Pain, swelling, redness, warmth and restricted body movements are some of the cardinal signs of inflammation. If you’re not yet familiar on what exactly this is, inflammation is an immune response activated by the body – and there are 2 kinds of inflammatory responses: acute and chronic.

Acute inflammatory response usually occurs when your body experiences trauma, or it’s trying to fight off a certain infection. Generally, this type of inflammation doesn’t cause any major negative side effects to your health.

Chronic inflammation on the other hand can cause more health problems than you may think. This type of inflammation can run for a very long period of time and this condition is usually left unnoticed. It stems from various reasons, the major causes being an unhealthy diet, a low-grade but long-infection, or a poor immune system.

At the beginning, a low-grade yet chronic inflammation may seem harmless. In fact, you might barely notice it at all! But through time, this kind of inflammation can show up in many forms of health issues like arthritis, a bloated abdomen, obesity, pre-diabetic symptoms or type-2 diabetes, heart conditions, and even cancer.

Because inflammation is carried out by messenger cells, it goes around all over your system and can potentially affect other tissues and organs in your body. This is why there is a need for you to break this cycle because chronic inflammation can lead to the death of some of your cells and tissues.

For men, chronic inflammation can create the visceral fat called beer belly. But the truth is, you don’t necessarily have to drink beer to get this kind of fat accumulation in your mid-section. There are studies stating that the beer belly is caused by leaky gut syndrome – an inflammation in the gut.

On top of an unhealthy lifestyle and poor diet choices, this contributes to the accumulation of fat that’s surrounding your digestive system organs. Fat accumulation can be found around your liver, intestines and even kidneys. So, it is very possible for you to be thin overall, but still have a beer belly.

Believe it or not, the steps for controlling inflammation has a lot to do with your diet. Merely eating food rich in starch and sugar can suddenly inflame an old injury you had. Clues such as this one can tell you that your body is having an inflammatory reaction. Other clues include feeling swollen, distended or bloated.

Below are the worse two foods that are known to be pro-inflammatory and you should try to stay away from them as much as possible:

• Sugar and Starches – sugars, including natural ones like fructose as well as artificial ones, can be pro-inflammatory especially when taken in large amounts.
• Processed Food – processed food contains a lot of sugar, salt and saturated fats produced industrially. These ingredients alone can start fumes in your body.

As much as some food can wreak havoc in the body and immune system, there are also foods that can naturally repair and control inflammation. Here are a few examples:

• Fermented Food – Adding good bacteria to your diet can help detoxify it. Doing so will help inhibit inflammation in the gut. There are 2 ways wherein you can help restore the healthy flora of your digestive tract – first, you can eat more fermented foods like yogurt, natto, kimchee. Second, you can take probiotic supplements regularly.
• Food Rich In Antioxidant – Colorful berries, green leafy vegetables, black coffee and green tea are just a few ingredients you can include in your diet to help fight oxidative damage. By taking in more antioxidants, you will help neutralize the free radicals in your body that are also causing the inflammation.
• Take Anti-inflammatory Supplements – If you’re having difficulties in staying healthy and in good shape, the best way to treat chronic inflammation is by taking some dietary supplements. The health benefits of turmeric curcumin supplements have been demonstrated in recent research papers among those who are suffering from this kind of health issue. You can also check out other herbal remedies and there are many brands out there to choose from.
• Protective Oil – Protective oils include coconut oil, organic palm oil and avocado oil. These are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that are also anti-inflammatory in nature. Eating cold-water fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel a few times a week can give you the omega-3 you need. If you wish to skip this, you can take fish oil supplements instead as well.

To control your inflammation, you must pay more attention to the kind of lifestyle you have. Are you exercising? Are you eating right? These are the questions you need to ask yourself every day to make sure that you avoid possible health issues that could have catastrophic long-term effects.