Inflammation And Its Role In Health
We often hear about inflammation, and it’s a topic that has gained some notoriety in the last few years as we’ve learned more about it. But we simply don’t put enough focus on how important inflammation is when it comes to our health and how much more damage we’re putting our bodies through when we don’t address inflammation.
It can affect everyone, no matter their age, gender, or race, and it can be especially important to address for those that are suffering from a physical disability. Here we will explore the effects of inflammation and how we can begin to cut down on it.
What Inflammation Is
Inflammation is the body’s response to being sick; and it’s one that serves us well for the most part. When we get the flu, for example, our body undergoes specific changes to help it fight off the virus or infection, but it’s a change that’s only meant to be around for a short amount of time. The problem is that our modern, Westernized diet has been proven to not only cause inflammation but to sustain it for long periods of time, sometimes permanently. The effects of inflammation are wide reaching and can ultimately lead to disease and death if not properly treated.
What Causes Inflammation
While the topic of diet tends to be one of contention, study after study after study have proven that a diet rich in animal products, sugar, and processed foods tends to increase the inflammatory response in our bodies. Eating just a single cheeseburger has been shown to spike our inflammation markers to levels that are usually reserved for serious medical conditions, such as if we were fighting off a bad infection. Therefore, the focus has shifted in the last few years from treating inflammation through medication to preventing it altogether by altering diet and eating habits.
How To Reduce It
Diet is now, very slowly, being considered the most effective way of reducing overall bodily inflammation. A whole food, plant-based diet is starting to gain popularity, which involves focussing on eating vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, and legumes. All of these foods have been proven numerous times to actively reduce the amount of inflammation that our bodies tend to suffer through. It should be noted that this kind of diet does not mean that the athlete has to completely cut out all animal products, sugar, and processed foods, but rather that they need to try and reduce the consumption of these food items as much as they possibly can, possibly during the weekend when they’re enjoying online gambling.
Inflammation is slowly gaining the infamy that it deserves, and we’re only really beginning to understand just how serious it is. But with the right lifestyle changes it’s possible to not just reduce it, but eliminate it completely, allowing the body to heal itself and work better. This can also lead to better health and improved performance on the sports field or swimming pool.
