WEEK 4 - What Supplements Should I take for Pain and Inflammation? | Supplement Mastery Series
What Causes Inflammation?
Inflammation is my absolute favorite thing to work on with clients.
My career in physical medicine strongly contributed to this, but working in holistic nutrition, I have a real opportunity to help people reduce inflammation without taking medications.
In fact, inflammation of the colon and in the intestines in general, is something I see often in my work with clients. These are common sources of systemic inflammation (meaning, chronic inflammation throughout the body), and when left unaddressed, often lead to autoimmune disease, pain, chronic digestive issues, allergies, and compromised immune system.
Keep reading to learn about inflammation of the colon and inflammation diet as a whole.
What Causes Inflammation?
To start, it’s important to remember that your body needs inflammation. This article (1) defines inflammation as, “…the process by which the immune system recognizes and removes harmful and foreign stimuli and begins the healing process.”
What we don’t want is chronic inflammation or inflammation that doesn’t stop because the stressor causing it is never found or addressed.
Put differently, we need the inflammation to stop at some point, or it will lead to problems much worse and more long-term than the original stressor. In fact, chronic inflammation is commonly referred to as a “silent killer”.
EFFECTS OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION:
over- or under- activity of the immune system
Allergies and autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, lupus, and Type I Diabetes, are all examples of an overactive immune response. Chances are if you have any of these, they track back to an unaddressed stressor (not to discount genetic factors, which may also be true).
‘Never getting sick’ is often worn as a badge of honor, but it may actually be a sign that your immune system is not working effectively (or underactive immune response).
chronic cortisol release
You might recall from my post about weight loss, that chronic cortisol has a big impact on health. It causes increased inflammation (oh, hey!), hormone imbalance, poor stress response, and poor sleep, and can lead to liver problems. Like inflammation, your body needs cortisol temporarily while a stressor is being addressed, not as a full-time job.
chronic illness (1)
From a holistic standpoint, this data can be misleading. These chronic illnesses are inflammatory, yes. But they are also caused by inflammatory agents, such as processed foods, inflammation-causing gut pathogens, chronic stress, and environmental toxins, and thus, can often be reversed by addressing those factors.
Chronic illnesses caused by, and that perpetuate, chronic inflammation, can include:
diabetes
heart disease
arthritis and joint pain
allergies
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Symptoms of Inflammation
Inflammation is a broad term because it can occur anywhere in the body. For the purpose of this article, when I mention 'inflammation’, I am referring to chronic and systemic inflammation, as opposed to inflammation of an injured joint, or swollen glands due to illness.
I’m talking about inflammation that goes unnoticed and unaddressed because it is masked as other symptoms or conditions, like digestive troubles, or exacerbation of pain.
Very often those symptoms get treated as if they are isolated occurrences, and the underlying cause (inflammation) is overlooked. Most of my clients experience pain relief, allergy relief, asthma relief, clearer skin, and improved digestion when we address the causes of systemic inflammation.
So, what might inflammation look like to you?
SYMPTOMS OF INFLAMMATION
unexplained increase of pain, or exacerbation of pre-existing pain (joints, headaches, muscles)
chronic sinus congestion, allergies, or asthma
autoimmune disease
fatigue
trouble sleeping
frequent infections
unexplained weight gain or weight loss
Inflammation Causing Foods
There are many things that cause inflammation, including injury to tissues, bones, and joints, byproducts of detoxification, damage to cells caused by free radicals, food sensitivities, waste and byproducts of gut pathogens like bacteria, candida, and parasites, and chronic stress.
And all of those things are important to consider when working to address inflammation of the colon and systemic inflammation.
For the purpose of this article, and providing habits you can start today to reduce inflammation, we’re going to focus on foods.
I want to point out here, that for those with Food Sensitivities (not food allergies), there may be other foods (including foods that are considered anti-inflammatory in nature) that will cause inflammation, due to your body’s unique reaction to them. LEARN MORE ABOUT FOOD SENSITIVITIES HERE.
INFLAMMATION CAUSING FOODS
foods rich in refined grains and sugars - due to their processing, these foods break down far more rapidly than whole foods, causing rapid rises in blood sugar levels. When this rapid rise occurs frequently, this leads to chronic stress (cortisol is used to manage blood sugar levels), liver stress, and insulin resistance, all of which contribute to inflammation.
food additives, preservatives, colorings, fillers, and chemicals - eating processed foods (most anything that comes pre-packaged, even if it is marketed as a “health food” is processed) ensures your liver will be overburdened with these toxins, hormones will be disrupted, and all of this will lead to a chronic stress response (inflammatory).
omega 6 fatty acids - you’ve probably heard this one, but I’m going to take it a step further and explain why you’ve been told not to consume these.
Omega 6s on their own are typically not harmful. The problem (inflammation - I will get to that shortly) is caused when there is not a good balance between Omega 6s, and Omega 3s.
Why is that?? There are a gazillion types of fatty acids in foods, and each of them serves a purpose. In this case, Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids are converted to prostaglandins (2), a hormone-like substance that regulates inflammation among other things. Omega 3s are converted to anti-inflammatory prostaglandins, and Omega 6s are converted to pro-inflammatory prostaglandins.
Most Western diets consist of a much higher ratio of Omega 6s to Omega 3s. This is a problem that heavily contributes to systemic inflammation.
foods with little or no color - I’m not talking about added color. Foods that are naturally dark green, light green, yellow, orange, red, purple, pink, blue - these foods are antioxidants and protect against inflammation and disease. If the naturally occurring color in your food primarily comes from sugary fruits or condiments, this contributes to high inflammation.
foods you are known to be sensitive to - Elimination diets and Food Sensitivity Testing are the best ways to know which foods cause a non-allergic inflammatory reaction. These foods will be unique to each individual.
Anti-Inflammation Diet
Reducing inflammation of the colon and systemic inflammation will go a long way in resolving pain, PCOS symptoms, acne, eczema, and digestive issues like constipation and bloating.
HERE ARE SOME WAYS TO REDUCE INFLAMMATION:
Start choosing whole foods over processed foods.
Get tested for, and address gut pathogens. Addressing gut and digestive health will reduce inflammation in and of itself.
Get tested for, and address food sensitivities.
Practice mindful eating behaviors to improve digestion.
Eat more green leafy vegetables, quality fats, and quality proteins, and cut back on starches and sugars. Not only will these foods reduce inflammation, they will help you stay full for longer periods, and keep you from wanting to snack. GET A FREE 5-DAY ANTI-INFLAMMATORY MEAL PLAN
Temporary supplement support to help fight inflammation
SUPPLEMENTS FOR INFLAMMATION
This is not an exhaustive list, by any means, although these products will make great temporary support to anyone currently addressing root causes of inflammation.
boswelia
vitamin B12 - is needed for the conversion of homocysteine back to methionine (an essential amino acid). Homocysteine is a highly inflammatory byproduct of methionine metabolism, and is common in individuals with heart disease, or who don’t eat quality animal products.
curcumin - curcumin is the primary component of turmeric that gives it its anti-inflammatory effect.
ginger - best consumed in foods or teas.
Oxicell (topical - Apex Energetics) - great for those who have localized pain in joints (spine, too), this product helps reduce inflammation caused by free radical damage.
Whole Body Collagen (Designs for Health) - great for individuals susceptible to arthritis, this product supports the production of cartilage in joint tissues.
vitamin D - regulates immune function, and therefore can help pain symptoms of individuals who have over-active immune function.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Week 5 of the Supplement Mastery Series is all about gut health, and is coming soon!
WANT MORE OF THIS SERIES?
WEEK 4 - Inflammation
Have experience with anti-inflammatory supplements? Let’s talk about it in the comments.
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MORE RESOURCES
BLOG REFERENCES
Pahwa, R. (2023, August 7). Chronic inflammation. StatPearls [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493173/
Cleveland Clinic medical. (n.d.-a). Prostaglandins: What it is, Function & Side effects. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/24411-prostaglandins
