Natural Ways to Cope with Inflammation

Natural remedies can help deal with inflammation, such as regular exercise, supplements, and changing diet. This blog highlights the understanding of inflammation, how to cope naturally, and how CBD helps cope with inflammation.

Inflammation is the body's response to an injury or illness. In the short term, inflammation helps the body heal. In the long term, it may lead to chronic health conditions. There are various remedies to inflammation, natural remedies being one of the popular ways. Natural remedies help decrease inflammation levels, improving one's health and wellbeing. For others, lower inflammation levels may ease arthritis symptoms. One of the most popular remedies for alleviating inflammation levels is CBD products. CBD is an all-natural compound derived from the cannabis plant. To know this and more, keep on reading the following article.

Understanding Inflammation

According to Hirano &Toshio (2021), inflammation is the body's response to a disease. During inflammation, blood vessels widen, allowing more white and red blood cells to reach damaged body parts. Inflammation is helpful in the short term since acute inflammation helps the body heal from injuries. However, constant inflammation is harmful. Falconer et al. (2018) noted that chronic inflammation is linked to various serious conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBS) and arthritis. According to a study conducted in 2020, inflammatory diseases are one of the major causes of death.

How to Cope with Inflammation Naturally

Even though it is possible to deal with inflammation naturally, the extent they work depends on the inflammation caused. Natural remedies may reduce inflammation symptoms but not address the underlying condition. You must talk to a doctor if inflammation interferes with your daily activities.

Below are various natural ways to cope with inflammation:

Diet

Diet is one of the popular ways of reducing inflammation. A diet rich in started food and sugar increases inflammation, as also foods that contain glycemic index like refined carbohydrates. Introducing anti-inflammatory foods into your diet can alleviate inflammation. These foods include:

• Nuts and seeds: They are rich in vitamins and healthy fats. In particular, almonds can help lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
• Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals and are potent antioxidant agents that help ease inflammation.
• Fiber: According to studies, fiber is linked to reduced tumor necrosis factor levels, an inflammatory cytokine. Aim to eat fiber-rich foods such as legumes and whole grains to decrease your inflammation levels.
• Herbs and spices: Turmeric is a good example of a spice with anti-inflammatory properties. Turmeric has curcumin that helps people with inflammatory conditions like arthritis.
• Healthy fats: Consuming foods such as fish and avocados helps with inflammation since they contain anti-inflammatory properties. Fish contains omega-3, which reduces inflammation levels.

Another way to cope with inflammation is maintaining a moderate weight. Obesity is one of the factors that cause inflammation. It is because the fat tissues in the body release various substances that affect inflammation levels. Generally, it means that even though one eats a balanced diet, obesity can affect their inflammation levels nevertheless.

Lifestyle Changes

Most lifestyle aspects may influence inflammation levels. They include:

• Aging
• Smoking
• Mental health
• Alcohol consumption
• Sleep
• Exercise

Doing the following may lower inflammation levels:

Getting Regular Exercise

Regular exercise helps reduce inflammation since it helps maintain moderate weight, improve mental health and lower the body's inflammatory chemicals. According to a 2017 study, getting moderate exercise is enough to decrease TNF levels and benefits individuals with low-grade inflammation.

Quitting Smoking

Stopping smoking reduces inflammation since it lowers inflammatory conditions risk.

Looking After Your Mental Health

One of the risk factors for most mental health conditions is stress which is a cause of inflammation. However, it may be difficult to lower your stress levels. Below are some helpful tips you can use:

Talking To a Therapist

Creating time for yourself: You can do this by doing what you like since it will distract you from stressful thoughts.

• Practicing relaxing activities like yoga and meditation
• Knowing what triggers your stress
• Getting quality sleep

Sleep interference affects inflammation levels and mental health. Various factors may lead to sleep disruption, varying from one person to another. Below are ways to help improve your sleep:

• Having a regular sleep routine
• Ensuring your sleep environment is quiet and dark
• Cutting screen time before going to bed

Supplements

Taking specific supplements may help with chronic inflammation since they provide high anti-inflammatory substances.

These supplements include:

• Omega -3: You can find omega-3 fish and algae oil supplements
• Vitamin D: Studies show that vitamin D suppresses the production of inflammatory substances. You can get Vitamin D from dietary supplements and exposure to sunlight.
• Magnesium: It is one of the nutrients that contain anti-inflammatory properties. However, most individuals do not take enough of it. You can get magnesium from magnesium supplements.
• Curcumin: It is a compound present in turmeric. Studies reveal that it benefits chronic diseases like arthritis, premenstrual syndrome, and metabolic syndrome.

Before taking supplements, talk to the doctor first since some interact with certain medications. For example, omega 3 lowers blood pressure making it an unsafe option for individuals taking blood pressure medications.

How CBD Helps Cope with Inflammation

Taking CBD products is a natural way to deal with inflammation since it is an all-natural compound. Geskovski et al. (2021) explained that CBD, also known as cannabidiol, is a cannabinoid in the cannabis plant. Its popularity is growing nonstop because of its various benefits like pain relief, anxiety alleviation, and skin conditions. Casajuana et al. (2018) suggested that some people may link CBD to the psychoactive effect, which is wrong since it does not contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound responsible for the high effect.

CBD helps relieve inflammation though more research is still needed. A 2016 study showed that using CBD topically helped relieve joint inflammation in rats, and no side effects were present. CBD's anti-inflammatory properties also help with various conditions such as:

• General pain
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Alzheimer's disease
• Multiple sclerosis

CBD is available in various formulations such as edibles (gummies), topicals (creams and lotions), oils, and vapes. It's up to you to find what works best for each individual.

Summary

Various natural remedies help deal with inflammation; they include; diet change, exercise, taking supplements, and getting enough sleep. Another common natural way of relieving inflammation is using CBD products. CBD contains anti-inflammatory properties that help alleviate inflammation; it also helps deal with various inflammatory conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, general pain, and multiple sclerosis. However, before taking CBD or any other supplement, consult your doctor to know the right dose, which will help you know its effects. If chronic inflammation is disrupting your daily activities, talk to a doctor.

References

Casajuana Kögel, C., López-Pelayo, H., Balcells-Olivero, M. M., Colom, J., & Gual, A. (2018). Psychoactive Constituents Of Cannabis And Their Clinical Implications: A Systematic Review. Adicciones, 30(2).

Falconer, J., Murphy, A. N., Young, S. P., Clark, A. R., Tiziani, S., Guma, M., & Buckley, C. D. (2018). Synovial Cell Metabolism And Chronic Inflammation In Rheumatoid Arthritis. Arthritis & Rheumatology, 70(7), 984-999.

Geskovski, N., Stefkov, G., Gigopulu, O., Stefov, S., Huck, C. W., & Makreski, P. (2021). Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy As Process Analytical Technology Tool For Estimation Of THC And CBD Content In Cannabis Flowers And Extracts. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular And Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 251, 119422.

Hirano, T. (2021). IL-6 In Inflammation, Autoimmunity And Cancer. International Immunology, 33(3), 127-148.