Inflammation is a natural healing process that is necessary to defend and protect the body from infection and disease. What is not natural is when inflammation becomes generalized and chronic, rather than acute.

Easy tips to include in your lifestyle to control inflammation today :

• Cook your meat and vegetables lightly, and strive for a mixture of raw and cooked veggies

• Opt for organic, local and seasonal produce whenever possible, particularly focusing on broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale and collard greens and seasonal vegetables. Steaming is the optimal method of preparation in order to retain nutrients.

• Supplement with food-based, high quality supplements such as magnesium, vitamin D, omega 3 fatty acids.

• Add ginger and turmeric while cooking meals.

• Keep in mind that what works for one person might not work for another. For example, including fermented foods in the diet (such as kombucha and sauerkraut), can be excellent for gut health and inflammation, but their high histamine levels could actually promote overall inflammation in others.

• Whether you are trying to improve a current condition or prevent a future one, give an anti-inflammatory lifestyle a try for several months and see how you feel. Also, you might need to consider food allergy testing (and testing for inflammatory markers like CRP (C-reactive protein) and ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate). Chronic inflammation is unhealthy and can lead to a host of problems, and can be largely controlled with lifestyle changes.

Read more about Inflammation and ways to fight it with food and herbs in an article I wrote for Austin Fit magazine