When something goes wrong with your body, from a skin infection to a bruised elbow, natural defense systems kick into high gear.
White blood cells and tissue fluids rush to the site of the problem, helping to repair the damage and rebuild healthy cells. It’s called inflammation and it’s a good thing — so long as it starts and stops when it’s supposed to.
But when your body isn’t producing enough of the stuff that makes the inflammation slow down, you’re more likely to end up with a variety of serious health conditions, such as heart disease, cancer and autoimmune disorders. It’s a scary prospect, but it’s not out of your control. Experts say simple lifestyle changes can go a long way toward good health.
“What we eat can have a tremendous effect on how our body works,” says Robin Foroutan, a New York City-based nutritionist and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Food can modulate the immune system in a big way.”
Fine-tuning your body’s inflammatory responses means first taking a hard look at your diet. Much of the stuff in the processed foods we eat every day is a big part of the problem, says Dr. Lavanya Karri, a family physician who specializes in integrative medicine at Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Health Network. Foods that are fried or high in sugar are among the top culprits.
Eat too much of the bad stuff and your body will have a tough time stopping the normal inflammation process when you get injured or sick. You might feel lethargic much of the time, have trouble sleeping or find yourself with sore and swollen joints or headaches.
And if it goes on too long, your body will get confused about what’s normal inflammation and what isn’t, and will then begin attacking itself. Ultimately, that battle can add up to a chronic disease.
“All of these are factors for heart issues, stroke — it’s just a cycle of one thing leading to the other,” Karri says.
Eating foods that don’t mesh well with your body can also trigger prolonged inflammation. Sensitivities to gluten have recently received considerable attention, but Foroutan says people might have other, more specific issues with any one type of food. She suggests taking time to figure out which food makes you feel particularly ill.
“The rule of thumb is if you start to notice you don’t feel well after a certain food, then take it out for a few weeks,” she says. “When things calm down, put it back in.”
It’s also important to add foods rich in antioxidants to your diet. Antioxidants are substances that help your body keep cells from getting damaged. If a minor injury triggers inflammation, antioxidants are key to getting it stopped once that inflammation has cleaned up the problem area.
Good news: Getting enough antioxidants doesn’t mean that you have to put kale in every meal. A myriad of foods are packed with the stuff, from fatty fish like salmon, sardines and tuna, to a long list of fruits and veggies.
Smoothie fans can load up on antioxidants by dumping berries — strawberries, blueberries, or the more exotic goji berries and acai berries — into their blender concoctions. Fruits rich in vitamin C add more punch, too.
Meanwhile, veggies such as onions, asparagus and Brussels sprouts are also known to fight inflammation.
If you’re cutting out sugary coffee drinks and soda, which can contribute to inflammation, you might consider swapping in green or black tea.
“Green and black tea both have really great levels of flavanoid antioxidants,” Foroutan says. “Because we don’t completely understand how each of these things work, it’s always a good idea to get a variety.”
Foroutan also raves about the inflammation-fighting powers of olive oil, which can be used in cooking and added into salad dressings, among other options. When cooking with olive oil, she suggests using a low heat because a higher temperature burns off some of the oil’s healthiest properties.
“Extra virgin olive oil has lots of health benefits, but people cook with too high heat,” she says. “You never want to cook anything with healthy fats too high … You want to cook low and slow.”
She says the same caution is due when cooking eggs to get the most health benefits out of the protein-rich yolk.
Heidi Weinhold, who practices naturopathic and homeopathic medicine in McMurray, Pennsylvania, says she encourages people to try the Mediterranean diet, which is focused on vegetables, fish and healthy oils and limits red meat and dairy.
Research has shown this diet can help reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease, diabetes and even help prevent some types of cancer.
On a recent trip to Italy’s Amalfi Coast, Weinhold says she saw for herself that people favor a very different type of diet than many in the U.S. She found very little red meat and plenty of salads dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.
“It was so fascinating,” she says, “you couldn’t find a meatball on the menu.”
Weinhold also recommends supplements such as fish oil and anti-inflammatory herbs to complement an antioxidant-filled diet. Making those healthy additions to your diet is both a preventative strike against future illnesses and a targeted response to problems people already have.
Both Weinhold and Karri, who practices more traditional medicine, agree that diet and lifestyle changes are the best and most lasting approach to problems related to inflammation.
People looking for a quick fix, however, need to be patient. Weinhold says it can take weeks or months to start feeling the changes in your body, so it’s important to keep up with your lifestyle adjustments even if you’re not seeing an immediate response.
“People are amazed, and simple moves with the diet can have big results,” she says. “But when someone is really inflamed with autoimmune conditions, it might take a month or two.”
Feeling better faster — or staying on top of potential pitfalls — is also dependent on a lifestyle that includes plenty of exercise. That means making time for walking, running or cycling on a regular basis, signing up for classes at the gym or becoming a regular at yoga class.
“You have to move,” Weinhold says.
Karri says more studies are proving that the changes we make at any time in our lives with diet and exercise can help counteract previous problems or even genes that indicate we’re more likely to end up with a particular disease.
She says people who practice relaxation techniques, such as meditation or yoga, on a regular basis are better equipping the systems that fight inflammation. Finding purpose at home and in the workplace, and enjoying positive relationships with partners, family members, friends and colleagues has also been shown to help, she says.
“We can use these simple tools to make big changes,” Karri says. “Sometimes you cannot accomplish this with just a pill.”
