Chronic Inflammation: What’s Triggering It & How Can You Reduce It?

When I see clients in my practice, I often see people coming in with completely different health concerns. Someone is struggling with persistent fatigue, someone has joint pain or brain fog, while another person is dealing with constipation, thyroid imbalances, PCOS, or difficulty losing weight

Now, on the surface, these might look like completely different problems. But when I start looking deeper into their health, their symptoms, and what’s happening inside their bodies, there’s one common factor I see coming up- inflammation.

And what’s concerning is that, over the years, I’ve seen inflammation becoming increasingly common. The symptoms may look different from person to person, but the underlying processes can sometimes overlap.

Now I’m not saying inflammation is bad, you need it to a certain degree as it’s a sign of your resilience to fight with any infection but sometimes, when it becomes chronic, it can contribute to ongoing health problems without you even realizing what’s happening inside your body.

I believe in simplifying health so today, I’m going to explain exactly what inflammation means, the signs and symptoms to look out for, and ways to fight inflammation.

What is Inflammation?

Your immune system is constantly working to protect you, and inflammation is one of the ways it does that. Have you ever noticed that when dust enters your nose, your body immediately tries to flush it out through a sneeze? That’s your body’s natural defense mechanism at work. Your immune system recognizes a potential irritant and triggers a response to help clear it from your nasal passages. Similarly, when your body detects an infection or tissue injury, it activates immune cells and releases signaling molecules called cytokines, which help coordinate the inflammatory response.

Similarly, when your body senses a threat, whether it’s a virus, bacteria, fungus, flu, or an injury like accidentally cutting your finger with a knife, your immune system immediately sends white blood cells (WBCs) and cytokines through your bloodstream. These soldiers rush to the front lines to fight pathogens, repair damage, and help you recover from infection, fever, or seasonal flu. That’s how it’s supposed to work. Your immune system responds to a problem, deals with it, and then brings the inflammatory response under control.

This protective response operates in two ways: acute and chronic inflammation.

Acute inflammation occurs when white blood cells and cytokines are released for a short period to complete a specific rescue mission and then return to their stations. You experience this response when you cut a finger, run a fever during seasonal flu, develop a cough, experience a passing itch, or sneeze to expel dust. It’s a rapid, localized response that fixes the problem and shuts down when the danger passes.

Chronic Inflammation is when white blood cells and cytokines remain active, responding to perceived threats such as high stress levels, caffeine consumption, environmental toxins, or poorly digested food particles. The immune system never gets the signal to switch off. Over time, this constant trigger puts pressure on your immune system, disrupting normal bodily processes. In the gut, they can disrupt the intestinal lining and loosen tight junctions, contributing to increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut) and inflammatory gut conditions such as Crohn’s disease. In the brain, excessive inflammatory signaling can affect neuronal pathways and cognitive function, contributing to brain fog and playing a role in neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis. In the joints, inflammatory chemicals can affect the synovial membrane and contribute to pain and stiffness.

Signs & Symptoms of Chronic Inflammation

1. BRAIN: Brain fog, poor concentration and difficulty remembering things.

2. HEAD: Frequent headaches or migraines.

3. EYES: Dry eyes, redness or puffiness.

4. MOUTH: Bleeding gums and persistent gum inflammation.

5. SKIN: Acne, eczema, psoriasis, redness or recurring skin flare ups.

6. HAIR: Increased hair fall, which may also be linked to nutrient deficiencies or hormonal imbalances.

7. ENERGY LEVELS: Persistent fatigue, even after a full night’s sleep.

8. MUSCLES: Muscle aches, stiffness and prolonged recovery after exercise.

9. JOINTS: Joint pain, swelling and morning stiffness.

10. GUT: Bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, abdominal discomfort or changes in bowel habits.

11. METABOLISM: Increased abdominal fat, insulin resistance and difficulty regulating blood sugar.

12. HEART & BLOOD VESSELS: Chronic inflammation can contribute to atherosclerosis, increasing cardiovascular risk over time.

13. HORMONES & REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: Inflammatory conditions can affect hormonal function, menstrual health and fertility.

14. IMMUNE SYSTEM: Recurrent or persistent inflammatory symptoms, or flare ups of certain autoimmune conditions.

15. SLEEP & MOOD: Poor sleep, irritability, low mood and increased feelings of anxiety.

Ways to Lower Inflammation

1 . NUTRITION

What you put on your plate is one of the most powerful tools you have to help your body fight inflammation. During chronic inflammation, your immune system is already under threat. It needs time to rest and recover, without constantly dealing with additional stressors. But when you frequently consume refined sugar, refined flour, processed meats, excess caffeine, commercial gluten, and conventional dairy, you’re also exposing your body to chemical preservatives. These compounds damage the gut lining and trigger an immune response by releasing cytokines which in the long run compromise your gut lining, leading to leaky gut. This allows substances to pass into your bloodstream and your immune system never rests. Shifting to an anti-inflammatory diet is a really good strategy to support your body’s recovery. It gives your immune system a break while providing the nutrients your body needs to heal.

• Eat more colourful fruits and vegetables. Berries, amla, pomegranates, citrus fruits, leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables provide antioxidants and polyphenols that help protect cells from oxidative stress and support a healthy inflammatory response.

• Prioritise omega 3 rich foods. Chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts and hemp seeds provide plant based omega 3 fats that support normal immune function and help regulate inflammatory pathways.

• Choose fibre rich whole foods. Millets, oats, legumes, beans and vegetables nourish beneficial gut bacteria. These bacteria produce short chain fatty acids, which help maintain the gut barrier and regulate immune function.

• Include herbs and spices daily. Turmeric, ginger, garlic, cinnamon and cloves contain bioactive compounds that have been studied for their anti-inflammatory properties. Use them regularly in cooking rather than relying on high dose supplements.

• Add a variety of plant proteins. Lentils, chickpeas, beans, tofu and tempeh provide protein, fibre and beneficial plant compounds that support metabolic health and a balanced inflammatory response.

• Choose healthy fats over refined and repeatedly heated oils. Nuts, seeds, olives and extra virgin olive oil provide unsaturated fats and antioxidant compounds. Replacing excess saturated fats with unsaturated fats can support cardiovascular health.

• Feed your gut microbiome. A diverse range of plant foods, including vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, supports microbial diversity. Fermented foods such as unsweetened plant based yoghurt can also be included if well tolerated.

• Drink antioxidant rich beverages. Green tea contains catechins, while unsweetened herbal infusions can help increase fluid intake without adding excess sugar. These beverages can complement an overall healthy dietary pattern.

• Reduce ultra processed foods and excess added sugar. Frequently consuming sugary drinks, refined snacks and energy dense ultra processed foods can contribute to poor metabolic health, particularly when they displace fibre rich whole foods.

2. HYDRATION

With work, deadlines, and busy schedules, it’s become so common to forget to drink enough water. And to cope with the lethargy in between work, we naturally reach for a cup of coffee, tea, an energy drink, or even a soda to get through the day. When you’re chronically dehydrated, your blood volume drops, making your blood more thick, adding a load on your kidneys in flushing out waste products like uric acid and urea. When these waste products accumulate in your body, they irritate your tissues and contribute to inflammation. On the other hand, consuming energy drinks, sugary sodas, or sweetened commercial coffees, cause a rapid rise in blood sugar and insulin. Over time, excess sugar can contribute to visceral fat, the fat stored around your organs. This excess fat actively releases cytokines in your body.

So aim to drink a glass of water sip by sip every hour during work, keep infused water with lemon, cucumber, mint, or basil leaves handy, and include herbal teas like green tea, hibiscus tea, or dandelion root tea. You can also increase your hydration through soups, Vegetable juices making it easier to stay hydrated throughout the day.

3. MOVEMENT

Your joint cartilage doesn’t have its own direct blood supply. It relies on the movement of synovial joint fluid for nourishment. So, when you’re living a sedentary lifestyle, over time, it starts causing joint stiffness, swelling, and pain. It also causes insulin resistance, which puts an extra load on the pancreas and liver to push that excess sugar and fat out of the system.

When you exercise, your muscles release healing signalling proteins called myokines. These myokines bind to receptors involved in inflammation, preventing inflammatory cytokines from further attacking the body. Regular movement also supports joint health by helping circulate synovial fluid, which lubricates your joints. So, when you keep your muscles active, you’re not just building strength; you’re also supporting joint function and helping your body regulate inflammation.

So, aim for consistent exercise. For most adults, the WHO recommends at least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, along with muscle-strengthening activities involving the major muscle groups at least twice a week

4. SLEEP

Your body runs on an internal clock, also known as the circadian rhythm, which regulates several hormones, including cortisol and melatonin. Cortisol helps keep you alert and awake, while melatonin signals to your body that it’s time to wind down and sleep. In a healthy sleep-wake cycle, cortisol naturally rises in the morning to help you wake up, while melatonin levels are low. As evening approaches, cortisol gradually declines and melatonin starts rising, preparing your body for sleep. But with our current lifestyle, high stress levels, erratic schedules, late-night partying, and constant blue light exposure from screens can disrupt this natural rhythm. When you consistently stay up late or have irregular sleep timings, your cortisol rhythm can become disturbed, keeping cortisol elevated at inappropriate hours. This doesn’t just affect your sleep; it can also interfere with your body’s immune regulation, glucose metabolism, and normal metabolic functions. Now, here’s something interesting. When cortisol signalling remains disrupted, it can also influence how efficiently your cells produce energy. Inside your cells, mitochondria are responsible for producing energy in the form of ATP. They do this through a process called the electron transport chain, where electrons derived from the breakdown of nutrients pass through a series of protein complexes to generate energy. However, prolonged sleep disruption and altered cortisol signalling can affect mitochondrial function. When the electron transport chain becomes less efficient, some electrons can escape prematurely and react with oxygen, producing reactive oxygen species (ROS), commonly known as free radicals. At the same time, irregular sleep can weaken your body’s antioxidant defence mechanisms, including glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase, which normally help neutralise excess free radicals. So, essentially, two things are happening: your body may be generating more free radicals, while its ability to neutralise them becomes less efficient. When free radical production exceeds your antioxidant defence capacity, oxidative stress develops. This can damage cellular structures and activate inflammatory pathways, contributing to a cycle of oxidative stress and inflammation.

• So aim for a consistent sleep schedule of 7 to 9 hours every single night, ideally winding down before 12PM.

• Before bedtime, practise slow diaphragmatic breathing or box breathing (inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale for 4, and hold for 4). This helps calm your nervous system and shift your body towards a more relaxed state.

• Keep your bedroom clean, change your bedsheets regularly, maintain a dark and quiet environment, and keep the room slightly cool

5. STRESS

Our lifestyles have become so busy these days that we’re almost glorifying multitasking. But in the middle of all this, we don’t even realise that we’re hardly connected to our own breath.Even multitasking can add to this stress, triggering the body’s survival mode, also known as the fight-or-flight response. In this state, essential processes like digestion, metabolism, and hormonal balance take a backseat. Over time, chronic stress can also affect your appetite and disrupt the tight junctions of your intestinal wall, potentially allowing unwanted substances to pass into your bloodstream and contributing to inflammation. So, if you look at the bigger picture, stress is one of the key factors we need to address.

• Aim to spend 10–15 minutes outdoors in the morning sunlight, walk barefoot on grass or soil.

• Set aside 10 minutes every day for guided meditation, mindfulness or mantra chanting. Consistency matters more than duration.

• Spend 10 minutes writing down your thoughts, emotions, worries or things that are overwhelming you. You can also write down 3 things you’re grateful for. This helps you process emotions, declutter your mind and wind down before sleep

6. SUPPLEMENTS

A whole-food diet is the foundation of good health. But years of poor dietary choices, combined with chronic stress, can lead to nutritional deficiencies that food alone may take time to correct when you need faster relief. So targeted supplementation addresses these nutritional gaps and support your body’s natural healing processes.

– Curcumin: Curcumin is the active compound in turmeric. It helps regulate the cytokine release and support joint health. However, it’s poorly absorbed on its own. Combining it with piperine, an extract from black pepper and fat significantly improve its absorption.

– Omega-3 fats: Omega-3s help the body produce specialised compounds called resolvins and protectins, which help resolve inflammation and bring the inflammatory response under control by increasing the release of myokines in cell membranes. They support joint health and help protect against cartilage damage.

– Vitamin D3: Vitamin D plays an important role in regulating immune function by stimulating the release of myokines and shutting down the pathways that trigger the cytokine release

– Boswellia serrata (Frankincense): This plant extract help reduce inflammation by inhibiting the enzyme pathway that increases inflammatory release , potentially helping with joint pain and swelling.

– NAC (N-acetylcysteine): NAC helps replenish glutathione, one of the body’s major antioxidants. Glutathione helps protect the mitochondria, the energy-producing parts of your cells, from oxidative damage. This allows them to function more efficiently and helps reduce cellular stress that can contribute to inflammation.

7. REMOVAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS

We don’t even realize how many potentially harmful chemicals we’re exposed to every single day. From the toothpaste we use in the morning to the nail paint we apply on our nails, the lotion we put on before bed, and the food we eat every day, our exposure can come from places we would never expect. Then there’s the food packaging we use, the containers we heat our food in, and the everyday products we rarely question. Lead coming from certain contaminated cosmetics, cadmium from cigarette smoke, arsenic from contaminated rice and aluminum from foil under specific conditions are just a few examples. These heavy metals, when repeatedly enter the body, deplete glutathione synthesis, one of our body’s most important antioxidants without which selenium cannot be made and our thyroid hormone is made of selenium. This oxidative stress affects immune function and contributes to inflammation and thyroid dysfunction. These chemicals also act as endocrine disruptors, meaning they can interfere with how our hormones are produced, regulated, by attaching to the receptors involved in estrogen and testosterone signaling. In some cases, environmental exposures also play a role in autoimmune conditions.

The Bottomline

At the end of the day, chronic inflammation isn’t just a random problem in your body. It’s asking for a little more care, a little extra love, and a better understanding of what it needs.

If you’re experiencing this exhausting cycle of symptoms and want to understand how to overcome your Inflammation, let’s work together to find the answers. Book a Root-Cause Discovery Call with me to understand the bigger picture and what your body may actually be asking for.