Inflammation: How to Find Your Body’s Balance Through Nutrition & Lifestyle

Practical ways to heal inflammation and boost your health span

Inflammation protects your body in the short term, but when it lingers, it drives disease—from asthma and diabetes to dementia. Stress, poor sleep, and diet often feed each other, creating a cycle that’s hard to heal. The good news: small steps like managing stress, moving more, and eating less processed, plant-based foods can calm inflammation and improve your health span.

Key Takeaways 

• Inflammation protects us by fighting infections and healing injuries, but when it lingers or is suppressed, it does more harm than good. 

• From asthma and diabetes to dementia, inflammation is prevalent. Research shows chronic inflammation contributes to many health concerns.

• Causes of inflammation are multiple and additive; one factor, such as stress, can spark another, like poor sleep—starting a downward spiral that is difficult to heal. 

• Good news! There are many ways to heal inflammation—from managing stress and being more active, to eating less processed and more plant-based foods. Every effort in this direction will improve your health span. 

• Your nutrition counsellor will support you in reducing both general inflammation and that of your particular inflammatory condition, within your unique body and life situation. 

What is Inflammation & Why Does It Matter?

Inflammation is simply our body’s biological response to harmful stimuli.  A thorough summary can be found in this article.  

The term inflammation comes from the Latin ‘ignite’ or ‘set fire’, and like real fire, inflammation can both cleanse and provide a basis for healing, for example, when a wound is cauterized. However, when it is out of control, like a raging wildfire, inflammation can cause extensive and long-lasting damage, for example, the joint degeneration associated with arthritis. 

The authors of this article from the National Library of Medicine clearly articulate the damage of chronic inflammation:  

“Chronic inflammatory diseases are the most significant cause of death in the world… Worldwide, 3 of 5 people die due to chronic inflammatory diseases like stroke, chronic respiratory diseases, heart disorders, cancer, obesity, and diabetes.”  

What Fuels Chronic Inflammation?

Many factors add up to affect our inflammatory responses, and any small changes in one area will make a difference to our health span. Small sparks of inflammation here or there can be managed; it is the multiple sparks that inflame the system, experienced as pain and fatigue. The good news is that attending to these sparks soothes the inflammatory response.  

So, what are the ‘sparks?’ Below is a list of areas that affect our inflammatory response, with supporting links for more information. 

Behavioural 

Stress – small steps can help, as shown here , or you could try a meditation app like Headspace or Insight Timer. 

Sleep – good sleep hygiene is very important – check out this site by the renowned sleep scientist Dr. Matther Walker. 

Laughter – who doesn’t feel better after a good laugh? Load your social media feed with lighthearted content, follow comedians you like on YouTube, or listen to funny podcasts. 

Movement   

Stay Flexible – move those joints gently and often. 

Watch your Posture – work with a therapist on ways to find and maintain your posture. 

Rest – balance activity with rest to support healing and recovery.

Activity – check out this inspiring podcast with host Mel Robbins interviewing Dr Vonda Wright, an orthopedic surgeon whose passion is strength and fitness at every age. 

Biological 

Gut health – “A healthy population of beneficial bacteria (flora) in the intestines can help keep inflammation at bay,” per this Johns Hopkins article. You can also check out this article that focuses on gut health.  

Sex hormones – declining sex hormones increase inflammation; check out this article for more details. Yes, that means menopause is technically an inflammatory process. Unfortunately, more sex does not increase these hormones, but arguably reduces stress, so that’s a win!  Research on supplements impacting these hormones is ongoing. Please see the section below for information.   

Substances

Smoking (tobacco and cannabis), vaping, and alcohol are all pro-inflammatory, so cut down or cut them out completely.  

Ingestive  

And of course, what we eat affects those ‘sparks’ as well. I hope you knew this was coming… I am a food nerd after all!  

Many large studies have shown that certain eating patterns support the reduction and healing of various chronic inflammatory conditions. (Here’s a great article that summarizes eating the anti-inflammatory way.) 

High cholesterol – Mediterranean Diet  

High blood pressure – Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)  

Diabetes & arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) – Vegetarian/Vegan  

Alzheimer’s/dementia – Mediterranean & DASH diet for Neurodegenerative delay (MIND)  

Dietary Methods to Cool the Inflammatory Fire 

All this research boils down to some simple approaches, which we could call “Dietary Interventions to Slow Inflammation” — or “DITZY” (although the acronym isn’t ideal!). 

Here are the key areas and tips:   

Fruits & Vegetables 

Eat more plants of all types and varieties. Here are some ideas how to get more fruit and veggies in your day: 

• Make smoothies  (also helpful for hydration – see below). 

• Have one fruit or vegetable at every meal and snack. 

• Add fruit like bananas and blueberries to baking. 

• Buy veggie/fruit platters for easy grab and go options. 

Want more tips? Check here  

Carbohydrates/Grains 

Have fewer simple sugars and eat more whole grains 

• Reduce simple sugars found in sugary drinks, desserts, and candy (within reason, of course! These may be “soulful” foods for you, so this isn’t about cutting them out completely—just choosing wisely). Look for a sugar content around 5% or less on the Percent Daily Value (%DV). 

• Try to make half the grains you eat whole grains. Look for “whole grain” in the ingredients list, choose brown rice more often than white, and select higher-fibre grain products (check for fibre content close to or above 15% DV). 

• Adjust your baking—add oat or wheat bran and gradually replace white flour with whole wheat (start with a quarter cup and increase to taste). 

Protein 

Have less red meat, and include more fish and plant-based proteins: 

• Check out this article for plant-based options. 

• Fish is high in omega 3 fatty acids which are protective of heart health – here are 5 ways to prepare fish. 

• Modify baking by using almond flour and/or skim milk powder. 

Fat 

Reduce saturated fats as much as possible and avoid trans fats — in other words, eat fewer processed, deep-fried, and grilled foods: 

• Check the Nutrition Facts panel for saturated and trans-fat content. For heart health, aim to keep saturated fats below 10% of total daily calories from fat (most people need about 30% of their daily calories from fat). 

• Cooking methods matter — opt for baking, steaming, or light stir-frying. 

Spices 

Use less salt and more anti-inflammatory spices like cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric: 

• Salt – Choose reduced-sodium products (look for sodium content close to or below 5% DV). Use spices, fresh lemon juice, or vinegar to add flavour. 

• Cinnamon – Research shows promise for reducing inflammation. Use a cinnamon stick when boiling hot cereal or add ground cinnamon wherever you enjoy it. 

• Ginger – Shows benefits for osteoarthritis. Grate into stews, curries, or use in herbal tea. Buy a piece, freeze it, and grate from frozen as needed. 

• Turmeric (Curcumin) – there is very good evidence for overall inflammation reduction. Grate into curries, soups, stews, or add to hot water or tea. Buy fresh turmeric and grate from frozen as needed. 

Hydration 

Being well hydrated reduces inflammation by flushing out toxins and lubricating joints, amongst other benefits. 

• Women need 2.2L of fluid a day  

• Men need 3L of fluid a day  

Struggling to hit that fluid mark? Check out this article with tips to help you reach your hydration goals.  

Anti-inflammatory Supplements: Can they Help Douse the Wildfire?  

Beyond the details above related to general inflammation, supplemental treatments for certain conditions may be helpful. Here are a few of those conditions and some key points that may soothe and cool those flames, with a ranking of quality of evidence as ‘A’ being the best/highest quality of data. Always check with your healthcare provider before starting new supplements.

Osteoarthritis (OA) 

An inflammatory condition resulting in the degeneration of joints.  

• Curcumin (active ingredient in turmeric) – evidence shows a moderate decrease in inflammation when taking curcumin 500 mg twice a day  

• Boswellia (Indian Frankincense) – this evidence also shows a moderate improvement in OA; there have been many large studies showing promise, but results are not very clear, as the supplement was often provided with other substances, like curcumin   

• You may have heard good things about glucosamine and chondroitin; however, these supplements are at a B level of evidence related to OA  

• Collagen – can be helpful to support those creaky joints – check out this article  

Heart Disease 

A wide range of conditions, such as high LDL cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, and high blood pressure. We know that adjusting the types of fats we eat can make a difference, as can increasing fibre. For supplements, the following currently have an A level of evidence to improve these blood work parameters: 

• Triglycerides – Fish Oil  

• LDL (bad) cholesterol – Artichoke Extract  

• Blood Pressure – Garlic  

Menopause 

The time in a woman’s life when menses have not occurred for one year. With the reduced sex hormones, dietary interventions include increasing protein. Physically, it is important to practice weight training.  Sleep can also be affected by menopause. DHEA is a supplement with an A level of evidence, showing it to be effective at producing a moderate increase in estrogen and testosterone.  

DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is produced in the adrenal glands; it is a precursor to estrogen and testosterone, has weak effects in its own, and has benefits especially for older women. 

Inflammation is a part of life. Taking steps to quell this wildfire will improve your quality—and more importantly, enjoyment—of life. There are myriad ways to transform the firestorm of inflammation into a healing fire that supports your health and wellness. 

Wondering how to find your anti-inflammatory balance?

Contact us to get connected with a nutrition counsellor matched to your needs. We’d be honoured to help you stoke up your healing fire on your journey to better health and stellar well-being.   Learn more about our nutrition programs here or simply book your free discovery call to learn more below:

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