5 Causes of Chronic Inflammation

When you live with chronic inflammation, every day can be so hard to live through. As a chronic pain sufferer, it can sometimes be difficult to even get through the day without giving up. Once you understand the 5 common causes of chronic inflammation, you’ll be better able to keep it under control.

Chronic Inflammation – The Healing Process Gone Wrong

Inflammation is a natural part of your body’s healing process. When you become sick or injured, pro-inflammatory chemicals go to work to protect your body and perform cellular repair.

This type of inflammation is normal and goes away once the injury or sickness has been healed.

Chronic inflammation occurs when the immune system stays on high alert, protecting your body like a band of insomniac soldiers high on steroids and energy drinks.

Symptoms of Chronic Inflammation

Chronic inflammation is one of those things that kind of sneaks up on you. For example, you’ve been in a car accident and injured your shoulder. The pain and inflammation you feel is normal but should be only temporary. It goes away for a bit only to come back with a vengeance and start spreading to the rest of your back.

Within a few weeks or months, more symptoms develop such as:

• Chronic fatigue
• Ongoing joint and muscle pain
• Frequent infections 
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• High blood pressure
• Gingivitis
• Eczema and psoriasis
• Allergies/hay fever
• Food intolerance
• Brain fog 

Chronic Inflammation – 5 Common Causes

Chronic inflammation is usually brought on by a severe illness, trauma or physical injury. This inflammation is then perpetuated by certain dietary and lifestyle factors.

These factors include:

1. Diet

What you eat has a direct effect on how much chronic pain you feel on a daily basis. Processed food is filled with toxic chemicals, additives, dyes, and synthetic sweeteners that force your immune system to stay on high alert defending you. All of these chemicals are horrible for your health and will only make your chronic inflammation much worse.

In order to stave off chronic inflammation, you must eat anti-inflammatory foods. This means whole foods like organic vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes, seeds, poultry, and wild-caught non-GMO salmon.

Also, a key component in chronic inflammation is food intolerance. Gluten and lactose foods are pro-inflammatory and often make chronic pain conditions worse. Try cutting gluten and lactose products from your diet for a period of 8 weeks to see if symptoms improve.

Corn, soy, and red meat are also pro-inflammatory, especially when grown or raised conventionally. Most corn and soy is genetically modified, which means every time you eat them, you’re putting pesticides in your body. Conventionally-raised beef are filled with antibiotics, growth hormones, and pesticides best avoided by any chronic pain sufferer.

2. Vitamin Deficiencies

A poor diet and poor digestion often contribute to vitamin deficiencies. Vitamin D deficiency and magnesium deficiency are the two most common nutrient deficiencies in the United States and Canada. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a weakened immune system and magnesium deficiency often cause neurological problems. Omega 3 fatty acid deficiency is another contributor to chronic inflammation.

3. Toxins

Toxins are a commonly-overlooked contributor to chronic inflammation. Everything from the make-up you wear to the cleaning products you clean your home with are filled with poisons that keep your immune system working overtime.

For example, Triclosan. Triclosan is a synthetic antibacterial agent that has been linked to hormone disruption, thyroid disease, neurological disturbances, infertility, and autoimmune disease. Formaldehyde, commonly found in cleaning products, has been associated with severe allergic reaction, weakened immune system, and lymphatic cancers.

4. Stress

If you’ve ever heard the term, “stress kills”, it’s absolutely true. When you’re body is over-stressed and over-tired, your adrenal glands work overtime to pump pro-inflammatory chemicals like cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine into your body. It’s a leading and oft-overlooked cause of chronic inflammation.

5. Insomnia

When you’re in pain you can’t sleep and when you can’t sleep you experience more pain. It’s a vicious cycle. This is why people who live with chronic inflammation should invest in a good quality chelated magnesium supplement. Magnesium helps ease neurological distress and improves quality of sleep.

You don’t have to live with the pain of chronic inflammation anymore. Treat the symptoms of inflammation by understanding the cause. Remember, diet is very important. Once you begin sticking to an anti-inflammatory diet you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel!