Inflammation always produces heat and accompanies precancerous changes to the breast.

Here are some steps to take to lower inflammation.  First watch your diet.  You need to “change your oil”.  The type of fat you eat is one of the most important dietary factors affecting inflammation in our bodies. The key is changing from bad fats such as trans fats, and other fats high in Omega 6, like vegetable oils, corn oil, soy oil, canola oil to good fats that are high in Omega 3. Omega 3 oil can be found in seeds, nuts avacados, coconut oil and wild salmon.  Olive oil, an Omega 9 oil, is a very good anti-inflammatory.

Next is to lower your glycemic load which means avoiding foods that have a high glycemic value, such as sugary products and grains that turn to sugar in our bodies.  These foods create elevated insulin levels which stimulate release of pro-inflammatory compounds. 

We also need to keep our antioxidant levels high.  We need to mount a strong defense against oxidative stress and inflammation caused by free radicals.  Antioxidants give us vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.  We need to support antioxidant enzymes that the body produces internally such as glutathione, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase.  There is now a super herb pill that I recommend that activates Nrf2 which creates these enzymes and reduces oxidative stress in our bodies 40% in 30 days. 

Inflammation can cause serious illness and death if we neglect to take action to stop it.  Don’t ignore this potential killer.  Till next time