Inflammation or swelling is your body's natural healing system when you have injuries or infections. During acute inflammation, your blood vessels dilate, making it easier for more red and white blood cells to reach the affected areas. 

These white and red blood cells hasten the healing process, but when it lingers, it grows into chronic inflammation, which is harmful to the body. 

Chronic inflammation is one of the causes of several health issues, including rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune conditions, and inflammatory bowel disease. Peer-reviewed studies also show that chronic inflammatory diseases are the leading causes of death worldwide. 

In other words, chronic inflammation has damaging consequences, which worsens when you put your body through stress, don't exercise, get enough sleep or eat healthy foods. Sometimes, inflammation can be visible, but whether it is visible or not, it can still cause damage to your health. 

Not to worry, there are several practices you can implement to help you fight inflammation. But first, let's look at some of the causes of inflammation. 

Causes of Inflammation 

Chronic and acute inflammation are the types of inflammation that affect the human body. But where acute inflammation is short-term and is your body's natural response to injury, chronic inflammation is long-term inflammation. It occurs when your immune system can't handle the problem. 

The following are some factors that increase inflammation. 

Poor Diet; Inflammatory Foods 

Eating more inflammatory foods such as foods containing trans fat like margarine, processed foods, fried foods, hot dogs, corn oil, sugar, and processed vegetable oils increases your risks of chronic inflammation. Eating anti-inflammatory foods like omega-3 fatty acids, high-quality protein, and vegetables goes a long way to keep inflammation at bay. 

Increased Stress Levels

Too much stress is detrimental to your nervous system because it increases inflammation's effect on your body. But when it goes on long-term, your cortisol and adrenaline levels go off balance, giving chronic inflammation a chance to ravage your body. 

Gut Imbalance

Another risk factor for chronic inflammation is gut imbalance, which happens when the bad bacteria in your gut become too much. 

One of the causes of gut imbalance is taking too many medications like antibiotics and aspirin, which affect your microbiome. Your microbiome helps digest your food, and when it gets affected, it can cause a leaky gut, inadvertently releasing harmful toxins. These toxins cause chronic inflammation when they get into your bloodstream.

Hormonal imbalance also hastens inflammation because testosterone and estrogen contribute to the production and secretion of inflammatory molecules. 

A buildup of Harmful Toxins

Toxins from herbicides, pesticides, high-mercury fish, plastics, and products made from bisphenol A organic compounds increase your risk of chronic inflammation. These toxins accumulate over time and end up in the fat cells, triggering inflammation. 

Lingering Infection/Injury

Acute inflammation is your body's normal response to injury and is a form of self-healing your immune system carries out. But when the injury/infection lingers, it would give rise to chronic inflammation. 

Autoimmune Disorder 

There have been cases where the immune system attacks tissues and healthy cells, triggering inflammation, which leads to autoimmune digestive conditions like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. 

When these things happen, chronic inflammation puts you at the risk of chronic diseases like Alzheimer's, colon cancer, cardiovascular disease, increased blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. 

Symptoms of Inflammation

The following are symptoms of acute inflammation. 

• Pain around the affected area

• Swelling 

• Heat

• Flushed skin around the affected area 

• Increased c reactive protein

Chronic inflammation is involved in the disease process of many conditions, and although it is more difficult to spot the symptoms of chronic inflammation, here are some of them. 

• Chest pain

• Abdominal pain 

• Fever 

• Fatigue 

• Mouth sores

• Skin rash

• Joint pains

According to Harvard Medical School, low-grade inflammation can result from your lifestyle. Too much smoking, drinking, and poor food choices can help inflammation simmer under the surface. 

So, how, then, do you reduce the risk of chronic inflammation? 

How To Reduce The Risk of Chronic Inflammation 

It's possible to fight inflammation and even reverse it by taking powerful anti-inflammatory foods and practicing a healthy lifestyle. 

If you have a family history of heart disease or cancer, you should talk to your health practitioner about the practices you need to start. 

The following tips will help you reduce inflammation. 

Eat Anti-inflammatory Diet 

Your food choices can reduce inflammation in your body or increase inflammation levels. An anti-inflammatory diet includes good food choices for reducing inflammation, including fruits, fresh vegetables, reducing sugar intake, and eating more omega-3 fatty acids. 

Foods that contain healthy fats include tofu, olive oil, flax seeds, oily fish, soybeans, walnuts, grapes, blueberries, garlic, and celery. 

The Mediterranean diet is one of the best meals for fighting inflammation because it focuses on fruits, vegetables, fish, and whole grains. It also limits the intake of butter, red meat, refined carbohydrates, and sugar. 

Avoid White Foods

Controlling your blood sugar is an excellent way of reducing inflammation, and to do this, you should avoid eating white foods. Simple carbohydrates like rice, pasta, white bread, refined sugar, and white flour increase your inflammation vulnerability. 

To eat a healthy diet, build meal plans around foods rich in fiber like fruits and vegetables, whole grains like whole wheat bread and brown rice, and lean proteins. You also want to reduce your alcohol intake if you're intent on lowering inflammation. 

Eat Pineapples

Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain that reduces inflammation. Unlike other foods that your body breaks down, bromelain is absorbed wholly into your bloodstream, where it fights to reduce inflammation and other related pains. Although you can take bromelain supplements, it is tastier when you get it through pineapples. 

Exercise 

Regularly exercising is a great way to reduce inflammation. It doesn't have to be anything strenuous; aerobic exercise, brisk walking, and light weight lifting for one hour several times a week is a good plan. This helps you lose weight and keeps you in great shape because overweight people have more chances of suffering chronic inflammation. 

Manage Stress

Chronic stress contributes to inflammation, and although it might be difficult to control some stressors, controlling your reaction to these factors would help.  

Through yoga, meditation, or biofeedback, you can learn to manage stress better. Managing stress reduces your risk of chronic disease, and inflammation decreases.

Filter Your Water Before Drinking 

Drinking water is one way to reduce inflammation, but some tap water contains inflammatory chemicals that worsen your health. And when your body pumps out these chemicals, you become chronically inflamed. As a method of prevention, we advise that you filter out your water before you drink it. 

Sunbathing 

The sun contains vitamin D that boosts the immune system, and reduces inflammation. Women with vitamin D deficiencies are more exposed to chronic inflammation than women who spend a few minutes in the sun. 

Taking vitamin D supplements or spending 10 to 15 minutes in the sun is all you need to boost your vitamin D level, but please, wear sunscreen when you go out. 

Sleep More

We know you're about to ask if sleeping more is the answer to everything. No, it is not, but it goes a long way in improving your health. Inadequate sleep can cause inflammation, especially among women with sleep-related disorders. 

That's because your brain cells contain cytokines - proteins that allow your brain cells to communicate. Cytokines regulate sleep, and if your brain doesn't get enough sleep, cytokines can also increase inflammation. 

It functions negatively and positively, and for you to get the best out of your cytokines, you'd need to increase your sleep hours. 

Below are natural remedies to reduce inflammation. 

Natural Inflammation Remedies

Apart from healthy lifestyle factors, there are other natural remedies for chronic inflammation. The following herbs are excellent for curbing the effects of inflammation.

Turmeric Root

Turmeric is pretty impressive when it comes to reducing inflammation. Turmeric works as well as ibuprofen, and for thousands of years, turmeric has been used to treat inflammatory digestive conditions. You can add turmeric to your food or brew it as tea, and if you mix it with black pepper, its anti-inflammatory effects will be optimal. 

An anti-inflammatory compound in turmeric that lends it anti-inflammatory and healing properties is curcumin. And as a powerful anti-inflammatory, curcumin blocks the production of anti-inflammatory cells and proteins. Curcumin also reduces the effects of pancreatitis, cancer, post-surgery inflammation, and irritable bowel syndrome. 

Still, your body doesn't readily absorb curcumin because it is fat-soluble and ends up as part of the fatty deposits in your fat cells. Taking curcumin with black pepper extract will increase its absorption. 

Ginger Root

Drinking ginger tea is excellent and not only helps sore throats, reduce muscle soreness and joint pain, but to reduce inflammation. Ginger contains an antioxidant called gingerol, and ginger extracts can deactivate the pathway that connects inflammation to diseases like diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer's. 

We advise that you avoid ground ginger because it not only develops mold quickly, but the mold also contains immune system suppressants. 

Cinnamon 

Often used to bake, cinnamon is a popular spice with other features besides being a flavor additive flavor in cakes. Cinnamon contains properties that fight inflammation and ease swelling, and you can add this to your tea, coffee, or cereal. 

Cayenne Pepper 

Cayenne and other hot chili peppers contain capsaicinoids, a compound that gives them their anti-inflammatory properties. Because of this, cayenne and chili pepper have been used since ancient times and are considered quite powerful. Since cayenne and other chili peppers also help with digestion, it is paramount that you include these peppers in your meal or a dash when you brew your turmeric tea. 

Black Pepper

Black pepper is an excellent alternative if cayenne pepper is too hot for you. Also called "King of Spices," black pepper is famous for its flavor, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties. Black pepper extract, piperine, is also effective in the early acute inflammatory conditions. 

Lemongrass

Research has found several potential health benefits of lemongrass. Lemongrass is a rich source of flavonoids and phenolic compounds, which contain antioxidants. It’s also an effective antibacterial and antifungal agent with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Lemongrass contains quercetin, a flavonoid known for having antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Quercetin reduces inflammation, which inhibits cancer cell growth and prevents heart disease and the development of blood clots. 

Clove 

As an expectorant, clove treats flu-related issues and has specific properties for treating stomach upset, nausea, and inflammation in the throat and mouth. You can include powdered cloves in your soups, stews, and baked foods. For herbal teas or cider, whole cloves are excellent for their flavor and health benefits. 

Garlic

Garlic contains properties that curb the symptoms of arthritis. You can use garlic in almost any meal, both for its flavor and its health benefits. However, if the taste is a bit much for your buds, roast a head of garlic for a milder taste. 

Stephania Root

Native to Taiwan and China, stephania tetrandra is one of the 50 fundamental herbs in Chinese medicine. Stephania treats all health conditions, including edema, wounds, indigestion, headaches, and asthma. 

It also has potent anti-inflammatory properties, which help it reduce the production of inflammatory cytokines - small proteins that worsen inflammation. 

Tetrandrine, one of its chemical compounds, has been known to reduce the number of cancer cells, reverse the resistance of tumor cells to multiple chemotherapy drugs, and clean out damaged cells. 

Stephania can be consumed as a tincture or in powder form. 

Boswellia

Boswellia, or Indian frankincense, is native to India and is extracted from the Boswellia serrata tree. In traditional Ayurvedic medicine,  Boswellia treats heart disease, fevers, bronchitis, and arthritis. 

It is also a painkiller and an anti-inflammatory, and the acids that produce resin in Boswellia keep cytokines in check. Boswellia also prevents cancer growth, especially in breast cancer cells and tumor growth in pancreatic cancer. 

Boswellia improves osteoarthritis - a condition where the cartilage between your joints becomes worn out. Similarly, Boswellia treats chronic colitis and Crohn's. 

If used appropriately, these herbs and spices eliminate chronic inflammation and keep you safe from the health issues that may result from inflammation.

Best Natural Remedies for Chronic Inflammation

There are several anti-inflammatory drugs you can take to reduce inflammation, like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, but these also affect your gut and increase your body's inflammatory response. 

However, the best herbal tea to prevent inflammation is Drink Symbi's anti-inflammatory tea, made from carefully selected herbs to help your body reduce inflammation. These herbs restore balance to your mind, body, and spirit while keeping inflammation levels under control.  

Final Words

Inflammation becomes harmful when it lingers because of your body's inability to eliminate the problem. When you notice that an infection or injury is taking too long to heal, seek professional advice first before you commence taking Drink Symbi's anti-inflammatory tea.