Calming the Fire
As more people are experiencing chronic illness, researchers have turned their attention to the role that inflammation can play in developing and maintaining these conditions. You can incorporate many dietary and lifestyle hacks to help lower inflammation, ranging from stress reduction to incorporating anti-inflammatory foods into your meals.
However, if you struggle with chronically elevated inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein, it may be worth exploring the benefits of including targeted anti-inflammatory supplements in your routine. Below we’ll look at what inflammation is and the best natural supplements to lower inflammation.
What is Inflammation?
While inflammation tends to receive a lot of negative press, it is an important immune system function that helps us heal. When the body experiences a normal inflammatory response it should be short-term since it is a protective attempt to remove whatever is causing injury and start the healing process. Once the stressor causing injury is removed, healing should progress, and inflammation cools and disappears.
Typical symptoms of inflammation include:
- Pain.
- Heat.
- Redness.
- Swelling.
- Loss of function.
A healthy inflammatory response should be acute and abate after removing the stressor. Unfortunately, in our society, we are constantly under physical, dietary, environmental and emotional stress. In response to these stressors, our immune systems can go into overdrive. Inflammation then becomes low-grade and constant as our immune systems are overwhelmed. This type of chronic inflammation can cause many unpleasant issues, from skin conditions to autoimmune disorders.
Some common inflammatory conditions include:
- Arthritis—any condition that ends in “itis” indicates an inflammatory condition.
- Heart disease.
- Type 2 Diabetes.
- Chronic aches and pains.
- Skin conditions including eczema, rosacea and psoriasis.
4 Essential Supplements for Lowering Inflammatory Levels
Now that we understand what inflammation is and how it happens in the body, let’s take a look at some of the best-researched supplements to lower inflammation that you can take.
1. Alpha-Lipoic Acid
This supplement functions as a natural antioxidant in the body, which can provide natural anti-inflammatory benefits. In research, it has effectively reduced several common markers of inflammation, including C-Reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).
Heart disease is often correlated with chronic inflammation and oxidation, which makes alpha-lipoic acid a great addition to your anti-inflammatory support plan if this condition concerns you. Thanks to its high levels of antioxidants, alpha-lipoic acid has been shown to lower oxidative stress, thanks to its ability to neutralize free radicals.
2. Fish Oil
One of the most popular and well-studied supplements to help balance the inflammatory response is fish oil, specifically omega-3-rich fish oils. The omega-3 fats function as a natural anti-inflammatory since they help balance the overabundance of omega-6 fats in the modern diet. Too much omega-6 in the diet creates an environment for inflammation, especially arachidonic acid, by upregulating the production of inflammatory cytokine molecules.
Not only do omega-3 fats help to balance the ratio of fats, keeping inflammation in check, but they are also effective at decreasing pain associated with inflammatory conditions. Since they are so well-studied, there is support demonstrating that supplementing with high-quality fish oil containing EPA and especially DHA can lower inflammation associated with heart disease, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease and other chronic low-grade inflammatory conditions.
3. Green Tea Extract
Compounds in green tea extract called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and chlorogenic acid have potent natural anti-inflammatory benefits in the body. Green tea has been extensively studied for its anti-inflammatory effect in conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and neurodegenerative diseases.
These findings suggest that the catechin EGCG helps suppress the protein or gene responsible for expressing inflammatory cytokines and other inflammatory-related enzymes. Incorporating green tea extract can boost your antioxidant intake and help reduce chronic inflammation.
4. Curcumin
Curcumin is an extract from a common culinary spice, turmeric. Traditionally used in Indian cuisine, it is one of the most studied anti-inflammatory supplements on the market and a great addition to your natural medicine cabinet if you struggle with inflammation. The active component, curcumin, is at least as effective, if not more so, than some anti-inflammatory drugs at regulating the inflammatory response in the body.
In fact, the benefits of curcumin and inflammation have been studied in various conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease, heart disease and diabetes. It also shows promise in reducing inflammation and symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. One exciting research area is the connection between chronic inflammation and neurological conditions such as depression. Curcumin shows promise in managing depression symptoms by lowering inflammation in the brain.
As always, make sure you consult with your doctor or another qualified healthcare practitioner before taking any supplements to lower inflammation to avoid any possible negative interactions with medications or health conditions.