Foods That Help Improve Chronic Inflammation Levels: How Can You Self-Check?

Hello, this is Merry Plastic Surgery Clinic, pursuing natural and beautiful changes.

Our bodies go through a variety of changes.

There are many cases of infection by viruses or bacteria due to the external environment, but there are also many diseases that develop gradually inside the body.

In this way, disease can develop for a variety of reasons, but if you are easily exposed to it, you should suspect chronic inflammation.

Inflammation is often understood as a symptom caused by infection, but chronic inflammation, which we are talking about here, is different from ordinary inflammation.

Today, let’s take a look at chronic inflammation levels.

What is chronic inflammation?

First, inflammation is a type of immune response that protects the body when bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens invade and infect a wound.

It is characterized by various symptoms accompanied by pain during the process of expelling and destroying germs outside the body.

On the other hand, chronic inflammation means that inflammation repeatedly accumulates in the body.

In other words, it is not an immune response.

The higher the chronic inflammation level, the more easily you can be exposed to disease and your immunity can decline, so it is important to manage chronic inflammation in daily life, and you can check chronic inflammation levels through a CRP blood test.

What causes chronic inflammation?

As mentioned earlier, chronic inflammation can occur for various reasons.

Among them, one major problem in modern society is Westernized eating habits.

Excessive intake of high-fat, high-calorie foods such as fried foods, bread made with refined flour, and sugary snacks, among others, is common, and processed meats and refined carbohydrates are said to play a major role in raising chronic inflammation levels.

Excessive intake of trans fats and the buildup of alcohol can also be causes of chronic inflammation.

In addition, chronic stress, environmental pollution, smoking, fine dust, and the use of plastic containers can also be causes.

How can you self-check chronic inflammation?

As mentioned earlier, the exact chronic inflammation level can be checked accurately through a CRP blood test.

Before a blood test, if your chronic inflammation level is high, you can suspect a high level through a self-check method for chronic inflammation.

Self-check method for chronic inflammation

• Your body swells easily

• Blood circulation is poor, so your hands and feet tingle easily

• Your concentration drops easily

• You tend to get an unusually large number of skin problems

• Your eyes become dry easily, and redness and fatigue accompany it

• You develop intestinal problems such as constipation and diarrhea

• Your throat becomes dry easily, you feel a foreign body sensation, and you cough

• You have poor digestion and feel bloated

• You often drink alcohol or smoke

• You often eat a Western-style diet

If 3 to 4 or more of the above self-check items for chronic inflammation apply to you, it is a good idea to get an accurate chronic inflammation level test.

In addition to CRP, you can also check the level through an ESR test.

The hs-CRP test checks the level through a blood test, and ESR measures the rate at which red blood cells settle in the blood.

If the chronic inflammation level is higher than average, it is necessary to manage your diet and behavior in daily life.

What foods are good for improving chronic inflammation levels?

One of the reasons chronic inflammation occurs is that the key is to suppress the production of reactive oxygen species, which cause disease in the body and lower immunity.

The foods and ingredients that are good for improving chronic inflammation levels are as follows.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D, an essential vitamin needed by the body, is necessary to suppress the activity of inflammatory cells.

To synthesize vitamin D in the body, you need sunlight, but many people work in environments where they have little exposure to sunlight, or they apply sunscreen to protect their skin from ultraviolet rays, so it is not easy for the body to synthesize the amount of vitamin D it truly needs.

Therefore, it is a good idea to get it through vitamin D supplements or foods rich in it.

Apples

Apples, which have recently become more expensive and are even called "gold apples," are one of the foods good for improving chronic inflammation levels.

This is because they are rich in vitamins, including polyphenols, which induce the suppression of reactive oxygen species through antioxidant effects.

In addition, such antioxidant components help balance the diet better because they help eliminate cholesterol from the body.

Onions, garlic

Onions and garlic, a type of spice beloved by Koreans, contain abundant amounts of a component called adenosine.

This adenosine is said to help inhibit the activity of fibrin, a protein that interferes with blood flow and forms blood clots.

Garlic also contains a component called allicin.

The spicy taste of garlic is also said to come from allicin.

This allicin component is effective in improving cholesterol levels in the body and improving chronic inflammation levels through antioxidant action.

In general, ingredients found in fruits and vegetables are easily destroyed when heated or placed in water, but allicin is not destroyed even when heated, and only its characteristic spiciness disappears. So if you have difficulty eating raw garlic, it is recommended that you consume it cooked.

Green leafy vegetables

Lastly, green leafy vegetables are also among the foods good for improving chronic inflammation levels.

These mainly include spinach, kale, and perilla leaves.

They are rich not only in vitamin D, which was introduced earlier as a food good for improving chronic inflammation levels, but also in minerals and dietary fiber, so they are said to promote metabolic activity and help suppress reactive oxygen species.

However, unlike the allicin component in garlic, the nutrients in leafy vegetables can be easily destroyed, so it is recommended that you eat them raw in salads or smoothies, or lightly blanch them if the dietary fiber is too tough.

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