Inflammation: Not ALL Is Bad

The topic of inflammation is buzzy. And given that it’s the underlying cause of a myriad of symptoms (including aches, pain, arthritis, acne, weight gain, bloating, leaky gut and edema), inflammation gets a bad rap.

Don’t believe everything you hear - not all inflammation is bad. In fact, you NEED it to stay alive. BUT, there’s a difference between the types of inflammation - one is protective (aka good) and the other type lingers and leads to the infamous symptoms listed above (and MORE) as well as illnesses and disease (aka bad).

Today, I want to break this down for you:

ACUTE (localized) Inflammation is good, protective and essential. It’s immediate and often indicated by the swelling, redness and pain you experience upon injury or infection (i.e. cutting your finger, spraining an ankle, breaking an arm, coming into contact with a virus).

This emergency response alerts your immune system to step up, deliver white blood cells and other protective compounds to the site of injury, and quickly start the process of healing. For example, you form a scab to close up the wound; experience pain and discomfort which encourages you to rest that ankle or arm; and form a fever to fight off the virus.

CHRONIC (systemic) Inflammation, on the other hand, is the bad boy on the block. It’s a low-grade irritation that stresses out your system and calls on your immune system 24/7, pulling it from other critical jobs. Chronic inflammation can be triggered by a multitude of reasons including: a highly-processed fast food diet; lack of movement; high stress levels; chemicals; mold exposure; underlying infections; not allowing injuries to fully heal; poor quality sleep; and medications.

When inflammation lingers for too long, you start to feel the symptoms (fatigue, brain fog, headaches, joint pain, belly bloating, insomnia). If unaddressed, these symptoms will eventually turn into something bigger.

My goal, as a holistic Nutritionist, is to get to the root cause of your ailments and help support the systems in your body that fight off chronic inflammation - your liver, lymphatic system, kidneys, gut and lungs.

If you’re experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms, let’s chat! Click HERE to book a One-On-One Coaching Session.