Yale Medical School Discovers a Simple Way to Reduce Inflammation

I came across an article recently that I wanted to share with you.  The article is about the latest findings that show that periods of fasting or dieting produce a strong anti-inflammatory effect in the body that can help inhibit the development of diabetes, Alzheimer’s and heart disease.  Inflammation is also a huge part of pain disorders like arthritis, back pain and chronic repetitive stress injuries so inhibiting inflammation can have a huge effect on these also.

This article was very timely because just a few weeks ago I completed a 48 hour juice fast that was intended to help detoxify my body and enhance my health and energy.  It was amazing how much better I felt both during the fast and after. An interesting thing I noticed was that within the first few hours of juicing, my body had this incredible sense of relaxation and the minor aches I often feel in my back and knee completely went away.

Until I read this article I wasn’t 100% sure why this happened, but what the researchers discovered was that fasting produced a metabolite that inhibited a key protein that drives the inflammatory reaction inside our body.  Less of the protein, less inflammation, less of the unwanted effects of inflammation.  Pretty cool.

What was also interesting is that the researchers discovered that low carb dieting and high intensity exercise also produced this same metabolite that inhibited the inflammatory reaction in the body.

This is just further confirmation of how important diet and exercise are to our health. Sadly in the modern medical model they are often overlooked and underappreciated.

My recommendations for this would be to consult with a nutritionist, dietician or do self directed research and experiment with periodic fasting (maybe 1/2-1 day every week or two), juice fasting, or experiment with low carb dieting for brief periods.  It may be a game changer for you.