Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1427951
www.AbbysHealthFood.com | # 48| Page 9 There's more where that came from – my cookbooks, Crazy Sexy Kitchen and Crazy Sexy Juice, are both packed with delicious an - inflammatory recipes! Oh, and don't forget to stay hydrated. Proper hydra on helps decrease inflamma on and can even prevent it from happening in the first place, so drink up, bu ercup! 2. Get down with your gut! Your gut holds approximately 60-70 percent of your immune system, so it's a great place to start if you want to reduce chronic inflamma on. And if your gut is in bad shape, your immune system might be in some serious trouble. One easy way to start improving your gut health is by adding a high quality probio c to your daily rou ne. Another poten al explana on for inflammatory symptoms could be leaky gut syndrome. This condi on may occur if your intes nal lining is damaged, therefore allowing bacteria, undigested food and other toxins to literally "leak" into your bloodstream. The leak triggers an autoimmune response and a host of painful inflammatory symptoms. If you think you may have leaky gut, ask your doc to help you get a test done! 3. Find an integra ve MD you trust, and work together to iden fy poten al food sensi vi es and chronic (or hidden) infec ons. Speaking of doctors, finding the right one is a cri cal part of nipping chronic inflamma on in the bud. A good integra ve MD will take a holis c approach by looking at your habits and the way you lead your life, then helping you iden fy and address possible chronic inflamma on triggers. Here are two in par cular that they might be on the lookout for: Food sensi vi es: Gluten, soy, dairy, eggs and yeast are just a few of the common problem foods that might be wreaking havoc on your immune system every me you sit down for a meal. If you think you might have a sensi vity or allergy, start paying close a en on to what you're ea ng and how it makes you feel. If your symptoms persist, fill your doc in on what you no ce— they may suggest a blood test or elimina on diet. Hair Analysis Test now available at Abby's Health & Nutri on, a test kit that can test over 1,000 sensi vi es. Chronic infec on: Bacteria, viruses, yeast, parasites—oh my! These guys could be hiding out in your body just under the radar and dragging your immune system down. If chronic infec on is a suspect in your inflamma on mystery, your doc may ask for blood work and/or a stool sample to analyze. Yes, your poop has a lot to do about what's goin' on inside, so listen up! 4. Relax and rest more. Your body is hard at work repairing and restoring your glorious cells while you sleep. Most doctors recommend 7-8 hours of sleep per night. If you're cu ng corners in the snooze department, you're chea ng your immune system, which means it needs to kick into high gear in an effort to keep you well (hello, inflamma on!). Stress goes hand in hand with a lack of sleep and a laundry list of demands in our daily lives. Unfortunately, when you're stressed out all the me, you're also producing more of the hormone cor sol, inflamma on's BFF. You can reduce chronic inflamma on by focusing on stress reduc on, whether it's through more sleep, yoga, medita on, and long walks, less technology or a much-needed vaca on. You know I love to take every opportunity I can to remind you to take a chill pill! 5. Reduce toxins in your food, home and personal care products. Your body's alarm system goes off when you absorb toxic chemicals and pes cides through your diges ve tract and skin. And you know what that means- inflamma on sta on, here we come! Luckily, there are some small, simple changes you can make to start protec ng yourself right away. And please don't feel like you've got to throw out everything in your house and start from scratch. Each and every baby step goes a long way. First, check out EWG's Clean Fi een/Dirty Dozen charts before your next trip to Abby's Health and Nutri on it will help you priori ze which produce to buy organic (and when it's OK to go with conven onal). Then, as for non-toxic personal care products, EWG also has you covered with their extensive Skin Deep database. Remember, small steps lead to big change! That's especially true when it comes to figh ng chronic inflamma on. Start with just one of these sugges ons and see how you feel. I bet you'll start to no ce a difference and want to build from there! Now I'm about to go sip on my leafy greens, how about you?