Top 5 Ways For Actors To Reduce Inflammation Naturally

Looking to reduce inflammation naturally in your body? You’re not alone. When you’re busy working long hours on set or cramming in last-minute auditions, you’re more likely to be sleep deprived, dehydrated, and hovering over the craft service snacks. But before you reach for Ibuprofen, here are some alternatives. 

It’s a sad truth that the average American diet contains tons of inflammatory foods: high fructose corn syrup, white flour, white sugar, pasteurized dairy, fatty red meat, trans fats, GMO products like corn and soybean oils, and all those chemicals in processed foods. Yuck!

Equally frustrating is that many diseases are a product of chronic inflammation in the body, and our modern medicine focuses on addressing the symptoms of the illness instead of the root causes. Granted, those symptoms suck: persistent illness, bacterial, respiratory and viral infections, visible signs of aging, acid reflux and heartburn, skin conditions like psoriasis, acne and eczema, chronic pain, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, urinary tract infections, and candida overgrowth.

It makes sense if you think about it; heart disease is inflammation of the arteries. Arthritis is inflammation of the joints. Inflammation is even thought to play a big role in the “allergic diseases” like asthma and Crohn’s disease, and possibly degenerative disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

The good news is that if you suffer from inflammation, you may be better served by heading straight to the root cause before resorting to medication. You can begin to heal your body by simply making small step-by-step adjustments to your lifestyle and eating habits.

Some Inflammation Is Natural

Just to be clear, inflammation isn’t always a bad thing. There are two types of inflammation: acute and chronic. Acute inflammation starts quickly and can disappear in a few days, like heartburn. This short duration is because the inflammation is a result of your body’s defense against something hazardous—like a virus, a bacteria or damaged cells. So when the tissue is inflamed, your body is trying to remove these foreign invaders from your system and heal the injury. It’s a good thing, yet not something to be ignored!

When in trouble, your immune system floods your body with defense cells and hormones. So, when dietary and environmental toxins build up in your body, your immune system will run on overdrive trying to rid your body of these foreign invaders. This constant battle in your body leads to chronic inflammation, which can last for months or years. And that’s what can lead to that truckload of symptoms and diseases.

What commonly causes inflammation?

Repeat after me: All good health starts in your gut!

If you have any sort of low-grade bacterial, viral, or fungal infection in your bloodstream or gastrointestinal tract, it will cause inflammation. Other causes are low-grade food sensitivities, high levels of cortisol as a result of stress, environmental toxicity (like air and water pollution), food pollutants (like pesticides and fertilizers), and mercury exposure.

Inflammation won’t just go away on its own, so you have to be proactive about managing your health. There are definitely steps you can take in your everyday life to reduce chronic inflammation in a more natural way. 

Top 5 Ways For Actors To Reduce Inflammation Naturally

1) Banish Fake Food From Your Diet.

The most important step to take to reduce inflammation is to remove foods from the menu that trigger inflammation. We consume tons of fake foods in this country, guys. Think about all the chemical-laden processed foods available with unnatural food dyes, seasonings with unknown ingredients, MSG and preservatives. Our bodies don’t know how to process this junk and instead assume it’s a foreign invader to attack.

So before you grab another bag of Doritos, just imagine each chip as a sneaky Trojan Horse about to start a war in your body, and ditch the fake food!

Once you’ve removed the junk, it’s time to add some anti-inflammatory foods into your regular diet. Look for organic, whole foods high in antioxidants and/or a good balance of Omega-3s. 

Also, add in some Vitamin D3, by soaking up a little daily sun and taking a supplement. 

Click here to check out Dr. Weil’s helpful Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid.

Here are my top 10 favorite anti-inflammatory foods:

1. Leafy Green Vegetables – The Chanel of food; always in style, always a classic.
2. Bone Broth – Very healing for your gut.
3. Blueberries – These babies are high in antioxidants.
4. Beets – Beets are an awesome source of vitamins and minerals, and they can also lower your blood pressure. 
5. Bok Choy – Low in calories but high in protein, dietary fiber and vitamins.
6. Celery – Believe it or not, it’s an anti-inflammatory super star.
7. Chia Seeds – The tiny superhero superfood! 
8. Flax Seeds – Rich in Omega-3 essential fatty acids.
9. Ginger – Promotes digestive health.
10. Turmeric – This spice boosts immune function, reduces inflammation, and aids in digestion and liver function. 

One bonus of an anti-inflammatory diet is that you’ll naturally lose weight when you remove items from your diet that cause your body to hold on to belly fat. It’s a win-win my friends!

You can also try this yummy Turmeric + Ginger Latte recipe as a part of your morning routine.

2) Investigate What Foods Trigger You. 

After you’ve made adjustments to your diet, I want you to become a nutritional Sherlock. 🙂

I recommend an elimination diet for a few weeks. Start by keeping a food journal, and keep it honest! 

Put on your deerstalker cap and investigate everything you eat, how much you eat, and how each item makes you feel. When you consume a food that you have a mild allergic reaction to, it will cause inflammation, even if it’s just a small sensitivity, so this process will help you keep tabs on which foods agree with your digestion and which you should avoid in the future.

3) Try a Gentle Cleanse.

If you want to take the detox process to the next level, your elimination diet can shift into a cleanse. A cleanse doesn’t mean deprivation. In fact, it’s a great way to clean out your gut and calm your body. 

It can be as simple as just cutting out a few foods for 2-4 weeks, such as processed foods, gluten, soy, GMO corn (go organic), cow dairy, conventional meat (the stuff you buy at Vons or Ralphs; look instead for pasture-centered), alcohol, caffeine, and the biggie—sugar.

4) Seek Sage Advice.

I also recommend ridding your body of any harmful heavy metals with homeopathic remedies. I always encourage clients to see a certified naturopath or an herbalist to help create a plan for your specific needs.

If you want to discover how to really tune-in to your body instead of running on autopilot, I can help you make that happen! Schedule a free Vision + Vibe Session and let’s explore ways we can work together. 

5) Stay Consistent With Your Healthy Habits.

I know it’s the same old song and dance, but consistent, permanent lifestyle and dietary changes are the easiest, cheapest, and best way to keep chronic inflammation at bay for good.

So here’s your healthy habit checklist:

Do you suffer from chronic inflammation? What lifestyle changes have helped you the most? How can I support you in your path to a healthy mind and bod? Let me know in the comments below!

LOVE + a strong body!