Anti-Inflammatory Cheat Sheet: Part 2

Check out the first part of our anti-inflammatory cheat sheet to know what inflammation exactly is — hint: it’s not always bad — and unexpected triggers.

While diet is one of the most important ways to lower inflammation in your body, a variety of lifestyle modifications can help reduce and fight it. Cultivating anti-inflammatory habits is an invaluable way to boost your overall health, reduce fatigue, lower your risk of getting diseases as far ranging as the common cold to diabetes, and clear up your skin.

Here are some of our favourite tricks to lower inflammation — it’s just a bonus that most of them also help improve your quality of life.

1. Sleep. Seriously.

Really, is there anything better than being told that sleep is what the doctor ordered? While it can be one of the easiest to overlook, sleep is an essential component to our health and actively works to reduce inflammation and allow our body to repair itself from the day before. Aim for between seven and eight hours, and try to reduce — or prohibit — any screen time an hour before bed, as the blue light can mess with your ability to get a restful sleep.

2. Not Being Selective About Your Makeup

You pay attention to the food you eat, where it came from, and whether or not it’s organic — so why don’t you do the same for your makeup? Most people don’t know that the beauty products we use everyday can result in inflammatory responses due to the variety of chemicals within them, some of which can cause or exacerbate acne. Go through your cabinets and remove any cleaning, makeup, or other personal care products that include chemicals like parabens or phthalates. If you don’t want to give up perfumes or scented lotions, look for natural, oil-based fragrances.

3. Hoarding Scented Candles

Sure, they may make a room smell good, but many sprays and scented candles contain volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, which don’t do any favours to your health. Most candles are made with paraffin wax, which release carcinogenic toxins like benzene and toluene when burned — the same as you’ll find in diesel fuel fumes. Instead, look for natural oil diffusers or beeswax candles. Your space will smell fresh, and your body will thank you.

4. Drinking Tap Water

An unexpected way to reduce environmental inflammation triggers? Purify what you drink. Though Australia has some of the cleanest tap water, the water may still contain fluoride, runoff from farming products like pesticides, heavy metals, and airborne pollutants. While drinking from the tap won’t actively hurt you, using a filtration system could help you feel better and give your body another opportunity to relax and repair.

5. Ignoring the Mind-Body Connection

Like we’ve mentioned before, stress is often at fault for worsening inflammation, so caring for the relationship between your mental and physical systems is critical to achieving balanced health. Find a practice that will help reduce stress and anxiety. That could be yoga, meditation, or just taking a nightly bubble bath. Creating and continuing a ritual that is purely about “you time” is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. Care for your body, and it will care for you.

Join our community and be inspired! Sign up to our newsletter for weekly advice, fun facts and info to support your plant-powered journey. We’ll share special offers and our new dishes with you too.