How to Reduce Inflammation Naturally

February 14, 2020

What is Inflammation? 

Inflammation is the body’s natural immune system response to protect it against harm or distress. Take an ankle sprain, for example. When the ankle - muscles, bones, tendons - becomes injured, it swells, aches, may even burn, become red or stiffen. This is how we recognize inflammation on the outside. On the inside, the body sends white and other blood cells to the area in distress to begin the healing process of repairing damaged cells. This is a good type of inflammation and is required for healing. 

What we often don’t know or see, is the inflammation happening inside of our bodies when there is no clear cause, like an injury. This type of inflammation can be chronic and over time, if left untreated can cause disease and illness. 

What Causes Inflammation? 

Inflammation comes to life inside the body in many shapes and forms and is caused by one or more of a number of factors. Most common causes include:

• Poor diet
• Lack of movement or exercise 
• Ongoing stress 
• Being overweight
• Autoimmune disorders 
• Insufficient sleep
• And more

Common Inflammation Symptoms 

Sometimes inflammation is hard to detect, which is why for so many it goes untreated. It’s important to listen to your body and consult with your doctor if you believe you suffer from untreated inflammation. 

Common symptoms to look for include:

• General fatigue - are you tired for no apparent reason?
• Aches and pains - does your hip hurt when you stand, do you suffer from back pain, or other aches with unknown causes? 
• Join pain, specifically - are your knees, wrists or fingers stiff or aching?
• Swelling - do you experience swollen lymph nodes, joints or swelling in other parts of your body?

 

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, it might be worth considering treatment for undetected inflammation. 

How To Reduce Inflammation Naturally  

Inflammation can be treated in a number of ways. The most common way to treat inflammation that’s totally in our hands, is through diet. 

Our bodies were made to eat foods natural to the earth… fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts and seeds. Not chips, candy, fast food and soda. All those processed “foods” put our body in a state of distress, which causes - you guessed it - inflammation, in an effort to heal. But when we continue to feed our bodies foods that challenge it’s natural processes, the inflammation becomes chronic. 

What we really need to do is take some of the pressure off of our bodies, and help it restore ultimate balance. And incremental changes go a long way to do just that. 

I’m not suggesting you cut out your favorite junk foods or that you overhaul your diet entirely. Instead, I encourage you to think about what 1 or 2 small changes that if you made today, would have an impact on your overall health? Then build from there. 

4 Ideas for How to Reduce Inflammation Naturally 

• If you eat a sugary cereal for breakfast, try swapping that cereal for a banana two days a week. When that becomes habit, build in a third day, and keep going until you’re eating fresh and limited processed foods for breakfast. 
• Do you like to eat a bag of chips for a snack while you’re on the go? Swap it out for health snack packs. You can make these at home or buy them in store. A few combinations I like are:
• Almonds
• Mixed nuts
• Dried fruit 
• Baby carrots 
• Granola
• Another way to begin incremental improvements to restore balance in your body is to think about the beverages you consume throughout the day. Do you wake up and want a soda? Or do you like an energy drink to give you a boost mid-day? If so, consider swapping those out with water, green tea or other natural, low calorie drinks just one or two times a week. Then build from there. 
• Lastly, if you fall into the 25% of American’s who report sitting 8 or more hours a day (although I suspect it’s much higher than that), adding mild activity into your day will go a long way to begin to reduce inflammation. Not only may it help you shed a few pounds, which takes pressure off your body, it can boost your body’s anti-inflammatory response by activating the sympathetic nervous system, which helps increase heart rate, improve breathing, blood pressure and more. All this to say - it can activate immune cell receptors, which are necessary to reduce inflammation. 
  

That said, are you thinking: I work a 9-5 at a desk, I have kids to take care of, I work two jobs, or, I’m tired...how can I possibly fit in exercise? Like I talk about above, it’s all about small steps to build incremental gains. 

Ideas to Get Your Body Moving and Reduce Inflammation 

Here are a few ideas to help you get moving throughout the day, without it being a major interruption to your productivity: 

• If you drive to work, park in the back of the parking lot to add in a few extra steps. Or, if you take the bus, get off a stop early and walk a few extra blocks if time allows. 
• If you find yourself with a few extra minutes during the day, go into a conference room and walk around the table a few times. This could easily add a few hundred steps throughout the week. And more importantly, it gets your blood flowing throughout the day. 
• Do you typically use the restroom that’s on the same floor as your office? Try using the one on a different floor to get a few extra steps.
• And last but not least, if you find you take an elevator, try the stairs instead. Or, get off the elevator a floor or two sooner than you typically do, and take a flight or two to your destination

This might seem like a lot, and it may not be doable every day. That’s okay. Start by trying one of these tricks once or twice a week. And build from there.  

CBD May Help Reduce Inflammation 

Diet and exercise aren’t the only ways to support the body’s natural response to reduce inflammation. Taking CBD supplements - tinctures, gummies or other products - are also said to help reduce inflammation.

The way it works is, our body has an Endocannabinoid System (ECS) and its role is to help the body maintain - or achieve - homeostasis. The ECS uses cannabinoids (found naturally within the body or ingested with food or through cannabidiol - AKA CBD - products) to trigger this response.  

Once this happens, endocannabinoid receptor activity may work with neurotransmitters, ultimately reducing inflammation and restoring balance in your body. 

For a full explanation of how CBD works, I invite you to read our blog, “How Does CBD Work in The Body.” 

What CBD should I take to help with inflammation? 

We offer a range of broad and full-spectrum organic hemp cbd products - from oils and tinctures to salves and creams - with strengths ranging from 150mg - 1,200mg. 

A few of our most popular products include:

• Broad Spectrum Hemp CBD Extract with Turmeric (THC Free) - 600mg

• Full Spectrum Hemp CBD Calm Balm Muscle Cream

• Full Spectrum Hemp CBD Extract - 600mg

To shop all our products click here to visit the store. 

How to select the right dose of CBD

Not sure which dose of CBD is right for you? Use our guide below to consider which options are best for you. 

Now that you've reviewed our CBD Dosage Guide and have a sense of what might be right for you, I invite you to visit our online store.

 

 

If you find you still have questions, just shoot me a note at info@healingflower.com and I can help you determine what might be best for you. 

- Dr. Jimmy Lopez
Chiropractic Physician
Co-Founder, Healing Flower

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