What is the most common health issue we are dealing with today?

Diabetes? Heart diseases? Covid-19?

No! None of these!

The most common health issue today, is in fact, something that is causing all the above and much more. It is a silent killer – giving off almost no symptoms at all, spreading and growing inside us all. This silent disease that seems to have got us, healthcare professionals, feeling like we are fighting a losing battle is called “Low Grade Chronic Inflammation”.

What is this chronic inflammation?

It refers to a state where your body is constantly alert, looking for some invader or abnormality somewhere that needs to be curbed. Inflammation is your body’s natural response to something alien or unknown entering.

Ideally, this state of alertness should last for a couple of minutes to maybe a few hours at best! However, nowadays, our urban, unnatural, adulterated lifestyle has been causing this state of alertness to become a permanent feature in our body.

This constant state of stress leads to a shift in equilibrium. Everything from weight, hormones, memory, thyroid function, digestion, etc. get negatively impacted. This is what makes chronic inflammation the root cause of all our health woes.

Worldwide, three out of five people die as a result of chronic inflammatory diseases.

What causes chronic inflammation?

1. Consumption of unhealthy fats:
   All your refined oils (even the ones with health claims), processed cheese, mayonnaise, foods fried in cheap oils like chips, namkeens, etc., butter (not the homemade white butter), margarine, basically anything form of fat, that you cannot imagine being made at home. These food-like substances are pro-inflammatory, which means they increase inflammation in your body.
2. Sugars:
   White sugar, jaggery, maple syrup, honey, molasses, syrups, malts, juice concentrates, artificial sweeteners literally anything which is sweet in taste and requires a fair bit of processing before it can be consumed, can be categorized as “Sugar”. Sugar disturbs the gut microbiome, promotes the growth of unhealthy pathogenic bacteria, causes the release of chemicals that increase inflammation throughout the body.
3. Excess salt:
   Table Salt, pickles, each and every packaged food, chips, namkeens, papads, cheeses, sauces & condiments are all loaded with sodium. Excess sodium from the salt can also raise your blood pressure and causes oxidative stress.
4. Gluten:
   Wheat & wheat products, Barley, Rye – whole grain, flour, maida, cake flour, bread flour, all-purpose flour, semolina (rava), vermicelli (sevaiya), noodles, pasta, bread, biscuits, khakhras, breakfast cereals, etc. The wheat we eat today has been genetically modified into a form of wheat that we can no longer digest. This is why most of us are developing wheat allergies these days. Gluten causes the immune system to jump into overdrive. Gluten seems through the gut membrane and causes a whole cascade of immune reactions and hence increasing inflammation.
5. Dairy:
   For most of our lives, we have been raised knowing that milk is healthy. But then what changed? We changed! Our body is not strong enough to digest certain foods that our ancestors could very easily. Lactose is one such example. A lot of people are allergic to dairy without even knowing it. Casein, the milk protein, is another molecule that can increase inflammation.
6. Smoking:
   This is pretty self-explanatory. Breathing polluted air is a close second to smoking.
7. High-Stress Levels:
   Stress levels cause a state where your body knows there’s something wrong but cannot really solve it. This, again, will lead to a rise in chronic systemic inflammation.
8. Sedentary Lifestyle:
   Understand one thing, your body is designed to do physically intense activities. You are made to walk, run, climb trees, climb mountains, and whatnot! Of course, those activities may not make sense today, but you still need to be active. This is in addition to your workout. You need to be on your toes more and sit less.

Solution: “Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle”

This needs to be our new normal. The way we eat, sleep, work, exercise, everything!

Let’s start with your diet. Just follow these rules:

• Eat whole grains (cereals & legumes), nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables
• Be predominantly plant-based
• Eat animal-based products like dairy and meats up to thrice a week
• Include lots of good fats (ghee, filtered oils, white butter, avocado, eggs)
• Include lots of fibre
• Eat as per season, geography, and your own genetic background
• Eliminate the pro-inflammatory foods from above
• Add a lot of variety to your diet. Don’t repeat anything more than twice a week. This includes the grain you use for your roti, the dal you make, the salad you eat, everything.
• Eat a mix of raw and cooked foods to ensure the availability of antioxidants
• Ensure your vitamin D levels are in order.
• Ensure you eat at least 1 portion of fermented foods in the day. Ragi Koozh, Poita Bhat,Kanji are excellent places to start at. Idli, dosa, pickles, dhokla, handva, are all great too!

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

• Turmeric with black pepper
• Coconut – meat, oil, milk, water
• Ginger
• Ghee
• Garlic
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Fatty fish like mackerel, salmon, sardines, herrings, anchovies
• Cruciferous vegetables like Cauliflower, Cabbage, Broccoli
• Green Tea (make sure you pick the good quality ones)
• Nuts and seeds especially Brazil Nuts, Flaxseeds, Almonds, Olives, Sesame Seeds

Make these Swaps!

Refined Flours → Whole Flours

Mithais and desserts loaded with sugar, honey, etc. → Use natural sweeteners like banana, dates, figs

Highly processed breakfast cereals & breads → Home-cooked breakfasts like poha, idli, etc.

Packed juices, soft drinks, sherbets →Buttermilk, Homemade sherbets, Coconut Water

Processed meat → Lean meats, seafood

Refined oils like palm, soybean, rice bran, canola, sunflower → Filtered or cold-pressed oils like sesame, groundnut, mustard, coconut

Gluten rich foods – atta, dalia, rava, maida, breads, pasta, biscuits, khakhra → Gluten-free cereals – jowar, buckwheat, ragi, rice, puffed rice, bajra, rajgira, etc.

Stress Management

A happy mind is a healthy mind. In your journey to perfect health, your mind will be your perfect partner. It has the power of creating everything you are dreaming of. So think right, think health, think happy at all times.

You can do any or all of the following to keep your partner happy:

• Meditate for 30 minutes every day
• Exercise
• Take up a hobby
• Spend more time outdoors amidst Nature – go for a trek or a forest walk
• Sit less – Get up every 20-30 minutes and walk around.
• Go for a stroll at least once a day
• Sleep well
• Do a digital detox at least once a month
• Observe Nature around you – the sky, birds, trees, bushes, whatever you can see
• And of course! Laugh!

This is a starting point for you. If you can manage to do this by yourself, please start now. If you think you need some more guidance and support then I am always here for you. Just book an exploratory call with me to explore your options.