Chronic Inflammation: Is Your Diet to Blame?

Inflammation is part of the body’s natural defense system. 

If you ever cut your finger or get a splinter you’ll know about the redness and swelling, AKA inflammation. It’s the healing process in action. 

Inflammation gets white blood cells and other immune cells right to where they’re needed quickly.

And in this way, inflammation is a good thing. 

But when chronic inflammation occurs, it’s no longer a good thing. 

Is your diet to blame?

What’s chronic inflammation?

Chronic inflammation is connected to metabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases, and gastrointestinal disorders.

In autoimmune diseases, chronic inflammation occurs because the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues, treating them as if they were harmful invaders. 

Over time, this ongoing immune response can cause significant damage to organs and systems.

It’s easy to see why reducing chronic inflammation should be a priority. 

And one way to do that is through diet. 

How does diet affect inflammation?

Diet has a significant impact on inflammation.

Sugar and refined carbohydrates are inflammatory.

They disrupt a healthy gut biome, keep blood sugars elevated, and lead to insulin resistance.

This creates a vicious cycle where inflammation becomes harder to control.

All of which produces more inflammation in the body. It’s all connected.

Especially if you’re eating around the clock.

A healthy gut

Your gut is a part of your immune system.

A balanced microbiome supports immune regulation and helps reduce inflammation.

Sugar and carbohydrates can change the gut microbiome and increase inflammation.

This imbalance can even weaken your gut lining, allowing toxins to enter your bloodstream and worsen inflammation.

Blood sugars

It’s no secret that consuming sugar and high carbohydrate foods raises blood sugars.

When your blood sugar spikes, so does your immune system. Which means more inflammation.

Over time, these spikes can strain the immune system, making it harder for your body to recover.

Constantly snacking on refined carbohydrates keeps your blood sugar elevated, causing chronic inflammation.

Insulin resistance

Insulin works by moving glucose from your blood into the cells.

But consuming sugar and refined carbohydrates on a regular basis can weaken the body’s insulin response.

This leads to a condition called insulin resistance, which keeps your cells from getting the energy they need.

Insulin can no longer do its job, blood sugars stay high, and so does inflammation.

Again, it’s all connected. The gut, insulin, and blood sugars all play off of each other.

And they all are affected by and have an effect on inflammation.

How to fix chronic inflammation

There are two things you can do right now to start reducing inflammation:

Diet changes

Start by cutting out sugars and refined carbohydrates. 

Get rid of processed foods. 

Aim for whole foods and nutrition. 

Opt for protein and healthy fats, especially fatty fishes, like salmon and sardines. 

They are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation.

If you eat vegetables, go for low carbohydrate veggies like broccoli or green beans.

And choose berries, which are much lower on the glycemic scale than other fruits. 

Which means they won’t raise your blood sugar as high as other fruits would. 

Plus, berries are full of antioxidants that fight inflammation. 

Fasting

Fasting lowers insulin and blood sugars, naturally reducing inflammation in the body. 

It’s always amazing to me when someone is new to fasting, they will usually lose a lot of weight really fast. 

It’s not uncommon to see someone lose 10 or 15 pounds in their first week of fasting.

And that’s because they had lots of inflammation. 

Start including some form of fasting into your lifestyle. 

Whether that’s Intermittent Fasting, or Extended Fasting.

If you’re brand new to fasting, maybe start with something like an 18/6 schedule. 

That means you’ll fast for 18 hours a day (sleep hours are included). 

Then you have a six hour window every day during which you can eat. 

You can gradually increase your fasting hours as you build your fasting muscles. 

See our Fasting FAQs here: Fasting FAQ

Other tips

In addition to diet changes and adding fasting to your lifestyle, there are a few other things you can do to help reduce inflammation:

Exercise 

Studies suggest that moderate exercise can boost the body’s immune system and reduce inflammation.

But think of gentle exercise, such as walking. 

Strenuous exercise can have the opposite effect and make inflammation worse. 

Sleep

A good night’s sleep is so important. 

Poor sleep keeps the body’s immune system on high alert and contributes to high levels of inflammation.

Stress

Chronic stress and anxiety have been linked to increased inflammation. 

Remember, inflammation is supposed to be a protective mechanism. 

If the body thinks something is wrong, here comes the inflammation. 

And stress makes the body think something is wrong.

I know it’s impossible to get rid of all stress, but do what you can to reduce it. 

Try meditation, or deep breathing. Or relaxing activities like gardening, or reading. 

Less inflammation, better health

With some simple changes to your lifestyle, you can reduce chronic inflammation, and lower your risk of inflammatory diseases. 

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