How to Prevent Inflammation

When the human body senses that there are foreign substances within its system, such as a virus or bacteria, it responds by sending out white blood cells. The chemicals that are released from the white blood cells gather with fluid to protect us and block the foreign invaders. A local reaction takes place within the cells of bodily tissues and membranes. This is a wonderful physiological response that keeps us on a healthy path and is there to protect us. However, inflammation sometimes takes place when the body mistakenly thinks an invader is present. Inflammation can be triggered by many things other than bacteria and viruses; recognizing these triggers enables you to prevent inflammation.

Things You'll Need

• Fruits and vegetables
• High-fiber foods
• High-quality multivitamin

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Instructions

Dietary Changes for Preventing Inflammation

• 1

  Make dietary changes; it's the first thing we can do to immediately prevent inflammation in our bodies. There are some foods the body naturally reacts to with the inflammatory process. Knowing and limiting or avoiding these foods is the key to an anti-inflammatory eating program. When a food enters the body that it is sensitive to or intolerant of, the body treats it as an invader and reacts to it with inflammation. Some foods are much more allergenic than others, and we can be sensitive to them without even knowing it. Highly refined carbohydrates, sugar and processed foods such as luncheon meat and high sodium canned foods should be eliminated or avoided. The other main allergenic foods are dairy, soy, eggs, nuts and wheat. To find out if any of these foods cause inflammation in your system, try eliminating them for 10 days, then adding them back into your diet one at a time for 4 days. For example, after avoiding them for 10 days, reintroduce eggs to your diet. Four days later, you can add another food from the list to see how it affects your system.

• 2

  Know that not all foods that go into our system make it react negatively. Nature has provided many foods that help prevent inflammation when we include them in our diets. Choose foods that are high in fiber, such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Berries and apples are excellent choices, as they are both loaded with fiber and anti-oxidants, which makes for a great anti-inflammatory combination. Essential fats and oils also help control inflammation. Use olive and flax seed oil in salads or cooking, and add fresh cold-water fish to your diet, as they contain high amounts of key omega-3 fatty acids.

• 3

  Understand that increasing water intake goes a long way in preventing inflammation. When the body starts to dehydrate, it begins to hold onto all of the water it can find, causing an inflammatory response in the tissues. Adequate fluid intake in the form of water is necessary to maintain health in bodily tissues and cell structures.

Lifestyle Changes for Preventing Inflammation

• 4

  Get a good night's sleep. It's essential for the health of your body, as well as for preventing inflammation. During rest and sleep, the body can counteract the damage that was done throughout the day. Muscles relax, and body tissue renews and rebuilds.

• 5

  Supplement your daily diet with a high-quality vitamin and mineral supplement. The body requires vitamins and minerals for support, and to maintain health, but we do not get adequate amounts in our food. Look for a supplement with extra vitamin B, as well as the anti-oxidant vitamins C, D and E. The anti-oxidants help fight the free radicals that invade our body and cause inflammation.

• 6

  Get enough exercise. It shows on the body through toned muscles and increased stamina. It also shows inside the body with a stronger muscular and circulatory system. A healthy circulatory system aids in the elimination of toxins. An overload of toxins causes inflammation, so ridding the body of them is an essential process. Exercise can be done no matter what physical condition you are currently in. Begin with short walks, then work your way up to walking 30 minutes 4 times a week. If you are not in a fit condition for walking, start with Pilates or yoga. Both help build muscle in the body and eliminate stress at the same time.Adding the lifestyle changes with the anti-inflammatory diet will keep you on a healthy path and continually prevent inflammation.