It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The Holiday season is known to be filled with love, joy, family, and friends. It’s also a season filled with stress, lack of movement, and over-consumption of sugar and alcohol which means systemic inflammation can be at an all-time high. In this article, we’re going to discuss 7 ways to combat inflammation this Holiday Season!
1. Stay hydrated.
Water is a critical nutrient in your body! It flushes toxins, enables cellular hydration, and transports nutrients, which all play a huge factor in managing and combating systemic inflammation.
As a general rule of thumb, aim to drink half your body weight in fluid ounces of hydrating fluids each day. For example, if you’re a 140lb person, your daily goal is 70oz of hydrating beverages. These hydrating beverages include high-quality filtered water, coconut water, bone broth, and uncaffeinated herbal tea. Keep in mind, for every 8oz of dehydrating beverage you consume (coffee, tea, juice, alcohol, soda) you’ll want to add another 12oz of hydrating beverage to your daily baseline.
Pro tip: Add a small pinch of sea salt (not table salt!) to your water with a lemon slice to create an electrolyte beverage.
2. Move your body.
Moving your body is crucial for a variety of reasons. Regular physical activity has health benefits that includes stress reduction, weight control, strengthening of the heart, bones, and muscles, and reducing the risk of certain diseases (1) — all of which are vastly important for combating inflammation. Additionally, exercise is critical for the movement of lymphatic fluid that is responsible for filtering out bacteria, viruses, and toxins, which, if left stagnant, causes high levels of inflammation.
Pro tip: Power up your daily 30 minute walk by adding short bursts of faster-paced walking or running. Walk at your regular pace for two minutes and then increase your pace to a brisk walk or run for 30 seconds. (Here’s an article about the benefits of high-intensity interval training.)
3. Slow down and breathe.
While we cannot go three minutes without oxygen, too seldom do we sit and focus on breathing deeply. Our respiratory system is responsible for filtering out fumes, allergens, mold, and airborne toxins, all of which are highly inflammatory to our system. Focus on breathing in deeply to oxygenate your cells and breathe out completely to remove carbon dioxide and other accumulated toxins in the lungs. In addition to the oxygenation of our system, this deep breathing slows down our nervous system and allows the body to enter a parasympathetic state so we can “rest and digest”.
Pro tip: Spend two minutes in the morning focusing on breathing in through your nose for 4 slow counts and then exhaling through your nose for 4 slow counts. If this is easy for you, move up to 6 slow counts inhaling through your nose followed by exhaling through your nose for 6 slow counts.
4. Chew your food.
While this may seem like an odd suggestion, it’s a small but powerful habit to combat inflammation. When we eat too quickly, we swallow air and large chunks of food, which can cause digestive dysfunction and therefore systemic inflammation.
Pro tip: Aim to chew your food 20-30x per bite or until the food is a liquid-like consistency. This tiny habit will vastly improve digestion and combat inflammation.
5. Sleep
Sleep is a time where we restore and repair! According to research, lack of sleep can contribute to the dysregulation of inflammatory and antiviral responses (2). Ensuring you get 7-9 hours of deep restorative sleep per night is especially key during times of excess stress and overindulgence of sugar and alcohol (i.e. the Holidays!).
Pro tip: Listen to a tapping meditation before bed to unwind and lower cortisol.
6. Avoid too many sweets.
A high sugar diet can have harmful effects on your health and can result in chronic inflammation, where the body’s immune system activates, resulting in damage to healthy cells (3).
To reduce inflammation, aim for an overall healthy diet filled with nutrient-dense whole foods. During the Holidays, do the best you can to avoid overindulging in sweet treats filled with refined sugars.
Pro tip: Enjoy a dessert made with naturally sweet ingredients like maple syrup or honey!
Connect with me and receive 3 Decadent Guilt-Free Holiday Dessert Recipes.
7. Cook with high-quality oils.
Hydrogenated oils like vegetable, canola, and soy, are highly inflammatory and should be avoided at all costs. These industrial seed oils come from genetically modified plants that are toxic to our systems, full of additives, and have been linked with a variety of health problems.
Pro tip: For high heat cooking choose animal fats or ghee from pasture-raised sources and for medium heat cooking choose extra virgin olive oil or butter. These fats and oils are critical for our health as they boost the immune system and reduce systemic inflammation!
Ensure your days will be merry and bright by following these seven ways to combat inflammation this Holiday season!
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xo Neeley at Your Epic Genetics
This information is being provided to you for educational and informational purposes only. It is being provided to you to educate you about healthy eating and living and as a self-help tool for your own use. It is not medical or psychological advice. This information is to be used at your own risk based on your own judgment.
For my full Disclaimer, please go to https://yourepicgenetics.com/index.php/disclaimer/
For Reference:
- “Exercise … It Does a Body Good: 20 Minutes Can Act as Anti-Inflammatory.” UC Health – UC San Diego, health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/Pages/2017-01-12-exercise-can-act-as-anti-inflammatory.aspx.
- Irwin M. R. (2019). Sleep and inflammation: partners in sickness and in health. Nature reviews. Immunology, 19(11), 702–715. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-019-0190-z
- “Does Sugar Cause Inflammation? What the Research Says.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326386.
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