Inflammation has become something of a catch-all term in the health and wellness space. We’re told to reduce it – often without fully understanding what “it” actually is, or how it shows up in the body. So how do you know if your levels of inflammation are genuinely elevated? And if they are, what does it actually take to bring them back down?
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Alongside diet and lifestyle, supplements are often positioned as a solution – but with an increasingly saturated market of powders, capsules and “anti-inflammatory blends”, it’s fair to ask: which ones are actually worth considering, and why?
What is inflammation?
While we’re sold to believe inflammation is something to be ‘anti’ – it actually forms an important, and very necessary, job. When you cut your finger or fight off an infection, inflammation is not only normal, but it also helps us heal.
“Inflammation is often spoken about as something wholly negative, but in truth it is one of the body’s most important defence and repair mechanisms and vital for healing – it’s not all bad!” says Georgie Cleeve, founder of Oskia. You’ll often see this acute response as redness, heat, swelling or tenderness – all signs the body is doing exactly what it should.
“The problem arises when inflammation becomes chronic and low-grade, which is becoming increasingly common with modern lifestyles,” adds registered naturopathic nutritionist Jessica Shand.
Unlike acute inflammation, which resolves relatively quickly, chronic inflammation is more subtle. It operates in the background, often driven by a combination of factors: long-term ultra-processed diets, blood sugar imbalances, chronic stress, poor sleep, environmental toxins and gut dysfunction.
