7 Signs of high inflammation
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Brett NethellWritten on 27th May
In today's world we've normalised not feeling great. Many people tell themselves that fatigue, headaches, and skin issues are just part of life, and that reaching for medication or painkillers is the normal way to deal with them. But this isn't how things should be. The body gives us signs that something is wrong, and we should listen to these, not mask them.
Masking symptoms is one of the biggest faults of modern western medicine, if not the biggest. The root-cause approach to health and wellness was ditched in a push to "treat" more people while simultaneously not actually helping them truly heal, just relieving symptoms. But these symptoms are signs, and we should pay close attention to them. High inflammation is the leading cause of many an illness in society, so what are some signs of high inflammation? Let's dive into just a few below.
1. Hair Loss / receding hairline
When people start noticing hair falling out or their hairline receding, they often think nutrients are lacking or that it's just genetics. But so often the case is that their inflammation is high, and with this high inflammation comes a constantly elevated level of stress. Having thick hair and a good hairline comes down to low inflammation, low stress, quality nutrients coming in, and enough sun exposure.
Hair follicles are highly energy-demanding. When the body is diverting that energy to dealing with inflammation, whether it be from histamine issues or inflammatory food, the hair follicles receive less energy, and over time this can lead to hair falling out as well as receding.
The key is to lower inflammation at the source, not simply take an antihistamine or eliminate high-histamine foods from the diet. Solving the root cause of inflammation and giving the body the nutrients it needs to heal is what matters most. Sometimes this can result in temporary weight gain as the body heals, and that's okay.
2. Phlegm / sinus issues
If you've ever spent a period of time eating cleaner and then had one meal that wasn't so clean, you'd probably have noticed that a couple of hours later, or the next morning you had an increase in phlegm or your sinuses flared up a little.
Phlegm isn't actually normal, especially in excess and consistently over time. It's your body trying to clear something that is causing inflammation. Similar to when phlegm or sinuses flare up after being in a city or a dusty environment, the same goes for when you eat ultra-processed foods.
Use this as a kind of guide to show you what in your diet is reacting with your body. Even if your diet is clean, recurring phlegm shows that an area of your health still needs improving. High inflammation is a key reason for phlegm, everyone knows this from being ill, when phlegm becomes constant as the body flushes out toxins.
3. Skin issues
Our skin is a reflection of our gut health. So often, gut issues will result in skin issues such as eczema and psoriasis. This isn't a problem that's fixed through topical steroids or creams, we must heal the gut. Reducing the inflammation and dysbiosis within the gut will lead to better skin.
Even skin issues such as acne, although they're normally more hormonal in nature, show signs of inflammation that result in hormone disruption. Sealing the gut and targeting overgrowths such as SIBO and candida are crucial here.
Foods such as bone broth, colostrum, and zinc-rich foods like oysters can help seal the gut and stop leaky gut. The next step is targeting overgrowths with antimicrobials such as propolis.
If the skin issues are more histamine-based, so itching or rashes, then again, focusing on gut health (mainly overgrowths) and nutrient status is key for the breakdown of histamine within the body.
4. Bad sleep
Those who have suffered with high histamine levels will know the difficulty it brings to sleep, both falling and staying asleep. But if inflammation is running high, there is more to bad sleep than just difficulty breaking down histamine.
Inflammation of the airways and a chronic level of background stress can result in insomnia and great difficulty in getting deep, restful sleep. Once we get on top of inflammation, through proper electrolyte intake, vitamin C (from foods), removing highly inflammatory foods such as seed oils, and ensuring a nutrient-dense diet, we begin to have much deeper and more restful sleep. Falling asleep within 20 minutes and not waking during the night is the gold standard.
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5. Puffy face / water retention
Waking up with a puffy face isn't normal. It's a sign of an unusual level of inflammation, caused by food, drink, or even hormone disruptors in your environment such as laundry detergent.
There are a vast number of people who turn to dipping their face in ice in the morning or splashing cold water to reduce puffiness, rather than asking the question: why is my face puffy in the first place? And it isn't down to salt.
Proper lymphatic drainage, a whole-food diet, and adequate electrolyte and mineral intake will ensure low inflammation and your face looking exactly how it did when you went to bed.
6. Fatigue
Being able to wake up with energy, not feeling tired all day, and feeling strong and energised is a rarity in society these days, but it isn't only available to a lucky few. Chronic fatigue and energy crashes are key indicators of high inflammation as the body diverts energy to decrease the inflammation rather than giving you energy to go about your day.
By reducing inflammation, you regain energy that would have been spent fighting it. Similar to the energy going to hair follicles, if you reduce inflammation and increase the nutrients coming in, you gain a lot more energy back and have no energy crashes.
7. Stress intolerance / irritability
When something is off with our bodies, we can often feel a shift towards more grumpiness and negative thoughts. Chronic inflammation doesn't just affect the body, it also affects our brain, and therefore our mood.
Being intolerant of stressful situations or becoming more irritable can be a sign that inflammation is running high, especially if your hormones are stable and you wouldn't normally feel this way.
Summary
Ignoring our bodies and just popping another paracetamol or antihistamine tablet isn't a good idea. Instead, pay attention to how you react to certain foods, what vitamins you may be lacking in your diet, and whether there is something in your diet that is keeping your inflammation levels high.
Focus on getting enough anti-inflammatory and antioxidant-rich foods such as fruits, healing the gut, and giving your body the raw materials it needs to bring inflammation down. Your body is always speaking, the question is whether you're listening.
