Top 4 Home Remedies to Reduce Inflammation

What is Inflammation?

The human body is an incredible vessel that knows exactly what to do to try and heal itself. For instance, if you come down with a cold or if there’s a scrape on your knee, your immune system starts sending compounds such as white blood cells to repair any damage and kill the invader. Inflammation is simply the immune system’s way of protecting the body from something foreign or dangerous. Some common signs of inflammation include pain, heat, swelling and redness.

When does Inflammation Become an Issue?

Although inflammation is generally a good thing, there are times when it becomes harmful. When the immune system is unable to break down some invaders, the inflammation will continue and get worse over time. This is commonly referred to as chronic inflammation and it can stick around for several months or even years.

Under such conditions, immune cells release inflammatory chemicals that travel throughout your body causing irritation everywhere they go. Common causes of inflammation include;

• lingering injury or infection,
• inflammatory foods,
• stress,
• gut imbalance and
• autoimmune disorder.

When inflammation remains elevated, it may cause tissue damage. Although there’s a wide range of anti-inflammatory drugs designed to control inflammation, they are not always effective and often have adverse side effects.

Some natural remedies contain compounds that have anti-inflammatory properties. However, research in this area is limited. Home remedies to reduce inflammation include:

1. Health Benefits of Bone Broth

Besides healing your gut, bone broth is also the key to healthier immune system and fast weight loss. Research shows that many age-related diseases and weight gain start with chronic inflammation which starts in your gut which plays a very crucial part in everything from your immune function to your metabolism.

Bone broth is a great remedy to reduce inflammation mainly because it contains amino acids such as arginine and glycine which have strong anti-inflammatory properties. Arginine helps fight the inflammation linked to obesity. In fact, studies show that obese women with high levels of arginine in the blood have low levels of inflammation.

On the other hand, glutamine is also very helpful for digestion. In 2017, the journal Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care published a study which notes that supplementation with glutamine helps repair and heal the intestinal walls in both animal and human models.

Therefore, glutamine may be helpful with illnesses such as leaky gut syndrome which irritates the intestinal lining and interferes with digestion.

A study in the Nutrients journal notes that individuals with inflammatory bowel syndrome have lower levels of some important amino acids. For such people, supplementing with bone broth is a simple way to get amino acids which may help with the symptoms of the condition.

2. Turmeric

Several recent studies have shown that including turmeric in your diet can help reduce inflammation and discomfort for people suffering from arthritis. Turmeric is rich in curcumin which has anti-inflammatory properties. Curcumin works by reducing the production of cytokines molecules, (which promote inflammation). Reserachers continue to study the effects of curcumin in a range of other illnesses such as inflammatory bowel disease.  Turmeric is widely available in the form of teas, capsules, pastes, extracts and tablets.

3. Ginger

Ginger contains many anti-inflammatory properties that can limit the activity and production of cyclooxygenase and cytokines enzymes, which are inflammatory agents. There’s evidence showing that ginger contains anti-inflammatory properties that have proven useful in treating a wide range of conditions, including chronic pain and arthritis. Ginger can be dried root or fresh. It’s also available in the form of teas, tablets, and capsules.

4. Green Tea

Research has linked ginger to various health benefits, such as disrupting the processes that cause inflammation and aiding weight loss. There’s also evidence to suggest that green tea can help reduce inflammation in people with arthritis and other metabolic disorders.  Green tea is available as a hot or cold drink, creams, tablets, and capsules that contain green tea.

Many other home remedies may also help reduce inflammation including; frankincense, white willow bark, thyme and resveratrol. However, more research still needs to be done on these herbal remedies.