Do you suffer from joint pain, skin rash/breakout or chronic headaches? Pay attention! Your body is trying to tell you something. Inflammation is a key component of your immune system and serves as your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right.
There’s two main types of inflammation: acute, which occurs after a surface-level injury such as a cut or burn, sprained ankle or abdominal pain and the short-term response includes redness, puffiness, bloating, fatigue, swelling, pain or temporary loss of function. The more serious case of inflammation is chronic, or low-grade, inflammation, which can have long-term effects on your entire body. Chronic inflammation is hallmarked by an increase of irregularities found in the blood or tissue and it can contribute to the development of many different types of diseases, including heart disease and stroke.
“When you don’t eat healthy, don’t get enough exercise, or have too much stress, the body responds by triggering inflammation,” says Varinthrej Pitis, MD, an internal medicine physician at Scripps Clinic Carmel Valley. “Chronic inflammation can have damaging consequences over the long term. So the food you eat, the quality of sleep you get and how much you exercise, they all really matter when it comes to reducing inflammation.”
The good news is that inflammation can be entirely managed, and sometimes even prevented, by sticking to a healthy lifestyle and understanding what your triggers are.
Best Foods to Fight Inflammation:
Treat Your Body Right:
Our team of massage therapists, nutritionists and expert trainers are always available to help - and our consultations are free! We now offer InBody Scans, which help you better understand your body makeup when embarking on any fitness journey. And we also recently partnered with Never Settle Lifestyle - a team of nutrition coaches dedicated to helping you achieve the healthiest lifestyle possible.
