Inflammation is part of our body’s natural defense system. When hormones are out of balance, we can experience both inflammation and weight gain.
Signs of Inflammation
Inflammation can disguise itself as brain fog, indigestion, joint pain, diabetes, heart disease, mood swings, acne, cancer and more. When we have inflammation our immune system is in a chronic state of alarm.
What Causes Inflammation?
Inflammation begins in the fat cells themselves. Fat cells are the first to be affected by the development of obesity. Inflammation of the fat tissue causes insulin resistance. “Fat cells, themselves, produce the inflammatory messengers that cause inflammatory disease. The more fat cells you have and the bigger those cells are, the more inflammatory messengers you will produce, increasing the likelihood that you will have an inflammatory disease.” (1) “Adipose tissue is not simply an inert storage depot for lipids but is an important endocrine organ that plays a key role in the integration of endocrine, metabolic, and inflammatory signals for the control of energy homeostasis.” (3)
The Good News: Inflammation Can Be Prevented When We Understand Hormones
“Leptin is an adipocyte-derived hormone that acts on specific regions of the brain to regulate food intake, energy expenditure, and neuroendocrine function. Leptin is your stop button letting you know to put down your fork when you are full. Leptin affects “body weight” by actions on the hypothalamus.”(2)
Ghrelin is important for Growth Hormones to be secreted by the pituitary gland & plays a vital role in Metabolic function. It determines cholesterol levels and how we store fat and imperative for brain function.
The body is incapable of making hormones without cholesterol. High cholesterol levels mean there is inflammation present. Consuming an abundance of sugar and trans-fats can lead us into an inflammatory condition such as IBS, heart disease, diabetes, fibromyalgia, and depression. Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It’s inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.(4) A body full of inflammation, sugar, and statins (5) can increase the risk for metabolic syndrome. Balancing cholesterol means creating better lifestyle habits.
Cortisol and aldosterone are two of the most important hormones the body makes. Cortisol is a steroid hormone. Disrupted cortisol levels can be caused by and abundance of emotional and digestive stressors. These can increase inflammation within our body. Examples are: an excess of aldosterone leads to high blood pressure, or an excess of alcohol increases stress in the gut, kidneys, and liver, all the while depleting potassium levels. Depleted potassium levels harm our kidneys and aldosterone levels.
Autoimmune Disorders Always Involve Inflammation
Our thyroid hormones, for instance, are affected by consumption of sugar, processed and fried foods, an abundance of candida and/or lack of exercise. Thyroid disorders and adrenal fatigue (disruption of cortisol levels) can both be linked to disrupted estrogen levels.
Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas. A poor diet is directly associated with insulin resistance, inflammation and weight gain. (6) Unknowingly, everyday habits such as coffee and gluten can increase the risk for insulin resistance.
Cytokines are not hormones but they are in charge of balancing cells. Elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines can lead to future weight gain,(7) and infusion of inflammatory cytokines causes insulin resistance. Insulin resistance can then lead to joint pain in the skeletal muscles of a diabetic.(8)
Exposure to environmental and in-home toxins can be causative to leaky gut syndrome, which not only produces inflammatory triggers in our digestive system but increases brain fog. These toxins are called Endocrine Disruptors, which mimic our own hormones and predispose us to inflammatory reactions, such as obesity. They include a high sugar and trans-fat diet, Polychlorinated biphenyls, BPA’s, chemicals in skin care, pesticides, detergents and more. If a doctor doesn’t know what you’ve been exposed to, he may just diagnose you with an autoimmune disorder.
So if you were to ask: “What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are unbalanced hormones caused by the overload of simple, highly processed lifeless foods, toxins and lack of exercise.
Next question would be: “What can we do today to work through our stressors?” For stress release we can add anti-inflammatory foods, daily meditation and increase movement, whether it be with yoga, walking or biking. Find a plan that works best for you.
By eliminating some old habits that don’t serve us anymore and adding in essential nutrients from fresh whole foods, we can reverse years of damage and inflammation in the arteries and throughout our body. (9)
An Anti-Inflammatory Kale Salad for You!
Ingredients
- 2 whole organic beets (red, orange or both) – sliced for roasting
- 1/4 cup fresh basil– diced
- 3 tablespoon organic fresh cucumber juice
- 4 cups organic bok Choy- chopped
- 5 leaves fresh Organic Kale-chopped and vein removed
- 2 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
- 1/4 cup fresh organic lemon juice
Directions
- Roast beets in a preheated toaster oven at 400 degrees for 15 min sprinkled with 2 tsp. olive oil, a pinch of Celtic sea salt and 4 tsp. fresh lemon juice.
- Combine salad ingredients ( Bok Choy, basil, and kale) and top with warm roasted beets. Mix cucumber juice with remaining olive oil, Celtic sea salt, and lemon juice. Use a hand whisk to blend together. Pour over salad.
- Enjoy!
Here are two more recipes to help your inflammation – Roasted Beet Hummus and Grapefruit & Garlic Ceviche!
