Acute inflammation is a positive response by the body to ward off infection and protect you. When you twist your ankle and it swells or when you have a cold and feel congested, the tissues in your body are inflamed for a short period of time to prevent infection and further injury. It is temporary and helps keep you healthy. When the inflammation lasts, even when there is no outside danger, it’s called chronic inflammation. Tissues, organs and systems become inflamed and swollen for extended periods of time and it takes a toll on how your body operates. It can impact your mood, your memory, your weight, your skin, your digestive health and it’s linked to the development and worsening of many diseases. The good news is nutrition, moving more, sleeping better and meditation can fight inflammation and these practices can be delicious, nurturing and fun! Here’s how the practices I love help keep inflammation at bay.
Eat real, plant-based foods
Eating a diet full of plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats, like mono-unsaturated and omega-3 fats, may be one of the best ways to fight inflammation. Another key is avoiding processed foods, full fat animal products and added sugar as much as possible. Foods high in antioxidants, like bright colored fruits and vegetables, can prevent inflammation, as well. It really isn’t any different than eating a healthy diet if you are trying to lose or maintain weight and feel well. Every time you prepare a healthy plant-based dinner you can know that you are also helping your body prevent disease by fighting off inflammation. Here is a recipe for a sweet potato and quinoa bowl that is packed with six anti-inflammatory foods. It is delicious, filling and a kid favorite in my house.
Ingredients:
1 sweet potato cut into 1 inch cubes
Dark leafy greens (kale, spinach or mixed greens)
Quinoa prepared per package instructions
Edamame (I use frozen shelled edamame) prepared per package instructions
Sliced avocado
Pumpkin seeds
Diced cherry tomatoes
Drizzle olive oil and generously salt and pepper cubed sweet potato on a sheet pan. Roast in oven for 25 minutes at 425 degrees. Let cool and add to ¼ cup quinoa with all other ingredients on top. Top with lemon tahini dressing and serve immediately.
Dressing: 2 Tbsp of tahini, juice of 2 lemons, salt and pepper. Add water 1 tsp at a time to achieve desired consistency and stir.
Meditate
Similar to inflammation, stress can be good if it is working how it is designed to work: short bursts, temporary and occasional. But when your body does not have the chance to regulate and can’t get out of the fight or flight response, then you have chronic stress. Chronic stress means extended periods of increased cortisol in your body and this can lead to chronic inflammation.
Meditation is the easiest anti-inflammation practice to blow off, yet it can be the easiest practice to see benefits from right away! When you meditate (even for a few minutes a day), you signal to the body that you are safe and that you don’t need to maintain the constant state of fight or flight. Your cortisol levels decline., which leads to less chronic stress and less chronic inflammation.
What do I hear the most when I talk to clients about meditation? “I don’t have time”.
I get it. Our lives are so demanding and squeezing in one more thing can feel impossible. My response is that yes, you’ll have to make time for meditation if you want to receive all of its amazing benefits, but it might not be as much time as you think and it will be worth it. A few moments goes such a long way and it will benefit you in ways you can’t even imagine. I assumed meditating would make me more calm, but I never guessed it would make me more creative, more confident and more capable. I’m stronger, I’m braver and I make better decisions. When I meditate, I receive all of these benefits and the benefits end up saving me a ton of time.
Prioritize Sleep
Inflammation increases when you are experiencing a sleep deficit. Here’s my advice for getting quality, relaxing and restful sleep:
1. Check your phone at the door, Turn it off or leave it in the other room.
2. Have a bedtime routine, like a bath or a cup of tea, and enough time to wind down before getting in bed.
3. Go to sleep and wake up around the same time as often as you can.
Sleeping is the foundation of all health habits. Maintaining healthy practices like eating the right amount of nutritious food, meditating and exercising become so much more challenging when I am sleep deprived and it takes a toll on the body by increasing inflammation.
Move More
Multiple studies show that even moderate exercise can lower your body’s inflammatory response and as little as 20 minutes a day can start you down this path of reducing inflammation. This is great news for all of us. It can be hard to find time for exercise and when we try and exercise at an intense level for long periods of time, we can often burn out. Setting a goal to get moderate exercise for 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week is not only doable, it is an amazing way to receive health benefits, such as warding off chronic inflammation.
My reasons for exercising are endless and reducing stress and inflammation are at the top of the list. I also know that exercise makes me sleep well, it regulates my metabolism and boosts my energy and its fun! I am set on finding ways to exercise that I really enjoy and that I will want to keep doing. I vary the intensity of my exercise almost daily. Some days it’s yoga, some days it’s full body weight training and some days it’s a short walk in the rain after bedtime because that’s all that I can fit in. I ra
rely have time to exercise for more than 30 minutes a day (most days it’s 20 minutes) and that is enough. Finding exercises you love and more ways to move during your day is possible and it’s worth it! It has the power to impact your mood, your mind and your body, all for the better!
If you want to know more or want some help staying accountable to these anti-inflammatory practices, I'd love to help! I customize my coaching for individuals and can find the perfect amount of support you need to feel your best.
Live well,
Britta
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