Stress is something everyone feels from time to time. It’s a natural physical and mental reaction. The stressor could be simply everyday responsibilities involving work and family or a serious life event. Thus, there are different types of stress/ stressors, one-time thing, short term occurrence, or occurring repeatedly over a long period of time. 

Not all stress is bad. 

In a dangerous situation our body’s natural stress single is the “flight or flight response.” Our heartbeat quickens, breathing gets faster, muscles tense, and the brain uses more oxygen while increasing it’s activity. These are all functions aimed at survival, however it doesn’t take a bear chasing you to activate it. this is the same response mechanism during a job interview or before your first 5k race. 

Long term stress is where the issue sits. 

Coping with stressors may not always be easy, and no one is the same in their response to stress. When stress does not subside, the body never really receives a clear signal to return to normal functioning after those natural “lifesaving” mechanisms as mentioned above which is where chronic stress comes into play. The long term effect of these mechanisms in the body alters our health in a variety of ways. It can range from just about anywhere with disturbing the immune, digestive, cardiovascular, and reproductive systems. Some people may experience mainly digestive symptoms, while others may have headaches, insomnia, irritability, or sadness, all of which lie along a spectrum. It may not even be realized these symptoms are simply created solely through stress. 

What can you do to manage your stress?

Positive self talk can be your first step to help calm you down and control stress. Negative self talk increases stress, and with practice you can learn to shift negative to positive thoughts. 

Meditation or a quick walk. Even if it’s 5 minutes, close the technology, let yourself breathe, and return when things have calmed down. 

Eat right. Stress and diet are closely related. When we’re overwhelmed, we often forget to eat well and resort to using sugary, fatty snack foods as a pick-me-up only escalating symptoms of stress. 

Sweat it out. Getting your blood moving releases endorphins and can improve your mood and stress levels almost immediately.

No one’s life is stress free, especially in this era of time,  traffic is even inevitable. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore it. Too much untreated stress can cause potentially serious physical and mental health problems. In many cases, they are manageable but do remember to ask for help from a health professional if you feel needed.

You may not always see or feel it but inflammation is related to just about everything in the body, and it could slowly be hurting you if you don’t always acknowledge it and it’s causes. The slightest aspects of lack of sleep or exercise, stress, and poor nutrition can all be culprits. These can actually really add up over time and lead many to different condition such skin conditions, allergies, headaches, painful menstrual periods, joint pain, low back pain, and the list never could go on. 

So what actually is inflammation? When medical pros speak about inflammation they are usually referring to a combination of heat, pain, redness, and swelling. This can happen outside of the body, like when you pop a zit and it’s extremely red, or inside your body such as when you eat a food you are sensitive to and your stomach begins to churn.

In the short run, inflammation is a good thing as it is the immune system’s natural response to an injury. However, long term it can be very bad. Upon activation of an inflammatory response, immune cells and fluid flood to the irritated area to solve the issue, in a healthy case they eventually subside. But long term, they do not and the excess amount of immune cells and fluid in a specific location can disrupt the natural functioning of the area it is present in. This is why long term or “chronic” inflammation is seen in many diseases and conditions such as arthritis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel diseases. 

Did you know the foods you eat can be a major contributor to inflammation throughout your entire body? Wheat, diary, and sugar tend to be the biggest culprits. This doesn’t necessarily mean that to fit the ideal culture of “health” you need to be gluten free, diary free, or any other trend. Ultimately, it is just best that we do not rely on these foods, rather that we consume them in moderation and not at every meal. 

Limiting foods is not all we can do. The liver is in charge of clearing toxins out, therefore, we should eat foods that support the liver. Foods such as leafy greens, lean proteins, and healthy fats are essential in eliminating inflammation. 

Many natural herbs can decrease inflammation very measurably as well. Such as turmeric which contains the compound curcumin. Others are ginger, cinnamon, and clove. There are all sorts of ways to add these various herbs into your diet, it could even be as simple as in a syrup form. 

Outside of food and herbs, ensure you manage stress, are receiving enough sleep, participating in physical activity, and staying hydrated. These are all nature’s contributions to an anti-inflammatory crusade all of which will help bring you to the best anti-inflammatory you!