What is inflammation?

First things first. There are two types of inflammation acute and chronic. Acute inflammation is your body's way of naturally healing itself using your immune system like when you get a cut or scrape your knee. Chronic inflammation is a damaging immune response to things like a poor diet, toxic chemicals and stress. It wears out your immune system which can lead to irritable bowel syndrome, appearing older, autoimmune disease, allergies, etc.

Here are 4 ways to reduce inflammation:

1. Change your diet.

Staying away from sugar and processed junk food is the first step. Focus on integrating or replacing your diet with ingredients or foods that have anti-inflammatory properties such as:

• Soy milk

• Licorice

• Colloidal oatmeal

• Date palm fruit

• Ginger

2. Relax and rest more.

Your body restores and repairs your cells while you're asleep, which is why it is recommended to get at least 8 hours of sleep every day. We know it is difficult because life gets in the way, but if you're cutting corners you are cheating your immune system. Your immune system then has to work twice as hard, which leads to inflammation. It is very important to allow your body to rest!

3. Reduce toxins in your home and food.

When you absorb toxic chemicals and pesticides through your digestive tract or through your skin it can cause inflammation. Start small by slowly integrating natural cleaning or food products into your home. Make sure to always check the label.

4. Get down with your gut.

Your gut holds around 60-70 percent of your immune system, if your gut is in bad shape your immune system is in trouble. Enjoying natural anti-inflammatory teas is a good way to start such as:

• Chamomile

• Green white

• Green

• Red raspberry

• Turmeric

• Peppermint

Now you have an idea what could be causing your skin flares and inflammation, check out our last blog that discusses treatments for sensitive skin!

Xo, GLOW