Is Your Diet Causing Pain? :

When I say "inflammation," thoughts of painful joints, muscles, swelling and loss of mobility probably come to mind. But did you know that recent research shows that chronic inflammation in your body can lead to serious disease such as diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and Alzheimer's disease, to name just a few?

The amount of inflammation in our body varies and is dependent on may circumstances like activity level, amount of sleep or stress in our lives and even the foods we eat. What you have to realize is that these factors are all cumulative, and as the levels increase, the risk for disease increases.

Early in life these levels can be so low that you would not even know that you have any inflammation in your body and that is because our bodies do a fair job of controlling the inflammation at least for a while. Then, one day you wake up and you are in your 40s and something is just not right. The fear sets in and you think to yourself what did I do, what did I do wrong or what can I do right now to help myself. The first step is to get your C-Reactive Protein levels tested. You will need to ask your doctor for the test and may even have to demand to have the test done. All it takes is a blood sample and the doctor or registered dietitian will evaluate the test to help you formulate a care plan, because our diet can play a large part in achieving optimal health.

If you have pain from inflammation you may choose to take the traditional "medical" path for inflammation such as, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID's), steroids and even joint replacement surgery in severe cases. The good news is that there are more natural ways to fight inflammation, and they don't have the undesirable side effects caused by many typical medical treatments.

What You Eat Makes All The Difference

The food we eat is a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to controlling inflammation. The average American diet consists of high fat, high sugar, loads of red meat and a frightening amount of processed foods. These are all likely to increase inflammation, not to mention contributing to obesity, yet another high-inflammatory culprit. By switching to an Anti-Inflammatory Diet plan made up of healthy, whole foods, you can actually decrease inflammation and in turn ease the pain and discomfort associated with it.

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