Are You Inflamed?

Thirty years ago I read a book called Ultraprevention. Written by Drs. Mark Hyman and Mark Liponis, I found it fascinating because they used the term inflammation as the source of much of what ails us. As I read through I realized they were right - belly ache? inflammation - headache - inflammation - back pain - inflammation - and so on. What I really liked was they did not say take a pill or get a shot or have surgery. They got to the nuts and bolts of how inflammation forms and what you can do to relieve it with lifestyle changes, primarily with food, rest and stress management.

I’m thinking a lot about inflammation now because I was invited to submit a proposal to speak at a Naturopathic Doctors Convention in Barcelona next summer. It would be a thrill for me to be selected, but in the meantime, it got me thinking a lot about this topic and how it affects our health and happiness.

Pain stinks. It crosses a spectrum from barely there to screeching and disabling. We’ve all seen those charts where a patient rates their pain from a smiley face to a miserable scowl. Whether it’s barely there or disabling, pain is something to pay attention to. It’s your body’s way of signaling you that something is out of balance. But inflammation does not only present as pain. Type II diabetes, obesity and heart disease all are diseases of inflammation.

Typically we don’t get seriously ill overnight; a serious illness builds slowly, and the time to catch it is in the early stages when it’s most correctable.

Each Spring and Fall I offer a seven day Seasonal Cleanse. We don’t starve; we don’t eat horrible food. We simply spend seven days eating the foods that are most beneficial to our bodies at that time of year. An overall goal is to help you prepare for the challenges of the season by reducing the effect of inflammatory foods like white flour, sugar and highly processed foods. They are replaced with food that are simple fresh and compatible with the season.

If you are already inflamed because of a poor diet, unmanaged stress, inadequate sleep or lack of movement, seasonal changes are more difficult without some kind of dietary and lifestyle change. What is fascinating to watch is how quickly people who do the seasonal cleanses feel better and less inflamed! Two or three days in someone will ask if it’s possible their knees aren’t aching because they changted their food. Yes ma’am! or someone will comment on their improved concentration. Yes sir!

As humans, we can be very adaptable and not even realize we are inflamed until we’re not. So I would invite you to take some time to notice how you feel in body and mind, and where you might be having a little trouble. We’ll be scheduling our annual Autumn cleanses as we return to standard time in early November.