84 Burnett St Bundaberg
Have you heard that inflammation might be to blame for your symptoms? Or perhaps you’ve read that inflammation can increase your risk of chronic disease?
Inflammation can be a big issue for many people – but there are steps you can take to rebalance it. Let’s take a closer look at inflammation and how to reduce it naturally.
What is inflammation?
Inflammation is a process that protects your body from damage and supports the healing process. It does this by increasing blood flow to the injured or infected area to flood it with nutrients and white blood cells.
This is an essential process when you have an acute injury or infection. It only becomes a problem when it becomes chronic. Chronic inflammation has been linked to countless chronic health conditions.
Why you might want to reduce inflammation
There are two main reasons to address inflammation – to alleviate current symptoms and conditions, and to prevent further disease.
Some of the symptoms and conditions that are linked to inflammation include:
Inflammation can occur anywhere in the body. You could experience a variety of symptoms throughout your body, but inflammation is still a likely contributor.
Natural remedies for addressing inflammation
Are you looking for a natural approach to managing inflammation? There are some simple steps that you can take.
Balance your gut health
Gut health plays a significant role in inflammation – many believe it is where most disease begins. The microbes in our gut can produce pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory compounds. To encourage anti-inflammatory microbes, consider:
The best way to optimise your gut health is using a tailored plan based on your specific circumstances. You can do this by seeking advice from a health professional such as a qualified naturopath.
Manage your stress levels
You may not think of your mental stress when it comes to relieving physical issues such as inflammation. But research has found that stress can activate inflammatory responses in the body. This is thanks to a close relationship between your hormones, nervous system and immune system.
Managing your stress can also help reduce inflammation indirectly. For example, stress can have a negative impact on gut health and increase the risk of chronic health issues. By finding a healthy way to cope with your stress, you can take some of the pressure off the body.
What helps you to de-stress is unique to you. But you could include options such as:
Eat plenty of anti-inflammatory foods
Every mouthful of food that you eat can either encourage inflammation or combat it. The key is to eat a variety of foods with anti-inflammatory benefits.
How can you do that? By increasing your intake of colourful plant foods. Plants contain nutrients and antioxidants that can support the immune system, heal damaged tissues and reduce excess inflammation.
The more colours that you include each day, the better. Different colours indicate different types of antioxidants that offer different benefits.
Identify and manage underlying health concerns
Many chronic conditions can further exacerbate inflammation. It becomes a negative cycle that leads to more symptoms and poorer health.
That’s why it is vital to identify and manage any health concerns that could be adding to your inflammation.
Consider supportive techniques such as Acupuncture
Did you know? Studies have suggested that acupuncture could have a number of anti-inflammatory actions within the body. This means that using acupuncture alongside other changes such as diet and improving gut health may help reduce your inflammation levels.
Acupuncture can also aid with inflammation by helping you to manage contributing issues such as pain and stress.
If you suspect inflammation is contributing to your symptoms, the team at Burnett House can help.
Our acupuncturist Jamie combines acupuncture with other tools such as dry needling and remedial massage to relieve symptoms such as pain and stress naturally.
Our naturopath Trish can look at diet and lifestyle factors that can help to address the underlying inflammation and help you to optimise your gut health.
To book an appointment with Jamie or Trish at our Bundaberg clinic, call us on (07) 41522372
