Inflammaging …. we need to get it under control!

I have a great topic for you today … inflammaging.

You can listen in to the podcast or if you prefer, you can read the blog … the choice is yours. 😊

Inflammaging is a combination of the word inflammation and aging and refers to chronic low grade inflammation which comes about from the aging process and is a risk factor for various diseases such as arthritis, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, etc.

So, if we want to live our best life, we need to get inflammation under control.

Do you suffer from inflammation? Do you know what inflammation is and what you can do to help it?

Inflammation is not a very sexy topic but it is a really important topic as it can affect your health in a such big way. I

would like to point out that not all inflammation is bad. In fact, inflammation is actually your friend and is something you need and can’t live without.

However this statement is true when it comes to acute inflammation.

Chronic low-grade inflammation, can do lots of damage to your health and that’s when inflammation is not your friend.

As we get older, we need to be aware of this because the aging process makes us more prone to chronic inflammation.

Hence todays topic of Inflammaging.

There’s lots and lots of information out there around what causes inflammation and how it affects your body and what you can do.

Today we will chat about both acute and chronic inflammation, however more time will be spent on chronic inflammation and some of the lifestyle changes that you can put into place to minimize it.

Please note that there is so much more to inflammation than what we will cover today.

Before moving forward I would like to state that if you do have chronic inflammation or suspect you do, you should seek the guidance of your doctor.

Let’s begin with acute inflammation, which occurs when you bang your elbow or knee, cut your finger, get the flu, etc.

Basically, inflammation is your body’s natural defence against toxins, infections, bacteria, viruses, irritants, and it is needed to repair tissue caused from an injury.

It’s a basic function of your immune system.

When there is an intruder such as a virus or toxin, or when there’s an injury, the immune system recognizes it, kicks into gear, and sends out help in the form of inflammatory cells (white blood cells) to the area to protect it and heal it.

You may begin to experience some swelling in the area, there may be some redness, some bruising, it may feel warm, or there may even be some pain.

And, depending on the situation, it could take hours or days for it to heal.

Examples of this are when you catch a cold and develop a fever, you may experience pain and heat.  And, with a cut finger, you may see swelling and redness.

Once your body recovers, the inflammation should go away.

Acute inflammation is very important for your body’s ability to heal itself. This is inflammation that we need.

Can you imagine if we didn’t have this … simple infections could be deadly.

There are simple fixes for acute inflammation.

For example, if you have a fever, you can take a pain reliever for the pain. You can also apply a cold compress and take a fever-reducing medication to bring down your temperature. For an injury such as a broken bone, you can reduce inflammation and the resulting swelling and pain with RICE therapy (rest, ice, compression, and elevation).

In summary acute inflammation is good inflammation. Our bodies are truly amazing!

A second type of inflammation is chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation normally causes low-grade and persistent inflammation, which can lead to tissue degeneration.

Chronic inflammation is not as visible as acute inflammation because it does not have the same signs as acute. Therefore, to determine if you have chronic inflammation, it would be important to see your doctor.

There are a few causes of chronic inflammation.

1. When the acute inflammation is not treated so the immune response continues to hang out and your body thinks it under constant attack. Which, over time, will have a negative effect on your tissues and organs.
2. Chronic inflammation could develop from an autoimmune disorder where your immune system is attacking healthy tissue … such as diabetes, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
3. It could also come from long term exposure to an irritant such as industrial chemicals or pollutants.

What’s important to note, is that these issues do not cause chronic inflammation in everyone AND there may be chronic inflammation that does not have a clear reason for it.

What’s bad is that chronic inflammation can lead to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, dementia, Alzheimers, etc.

Therefore, if you feel or think you are experiencing chronic inflammation, as I mentioned earlier, it would be important to have a conversation with your doctor who can then guide you on how to manage it.

Some of the symptoms of chronic inflammation include:

• Chronic fatigue
• Depression
• Inability to lose weight or weight gain
• Joint pain
• Insulin resistance
• Digestive problems
• Sensitivity to foods
• To name a few

Treating chronic inflammation isn’t as easy as with acute inflammation. Your doctor will have options for you such as medications and/or making a lifestyle change.

Some of the medications may have some heavy duty side affects which may mean that people stop taking them which just causes more problems,

Since chronic low grade inflammation seems to worsen as we get older, it would be wise to start thinking about the lifestyle you are living and if you should be making any modifications.

What are those lifestyle changes?

Following are 7 different life-style changes that can help decrease age related inflammation:

1. Nutrition
There are certain foods that can help FIGHT inflammation and reduce the aches and pains related to the inflammation.

Science shows that changing your diet to include more anti-inflammatory foods can help slow, stop, or maybe even REVERSE low-grade inflammation!

Do you have anti-inflammatory foods in your pantry or fridge? Do you know what anti inflammatory foods are?

Anti inflammatory foods include:

• Fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, oranges, etc
• Veggies. Dark green leafy are excellent. Your goal should be to eat as many different colours as you can as they all have some minerals and vitamins specific to them.
• Tree nuts such as walnuts and almonds are a good source of healthy fats.
• Seeds such as chia, flax, hemp, pumpkin, etc.
• Fish. especially fatty fish (like salmon) that contain omega-3 fatty acids. Try to eat only wild fish.
• Whole grains as they contain important vitamins and fibre.
• Spices and herbs such as basil, ginger, garlic, turmeric, etc

If you don’t have any of these in your kitchen, think about adding them to your grocery list!

Foods to avoid are:

• Processed foods such as cookies, cakes, cereal.
• Fast foods such as McDonalds, Wendys, Arbies, etc.
• Fried foods.
• Sugar. Did you know sugar is found in items such as ketchup, white breads, relish, BBQ sauce, salad dressings, granola bars, etc. Check the labels when buying these types of items … you may surprised at the amount of sugar!
• Trans fat found in commercially baked goods, shortening, butter, fried foods.
• Red meat and processed meats are high in saturated fat which can cause inflammation.
• Dairy such as cheese contains saturated fat which can cause inflammation.
• And soda as it is high in sugar.

And if you have too much of this in your kitchen, well its time to clear it out!

Remember, it’s not only what you don’t eat that matters for your health…it’s also what you DO eat!

Your goal is to add lots of colour to your plate when it comes to fruits and veggies, to eat healthy fats like nuts, fatty fish, avocado (I love avocado) lean sources of protein such as chicken, eggs, beans, quinoa, and whole grains. etc.

I would suggest changing slowly, maybe start with healthier breakfasts or lunches, or maybe pick 3 balanced dinners that you will make in the week. And add on from there.

I can guarantee that making little changes over time will have a big impact on you and your health.

Try to stay consistent and if you do fall down, just get back up and keep going.

Its all about progress over perfection which is my theme for 2023!

Click on the link below for a FREE Anti-Inflammatory Food Guide that lists which foods to eat and which to avoid. This can be kept on your phone or posted on your fridge as a reminder.

→ Free Anti-Inflammatory Food Guide

2. Stay Active and Exercise
Regular exercise reduces fat mass and adipose tissue inflammation which is known to contribute to chronic inflammation, and, exercise will help to increase muscle mass keeping your metabolic system strong and your ability to move in a more efficient and safe manner.

As we age, the benefits of regular movement can help us to fight off inflammation and prevent chronic diseases of the heart and metabolic systems.

And no, you don’t have to spend hours in the gym on a daily basis, but you do need to move. Find something that you like to do and start slowly. Eventually it will become a part of your life.

3. Maintain a Healthy Body Weight
In obese individuals, macrophages (white blood cell that are part of immune system) will build up in visceral fat which can lead to low-grade chronic inflammation and insulin resistance.

Visceral fat is the fat that you can’t see as it is found deep in the belly and is wrapped around your organs. This type of fat can be very dangerous!

Therefore, it is important to maintain a healthy weight in order to reduce or prevent chronic inflammation.

If you would like support with this, reach out to me and I can guide you on your next steps. Going on and off of restrictive diets is not the answer … there is a better way to do it!

4. Get 7-8 Hours of Good Sleep a Night.
According to a study done by Mount Sinai, research is showing that lack of sleep can change the structure of DNA inside the immune stem cells that produce white blood cells; this can lead to chronic inflammation and contribute to inflammatory diseases.

Having a good nights sleep can play a role in the amount of inflammation you may have.

And, if you have an underlying medical condition, it is even more important that you get the sleep you need.

Sleep is so important, not only for managing inflammation, but it also impacts your ability to make decisions and choices; lack of sleep is known to increase your cravings, elevate stress, decrease energy, and can be the culprit of mental fog, etc.

Putting a sleep routine into place can help with this.

5. Build a Healthy Gut
You can improve your gut health by eating the right foods

.

Inflammation can decrease your ability to absorb the nutrients you need; and, it can disable the gut microbiome so that it can NOT effectively run your metabolism.

When that happens, it affects digestive health which may cause digestive problems, such as gas, constipation, diarrhea, or other signs of irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, or colitis.

Since what we eat and drink can affect our gut microbiome, it is important to eat probiotic foods that will boost good gut bacteria such as kefir, kimchi, kombucha, and yogurt. Plain Greek yogurt is my favourite … just add in some berries to sweeten it up.

Prebiotic foods should be consumed as well.  Examples are flax and chia seeds, as well as legumes and vegetables.

Did you know that physical activity also has a positive impact on your gut microbiome? Another reason to get moving!

6. Avoid Alcohol
Alcohol can have a negative affect on the balance between the good and bad bacteria in your gut; and, this imbalance can have a negative impact your immune system.

The walls of your intestine act as a barrier for your bloodstream. Alcohol can weaken this barrier which means toxins or other foreign substances could enter the bloodstream and increase inflammation throughout the body.

Alcohol may also be a culprit for joint inflammation.

The best thing you can do is to reduce how much you drink or quit altogether.

If you do continue to have a few drinks, make sure to hydrate as alcohol will dehydrate you and dehydration makes inflammation worse. In fact, I would even add electrolytes to the water to help with the rehydration process.

7. Stop Smoking
Smoking causes chronic inflammation which can lead to all sorts of serious problems such as chronic diseases and cancer.

I don’t think I need to say any more about that as smoking has been well researched and there is nothing good about it.

If you are a smoker, there are different ways that you can quit. Check with your doctor and discuss what options could work for you.

If you are looking to make a lasting healthy lifestyle change, you have to put into place change that fits you and your lifestyle, and go at it one step at a time. And, all these little steps will add up and provide you with the results you are looking for.

My philosophy is all about REAL sustainable transformation and change. Eating well, moving more, and believing in yourself are all important for your health and wellbeing especially as you age.

The Healthy Eating & Active Living program is all about empowering you to make REAL sustainable transformation and change. It is all about finding what works for you and then taking it one day at a time.

A quick summary of the 7 actions identified today:

1. Eat anti-inflammatory foods and ditch inflammatory foods.
2. Stay active
3. Maintain a healthy body weight
4. Get 7-8 hours of quality sleep a night
5. Build a healthy gut
6. Avoid alcohol
7. Stop smoking

It is time to stop inflammaging!

In closing, I challenge you to take a look at your current lifestyle and if there is something you need to change, pick one thing to start with and build upon it before moving on to something else.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out by commenting below or sending me an email. Take care, stay healthy, and here’s to aging with vitality

Love the life you live,

Anita Duwel
Certified Holistic Nutrition Coach
Certified Master Workplace Wellness Consultant
FB Group Aging with Vitality
Coach Anita Duwel FB Page
AnitaDuwel@live.com 

PS If you are 45 or over, I invite you to join my Aging with Vitality FaceBook Group. It is a place to share information and strategies on living a life of quality and vitality. Be the first to have access to freebies, challenges, etc.  Also a place to share some funnies!