Sandra Mognino, nutritionist: “If you have these symptoms, you have inflammation, and it’s not just due to a bloated belly.”

So what is inflammation? As Mognino describes it, it is “the body’s response to an attack. For example, when we hit ourselves, there is acute inflammation, which is good and necessary because it protects us,” but what happens when inflammation stops being acute and becomes chronic? What happens when we eat the wrong foods or develop bad habits that irritate us? “This is when chronic inflammation occurs.”

Everyone mistakenly thinks that “inflammation is a bloated stomach,” but in fact, inflammation goes much deeper. There are people who have almost no belly but experience symptoms of inflammation such as headaches, skin rashes, hair loss, fatigue, brain fog.” This, as the nutritionist points out, “needs to be discovered in order to be able to solve the problem.”

Other signs of inflammation

According to the nutritionist, there are certain signs of inflammation that can make us suspect that we are inflamed:

• Constant fatigue
  
• Insomnia
  
• Brain fog or lack of concentration
  
• Allergies or nasal congestion. Especially in the morning when we wake up with a stuffy nose, sneezing or a sore throat.
  
• Intestinal problems such as diarrhea, constipation, gas or reflux.
  
• urine infections
  
• Acne, hives, eczema, or skin redness
  
• Herpes, gum disease, ulcers…
  
• Weakness of the immune system, that is, people who are constantly sick.
  
• Frequent headaches or migraines
  
• Weight gain and difficulty losing it
  
• Bloating, especially after eating.
  
• Hormonal imbalance
  
• Joint or muscle pain
  
• Infertility and pregnancy problems

These symptoms “may occur to us from time to time, but when they are very frequent and interfere with our normal daily life, we are most likely suffering from inflammation.” A “pro-inflammatory” diet, that is, a diet high in sugar, processed foods, hydrogenated vegetable fats, refined flour, or alcohol.“This is the main reason for the progressive increase in chronic inflammation,” he says, but it is not the only cause or the only factor. There are other factors that influence inflammation, such as “excess medications, sedentary lifestyle, endocrine disorders, stress, lack of sunlight and rest.”

Anti-inflammatory habits

The foods we eat are key to health and through them we can avoid and reduce chronic inflammation, but the habits we follow are also critical.

“Depending on how we cook it, the nutrients we accompany it with, or the way the food is produced, they can irritate us more or less.”Monino reports.

To stop inflammation”One of the first steps should be to eliminate or reduce pro-inflammatory foods and include anti-inflammatory foods more frequently, change your meal routine, and change other anti-inflammatory habits. This will lead to stabilization of glucose peaks, which increase vitamin D levels and much more that you can learn in the book “Goodbye Inflammation.”

But also, Other measures you can take to prevent inflammation include:

1. Avoid glucose spikes
   
2. Don’t drink a lot of water during meals
   
3. Eat quietly
   
4. Maintain Vitamin D Levels
   
5. Well rested
   
6. Do strength and cardio sports