Is inflammation the root of all evil when it comes to health?
I have spent the last 10 years reading about, thinking about, and trying different approaches to a healthy lifestyle. I am more and more convinced that the secret to a healthy life is to remove inflammation from our bodies as much as possible. Recent scientific research is finding that inflammation is the root cause of many ills, especially those we associate with aging. It might not be age as much as the accumulation of damage from inflammation that is causing our poor health.
Inflammation appears in many different ways. Inflammatory reactions can include things such as:
- Post-nasal drip without being sick
- Stuffy head without being sick
- Sneezing, especially just after eating something
- Stuffy ears without being sick
- Asthma
- Acne
- Skin rash
- Hives
- Pimples (sometimes in odd places, like on your forearm or leg).
- Upset stomach
- Gas
- Diarrhea
- Ulcer
- Abdominal pain
- Gout
- Joint pain
- Swollen joints
- Arthritis pain
- Fuzzy headed
- Dizzy
- Headache
- Memory problems
- The Blahs
- and many more
Some scientists think that possibly things such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and dementia may have inflammatory reactions at their root.
Inflammation occurs in our bodies because something is irritating our body. You know how a cut gets red around the edges? That is your body’s reaction to the irritation of the cut. So things that cause irritation and inflammation can be illness, injury, diet, air born irritants, drugs, lack of sleep, stress, and I’m sure other things I have not come across yet.
I can’t fix absolutely everything in my life to prevent inflammation, but the more I do, the healthier I feel. I’m only human though, so I forget what to do right. Then I do not feel as healthy and I start again to focus on living in a healthy manner.
I recently started again to really focus on a healthy lifestyle. I thought I was going to last fall, but now I’m really serious and focused. Instead of trying to lose weight, I’m trying to do all the right things that are healthy for me. When I do, I also lose weight. And hopefully also improve my blood pressure and cholesterol. I really want to stop taking pills every day.
I’ll share my journey in this blog. Everyone is different, so what works for me may not work for you. So let’s share our ideas and experiments as we work together toward a healthy lifestyle and a healthy life.
