The Inflammation Conundrum

One of the most poorly understood parts of our physiology is the process known as "inflammation." We constantly see news and advertisements about products and supplements that promise to reduce it, but maybe we need to ask ourselves: "What is inflammation, anyway?"
​​
The easiest way to describe it is like this: you give yourself a paper cut at work one day, but decide to just ignore it. Later that evening, you find the area has gotten red, and puffy, and sore to the touch. This is inflammation at work. Your immune system is pumping extra help to the area to help prevent pathogens from entering your bloodstream. Sounds great, right?

​The problem arises when the inflammation process gets stuck. This is referred to as "chronic inflammatory stress", and it can result in a whole bunch of very negative things happening to your body. The most common target area for CIS is actually your gut lining - intake of foods you are sensitive to can result in your stomach lining being perpetually inflamed. And, while it is inflamed, it isn't working right, resulting in poor digestive process, including the inability to completely metabolize important macro and micro nutrients.

​It isn't just intake of particular foods that can have these negative results. Psychological stress, Sleep deprivation, even excess fats can result in chronic inflammation syndrome in the digestive system. 

​So, are there any potential solutions?

Certainly. Some of the best solutions are:

• ​Limit psychological stress.
• Reduce intake of processed carbohydrates, especially processed sugar.
  
• Take care of your gut flora via adding a probiotic to your diet.
  
• Get plenty of antioxidants from fresh fruits and vegetables.
  

​Following these suggestions can reduce your susceptibility to CIS, and get your body back to applying the inflammatory response to where it is really needed: as a normal part of your immune system. To get back to work on those nasty paper cuts, and other dangers of the modern office.