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Your body can do all kinds of amazing things, including protect itself.
However, in recent years inflammations gotten a bad rap.
It’s beenimplicated in myriad ailments, from heart attacks to cancer, Alzheimer’s to mood disorders.
So which is itfriend or foe?
Heres everything you oughta know before you kick off freaking out over inflammation.
Think about what happens when you get a splinter.
An extreme version of acute inflammation?
Swelling around the brain after injury.
Our bodies are always in some kind of inflammatory state.
Inflammation is a part of our immune system, says Loewendorf.
Its the immune system at work.
Nutritionist and holistic health coach Amanda Goldfarb, R.D., of Pawleys Island, SC, concurs.
But if our immune systems start to overreact, thats when problems could kick in.
The first sign of your immune system going above and beyond is allergies, says Loewendorf.
You cant make insulin anymore.
You have to inject yourself daily.
When you hear people talking about the dangers of inflammation, what they’re really talking about ischronic inflammation.
As opposed to acute inflammationa response to injury or infectionchronic inflammation doesn’t have a positive role to play.
This leads to a buildup of plaque in the artery wall, which increases the risk ofheart attackand stroke.
Interestingly, obesity is also considered to be a state of chronic inflammation.
There is a theory that obesity is a kind of physical manifestation of inflammation.
We realized a while back that obesity is a state of chronic inflammation, Apovian tells SELF.
There are multiple ways to control inflammation (to a point).
Got a swollen ankle or a fever?
Ice works well to constrict blood vessels and reduce painful swelling.
But each has its own treatment regimen to control symptoms.
Therefore she urges the importance of cutting these out of your diet.
Ask Apovian about the anti-inflammatory diet and shell tell you its just jargon.
However, if you look to Drs.
Goldfarb cant argue with that advice, even if she wouldn’t use the term “anti-inflammatory.”
Youre going to feel better, and youre going to lose weight.
Its a win-win, she tells SELF.
If you worry about inflammation, eating a good diet and adopting good lifestyle habits is a good start.
Photo Credit: Jac Depczyk / Getty images
