Hey guys! I’m excited to say that I am reorganizing + prioritizing things in my life in order to be more consistent here and see this platform grow the way I envision: a resource of information that is easy-to-understand, inspiring + thought-provoking content in regards to your overall well-being by focusing on nutrition + mindfulness as the main components here. There will be recipes, and there will be other fun facts or thoughts or favorite things I plan to share away, too!
Hold me accountable, and let me know what you want to see more of, so I can make this be the best resource for YOU. Deal? Deal.
So, to start, I figured I would dive into my NTP roots + talk about inflammation in the body.
WTF is inflammation? What does it even mean? Am I inflamed? What do I do about it?
Simply put, inflammation is your body’s response to an attack. We experience acute inflammation constantly in our lives, from healing the pesky paper cut to recovering from the flu virus.
Inflammation creates a way for the innate immune system of our bodies to carry out it’s attack. Think of your immune system like an army of soldiers + supplies armed to defend the home fort.
Karate! Karate! Karate! #kimmyschmidtanyone?
They are waiting for the command to protect, but often times, especially in our modern society, problems occur when inflammation is not signaled from your innate immune system, thus putting your body in a state of chronic inflammation, which leads to things like autoimmunity, chronic allergies, or chronic infections.
When our bodies enter a state of chronic inflammation, that’s where the real issue starts.
THE MORE YOU KNOW:
- acute inflammation — a short term immune response
- chronic inflammation — a long-term immune response
UNDERSTANDING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
Did you know that 80% of your immune system resides in your gut? Crazy, right!? I used to always think it was in my lungs or head or something. Our immune system is AMAZING and constantly evolving, and understanding how it got there + what it does is even more magical.
We have three different types of defense of our home fort:
- Resistance/Physical Barriers — meant to stop entrance of invaders… these are things like the skin, mucus, tears, saliva, stomach acid etc.
- Innate Immunity — your body’s natural immune system made up of white blood cells…typically acquired from your mom during birth.
- Adaptive/Acquired Immunity — when your immune system is exposed to a virus, pathogen or even bacteria from traveling + eating food in another country…The goal is to rid the body of the new invaders while preparing to protect against a future attack.
If you have a big immune response, it is a good thing! Your body is reacting normally by attacking the foreign invaders. The people who are actually sick are those who NEVER get sick…their immune system is too weak to fight.
So, if the majority of our immune system resides in the gut, that means we want to have optimal digestive function with the help of good stomach acid levels, a healthy intestinal wall (no leaky gut) + a good balance of bacteria!
UNDERSTANDING FOOD ALLERGIES/SENSITIVITIES
An ALLERGY is a response to a protein-based substance.
A SENSITIVITY is an “allergic-type” reaction to foods that are not protein-based.
How does someone get a food intolerance? Is that all in their head? It seems like it’s everywhere now!
If you have a compromised small intestine “aka” leaky gut, (caused by undigested food breaking through the already permeable barrier), these undigested proteins make their way into the blood stream in which our immune system sees as a foreign invader.
ALERT! ALERT!
These foreign invaders trigger our adaptive/acquired immunity, which means they will remember that foreign invader and be ready to fight whenever that particular food substance enters the system again.
Hello, food intolerance.
THE MORE YOU KNOW: Ways to determine intolerance would be trying an elimination diet for a few weeks by removing suspected foods from diet and reintroducing one at a time in weekly increments, looking for an immune response.
UNDERSTANDING AUTO-IMMUNITY
Autoimmune diseases seem more prevalent than ever, don’t they? Did you know, 1 in 5 people now suffer from an autoimmune disease? Simply put, autoimmune means your immune system is attacking some part of the body.
Autoimmune diseases arise from overactive immune systems that are constantly fighting a part of the body’s normal tissues or substances. It is possible to develop an autoimmune attack on anything in the body.
Some autoimmune diseases are:
- Celiac Disease — attack on small intestines
- Rheumatoid Arthritis — attack on joints
- Multiple Sclerosis — attack on nerves
- Hashimoto’s — attack on thyroid
Why is my body attacking itself?! How does this happen?!
- a poor diet
- blood sugar dysregulation
- chronic gut issues
- exposure or poor elimination of toxins
- adrenal stress (also linked to blood sugar)
Unfortunately, once one is diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, they will always have it. BUT there is good news! With certain strategies, you can reduce inflammation + flareups.
When it comes to chronic inflammation in the body + auto-immune disease, look at it like this…every BODY is different…inflammation in the body is being manifested by the specific auto-immune disease you may be experiencing.
Example: Your grandma + mom have Rheumatoid Arthritis. You suffer from joint pain, and are afraid your time is coming to hear your prognosis, too. The thing is, you aren’t destined to get Rheumatoid Arthritis even if it runs in your family. That just means you are more genetically pre-disposed to developing it. It means that the inflammation that may be going on in your body will most likely manifest itself as arthritis, and if not treated with a nutrient-dense diet, good lifestyle habits + supplementation, Rheumatoid Arthritis most likely will develop as a result of the chronic inflammation in the body.
You CAN avoid developing an auto-immune disorder, or even keep one at bay, if you adhere to a healthy diet + lifestyle that supports your body and keeps your inflammation at bay.
AUTOIMMUNE STRATEGIES
- look to the Foundations of Health (more on this in another post to come!): Digestion, Blood Sugar Regulation, Fatty Acid Balance, Vitamin/Mineral Needs, Hydration.
- consider low sugar diet or gluten/casein-free or specific carb diet (GAPS)
- rule out food sensitivities with an elimination type diet
- improve stomach acid levels for better breakdown of food: ACV shots, digestive enzymes, digestive bitters or even HCl and/or Zinc supplementation.
- repair leaky gut with healing things: amino acids + minerals found in collagen, broth + other high nutrient-dense foods
- improve gut flora: probiotics + fermented foods such as cultured dairy, kimchi/sauerkraut, kombucha (be careful of sugar content).
- support body’s natural detoxification pathways + remove pathogens (fungus, virus, bacteria): increased hydration, activated charcoal supplementation, dry-brushing, rebounding, non-toxic household cleaners + bath/body products.
For a more in-depth understanding on inflammation + autoimmunity, visit Dr. Sarah Ballantyne’s website, The Paleo Mom!
This is the start of many more similar posts to come!
What else would you like to see on the N&N blog?
Comment your thoughts, questions, concerns, below!
