Natural Ways to Reduce Body Inflammation
INSIDE: Inflammation is the cause of many aches, pains, and chronic conditions. Fortunately, there are many natural ways to reduce body inflammation. Let’s take a look!
Inflammation is a huge and somewhat vague topic that plays a major role in how we feel and the level of health we are able to maintain.
Inflammation is the body's way of dealing with irritation, whether the irritations are caused by chemicals, friction, heat, microbes or toxins.
Are there natural ways to reduce body inflammation?
There certainly are, but let’s first understand more about inflammation.
What Causes Inflammation?
The area becomes inflamed due to two factors:
The presence of various types of scavenger cells, which travel to the site to ingest dead and damaged tissues and act as a cushion or barrier between the injured tissue and surrounding areas.
The increased presence of blood to bring nutrients, oxygen and hormones to the repair site. Inflammation is different from infection, although one may arise from the other. Local microbial infection may cause the body to swell to contain the infection and protect the surrounding tissues from being invaded by an influx of microbes beyond the local infection.
On the other hand, when non-microbial swelling occurs (as in an injury) and if the body scavenger cells cannot break down and digest the damaged tissue efficiently or quickly enough, then the cells in the area have time to putrefy, which results in an infection due to microbes, endogenous toxins, or both.
Treatments for Acute Inflammation
Two of the most common natural ways to reduce body inflammation are cold compresses and heat.
Unfortunately, the body's inflammatory response usually remains past the point of usefulness, as the swelling causes the circulation in the area to slow down, which prevents healing.
This is why ice packs, and sometimes heat, are used to eliminate the swelling.
Ice causes the tissue to contract, which squeezes the waste out of the affected area. Heat causes the tissue to expand. Alternating between cold and heat causes a pumping motion, which gets the dense lymph tissue moving so it can escort the waste elsewhere to be processed.
Natural Ways to Reduce Body Inflammation
Now, let’s look at some natural ways to reduce body inflammation that are more preventative. I have found the following treatments to be highly effective anti-inflammatory agents:
Turmeric (which contains curcumin, a free radical scavenger and anti-oxidant)
Proteolytic (protein-digesting) enzymes, such as protease and bromelain
Ginger root
Boswellia serrata
Since blood cells require enzymes to break down the waste products of inflammation (as well as infection), taking enzyme supplements can help. Any of these taken in liquid form are more readily absorbed throughout the system.
