Are you inflamed? Chronic inflammation is when your immune system is a constant state of alert.  When your immune system goes into overdrive, it pushes compounds and chemicals, that damage healthy tissue on a cellular level. Learning to decern if you have pain or inflammation is key. Yup, something else for our daily to-do list.

Learning to decern if you have pain or inflammation is key. Much clinical research being done recognizes, that in many health problems like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, headaches, inflammation is the undelaying cause. Understanding acute inflammation can be good when the immune system gears up to fight a viral or bacterial infection. Inflammation draws white blood cells (healer cells) into the affected area to destroy the threat. Acute inflammation is the water to fire. Chronic inflammation is the destructive lingering smoke, covering and damaging. If you treat inflammation, as if it were pain putting “water”, (pain medication) on it is not a solution.

The adrenal glands are chemical “messenger” factory in our bodies that produces hormones to regulate everything from hair growth to the reproductive system, produces stress hormones that increase respiration, elevate heart rate, during “flight or fight” situations. the chronic inflammation process often appears as “adrenal fatigue” which refers to a cluster of symptoms thought to result from chronic stress. Everyone seems to be running on the “stress fuel” these days.

Take a look at your current health today, can you see how chronic inflammation may be affecting your “health-self”? Our sleep, stress, and food intake are their trifecta of supporting issues for inflammation. Yep, much of what is common in our daily diets contribute to the continued inflammatory process: saturated fats, processed meat, sugar, refined carbohydrates, and fried foods.   Seemingly all the yummy stuff, right?
Think of what you can do? Create a smooth transition to an anti-inflammatory diet. One step at a time. Figure out a slow exchange system. Instead of giving up something find a healthy exchange. Plenty of vegetables, whole grains, good extra virgin olive oil, fruits, and nuts.  I know fish instead of steak may not sound like a great option but once the body benefits kick in it may seem the brighter solution.

So how do pumpkin/oat pancakes for breakfast, a Tuna, apple, and arugula sandwich for lunch, and gingered chicken stir fry for dinner sound?  The next day have a cocoa banana greek yogurt smoothie for breakfast, roasted sweet potato and spinach bowl for lunch, and fish tacos for dinner. Now you on a roll so Keep Rolling, small changes every day will add up to you being more alert to your own body and feel amazing.