Inflammatory responses that occur behind the scenes can help you heal, but other times, they can even harm your health, leading to chronic inflammation
Your body’s inflammation is a response to an illness, injury, or toxic germs which is a normal and important process that allows your body to heal. According to experts, a reaction like fever happens when you have an infection - which helps your body fight the pathogens. However, inflammation can also harm you if it occurs in healthy tissues or goes on for too long.
Doctors say inflammation also affects parts of your body that you cannot see. Inflammatory responses that occur behind the scenes can help you heal, but other times, they can even harm your health, leading to chronic inflammation. This happens when your body gets into a constant state of alert. Over time, chronic inflammation also has a negative impact on your tissues and organs – playing a major role in a range of conditions – from cancer to heart attack and stroke.
What are the symptoms of chronic inflammation?
Doctors say inflammation mostly leads to noticeable common symptoms like pain, redness, and swelling. However, when there is chronic inflammation, symptoms can be more subtle – making it easy to overlook. A few of these are:
- Extreme tiredness and fatigue
- Body pain
- Depression and anxiety
- Gastrointestinal complications like diarrhoea and constipation
- Weight gain
- Weight loss
- Persistent infections
What causes inflammation?
Doctors say there are many things that can lead to chronic inflammation, a few of which include:
- Untreated causes like an infection or injury
- Autoimmune disorder
- Long-term exposure to irritants
- Smoking
- Alcohol
- Chronic stress
- Age
How can you treat chronic inflammation?
While inflammation is a natural part of the healing process - when it becomes chronic, it becomes important to control it to reduce the risk of any kind of long-term damage. A few options that help manage inflammation include:
Medication
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAID painkillers reduce pain and inflammation, however, they do have certain side effects like high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and vision issues. Doctors also say immunosuppressive medications are used when other treatments are not too effective, but they can cause severe side effects like hair loss, sterility, and liver damage.
Lifestyle changes
A few lifestyle changes that can help you get over inflammation, include:
- Eating a sugar-free and low-glycemic diet includes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains which are packed with antioxidants and polyphenols. Eat lots of anti-inflammatory foods like olive oil, leafy greens like spinach, and tomatoes, fatty fish like salmon and sardines, nuts, and fruits like berries and cherries. Make sure to avoid foods that reduce inflammation like refined carbohydrates including white bread and pastries, fried foods, processed and red meat, and sugar-sweetened beverages.
- Reduce saturated and trans fats in your foods
- Getting regular and uninterrupted sleep
- Managing stress
- Quit smoking and drinking
- Losing weight
Herbal supplements
There are many herbal supplements like curcumin and lipoic acid – found in turmeric which is widely used in Indian cuisine. Other spices like ginger, garlic, and cayenne pepper are also helpful in reducing chronic inflammation and inflammatory diseases. Also, heat therapy helps relax tissues and stimulates blood flow properly. According to experts, even regular massage or acupuncture therapy helps reduce inflammation and pain.
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