How to Reduce Chronic Inflammation Naturally: 7 Science-Backed Strategies
Chronic inflammation can wreck your health over time. Fortunately, you have a lot of different ways to fight it.
You've probably heard about "chronic inflammation" and how it can wreak havoc on your health. It's a hot topic these days, pun intended.
But what is chronic inflammation and where does it come from? How does it affect your health over the long term? And most importantly, what can you do to keep it in check?
In this issue of Thrive Science, we will address all of these questions and explore seven natural strategies for reducing chronic inflammation.
What Is Chronic Inflammation?
Inflammation by itself is not the villain here. It's actually an important part of our body's defense system.
Inflammation occurs when the immune system recognizes and removes harmful, foreign stimuli to begin the healing process.
But there's an important difference between acute (short-term) inflammation and chronic (long-term) inflammation. So let's break it down.
Acute Inflammation
Acute inflammation is a short-term response to the sudden onset of an injury or illness. Examples include redness and swelling around a cut, contact dermatitis, or the sore throat that accompanies the common cold.
Acute inflammation comes on fast but usually only lasts for a few days or weeks. Once the triggering event subsides, the inflammation fades and everything goes back to normal.
Chronic Inflammation
Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is a long-lasting inflammatory response that can linger for months or even years. And it's a lot more harmful.
It can be caused by ongoing irritation, an autoimmune disease, or other underlying health issues. In some cases, chronic inflammation might not have obvious symptoms, but it can silently damage tissues and organs over time.
According to a PubMed research paper on the subject, chronic inflammation can be caused by a wide range of factors:
Lingering infections: Some germs like tuberculosis or parasites are tough to get rid of, so the body stays inflamed trying to fight them.
Exposure to irritants: Things like industrial chemicals or dust can irritate the body over time, causing ongoing inflammation.
Autoimmune diseases: Sometimes the body's defense system mistakenly attacks its own tissues, leading to chronic inflammation as seen in rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.
Problems at the cellular level: In some people, the cells that control inflammation don't work right, leading to persistent inflammation.
Chemical imbalances: Buildup of certain substances in the body can trigger inflammation, like the free radicals that cause oxidative stress.
Free Radicals and Oxidative Stress
Let's talk about the free radicals mentioned above. In the human body, free radicals can cause prolonged inflammation that eventually develops into a full-blown disease.
Free radicals are unstable molecules that can damage cells, proteins, and DNA by reacting with other molecules in the body. They're like little thieves that steal electrons from healthy cells, through a process called oxidation.
When this happens on a large scale, it causes oxidative stress. This is when you have too many free radicals and not enough antioxidants to get rid of them all.
According to the National Cancer Institute: "Long-term oxidative stress may play a role in aging and the development of chronic inflammation, cancer, and other diseases."
So we've connected some very important dots here:
Chronic, persistent inflammation coincides with an excess of free radicals.
This imbalance causes oxidation and oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress can damage cells and DNA and cause all sorts of problems.
By understanding this sequence of events, we can better identify natural ways to reduce chronic inflammation and the damage it causes.
7 Natural Ways to Reduce Chronic Inflammation
Living a healthy lifestyle in general can help you reduce (or even prevent) chronic inflammation.
This includes all of those things doctors have been telling us for decades. Avoid smoking. Maintain a healthy weight. Lay off the junk food. Et cetera.
But sometimes, we have to go above and beyond to stave off the effects of chronic inflammation. Even a diligent individual who exercises regularly and eats a fairly healthy diet can experience chronic inflammation and resulting illnesses.
Here are seven natural (and science-backed) strategies that could help you reduce chronic inflammation, neutralize free radicals, limit oxidative stress, and live a healthier life.
1. Moderate Continuous Exercise
Regular exercise delivers a wide variety of health benefits. It can also help us combat the effects of inflammation, oxidative stress, and aging.
But don't worry. You don't have to run sprints or powerlift in the gym every day. A growing body of research shows that moderate exercise might be better than intense exercise when it comes to reducing inflammation markers.
According to a study published in the journal Biological Psychology:
"MCT [moderate continuous training] decreased depression and pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α levels. Although HIT [high intensity training] decreased depressive symptoms, it also increased perceived stress, TNF-α and IL-6 relative to MCT. This may be due to the higher level of physical stress evoked by the more strenuous exercise protocol."
Moderate continuous training includes brisk walking, light jogging, cycling, swimming, dancing, elliptical machine, and circuit training with sustained elevated heart rate. Most experts recommend 30 minutes per day, five days per week. But anything is better than nothing.
Similarly, a paper from the journal Redox Biology states the following:
"Exercise reduces age-related oxidative damage and chronic inflammation, increases autophagy, and improves mitochondrial function, myokine profile, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) signaling pathway, and insulin sensitivity."
Next up, some insight from the International Journal of Molecular Sciences:
"Exercise enhances antioxidant response, decreases age-related oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory signals, and promotes the activation of anabolic and mitochondrial biogenesis pathways in skeletal muscle. Additionally, exercise improves endothelial function and arterial stiffness by reducing inflammatory and oxidative damage signaling in vascular tissue together with an increase in antioxidant enzymes and nitric oxide availability, globally promoting functional performance and healthy aging."
2. Eat Your Fruits and Veggies
Eating fruits and vegetables on a regular basis is one of the best ways to prevent or reduce chronic inflammation naturally.
Virtually all fruits and vegetables contain some level of antioxidants. And if you recall from earlier, antioxidants help to prevent the oxidative stress caused by free radicals.
But the types and amounts of antioxidants can vary significantly between different types of produce. Some of the richest sources include berries, dark leafy greens, and colorful fruits and vegetables like carrots and bell peppers.
According to a study published in the journal Nutrients:
"An increased fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with a significant decrease in inflammatory markers (hs CRP, TNF-α) and oxidative damage markers (TBARs) and with increased antioxidant enzymes (catalase, glutathione peroxidase) compared to a low consumption (p < 0.05)."
CRP, TNF-α, and TBARs are different ways of measuring inflammation in the body.
Bonus points: Combine antioxidants with the moderate exercise mentioned above, and you're doing great things for your long-term health and wellness!
3. Cut Back on Sugar, Saturated Fats, and Trans Fats
According to a paper published by researchers from the National Institute of Health and the University of Kansas Medical Center:
"Diet rich in saturated fat, trans-fats, or refined sugar is associated with higher production of pro-inflammatory molecules, especially in individuals with diabetes or overweight individuals."
And as the Journal of the American College of Cardiology explains, the worst-case scenario from a health standpoint is to consume too much of the bad and not enough of the good:
"Dietary patterns high in refined starches, sugar, and saturated and trans-fatty acids, poor in natural antioxidants and fiber from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and poor in omega-3 fatty acids may cause an activation of the innate immune system, most likely by an excessive production of proinflammatory cytokines associated with a reduced production of anti-inflammatory cytokines."
(Note: Some fats are good for you, so they're worth keeping.)
Bonus points (and probably a longer life) if you combine strategies #2 and #3 above. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, while avoiding trans fats, added sugar, and junk foods.
4. Tame the Stress Monster
You probably already know that stress is hard on the body because you can feel it.
What you might not know is that long-term chronic stress can disrupt the body's internal balance or "homeostasis," paving the way for many health problems including inflammation.
A paper published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience suggests that chronic stress may disrupt the body's built-in stress response system, leading to a state of persistent low-grade inflammation and increasing the risk for various chronic diseases.
Researchers are still trying to identify the precise relationship between long-term stress and inflammation. But most agree that there's a strong connection.
According to Alka Gupta, codirector of integrative health at Weill Cornell Medicine:
"There's no one simple answer. We do know, though, that when we teach people how to reduce stress in whatever form—stress management tips, classes, individual advice, yoga, deep breathing—we see decreases in some of these inflammatory side effects."
Reducing stress is easier said than done. But if you want to maintain or improve your health as you age, you'll want to add some stress-management techniques to your long game.
5. Consider Supplementing
If you have the budget to buy some supplements, you might want to look into things like turmeric, ginger, garlic and fish oil. These and other natural substances have been shown to help reduce chronic inflammation. They have other health benefits as well.
You can incorporate them into your daily diet as well, if you don't like taking supplements. Turmeric, ginger and garlic can be added to a lot of dishes. And fish oil can be found in fatty fish varieties like sardines, anchovies, trout and salmon.
Supplements, on the other hand, offer convenience and are easier to incorporate into a regular routine. Just check with your healthcare practitioner before using supplements, as they can deliver a more concentrated dose when compared to natural foods.
6. Practice Mindfulness Through the Day
Mindfulness meditation (and mindfulness in general) has been shown to help with chronic inflammation. It also reduces stress, lowers cortisol levels, lowers blood pressure, and a whole range of other benefits.
And please don't shrug this off as some kind of eastern mysticism. Mindfulness meditation does not require you to light incense, or chant "om" over and over, or sit on a special pillow with your knees folded in a specific way.
It's really just about being aware, and focusing on sensations as they occur.
The Mayo Clinic offers a good definition:
"Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment."
And here's how to do it:
Find a comfortable spot to sit or lie down. Close your eyes or soften your gaze. Take a few deep breaths, then simply observe your natural breath. When your mind wanders (and it will), gently guide it back to your breath. Be kind to yourself as you practice—it takes time.
It might not seem like you're doing much, but you are.
According to an article in the American Cancer Society's CA Journal:
"Mindfulness has been studied for its effects on cytokine and cortisol levels, and there are promising data to support that the intervention can measurably decrease inflammation."
A summary of controlled trials published in the journal PLOS ONE suggested that older adults, in particular, could benefit from the inflammation-tamping benefits of mindfulness:
"Exploratory analyses combining study subsamples, however, suggest that both mindfulness interventions may reduce CRP in populations at risk for systemic inflammation ... midlife-to-older adults and individuals with high BMI."
7. Check Your Vitamin D Levels
A number of studies (like this one) have shown a correlation between vitamin D levels and various inflammatory markers.
It has been estimated that roughly 1 billion people on the planet are deficient in vitamin D, while 50% of the global population is deemed to have "insufficient" levels.
And here's something that might surprise you...
Very few foods contain high amounts of vitamin D. While fatty fish, fish liver oils, and a few other foods provide some vitamin D, these sources alone often aren't enough to meet the daily requirements for most people.
In much of the world, people get most of their Vitamin D from sun exposure, and a lesser amount from their diets. But if you avoid the sun due to skin-health concerns, or live in a climate where sun exposure is rare, you're likely deficient in Vitamin D.
And that kind of deficiency can lead to many health issues, including seasonal affective disorder, immune problems, chronic inflammation and disease.
Anyone over 40 might want to have their vitamin D levels checked and, if deemed appropriate, supplement as needed to keep those levels up. Doctors can test for this and other vitamin deficiencies with a simple blood test.
Note: These aren't the only ways to reduce or prevent chronic inflammation naturally. I've selected these seven strategies because (A) they have a lot of research behind them and (B) they're fairly easy to implement. We will revisit this subject in future issues of Thrive Science with additional tips, strategies and ideas.