The Difference Between Chronic & Acute Inflammation

We hear a lot about how bad inflammation can be for our health, yet inflammation can also save our lives.

For this reason, it’s important that we understand the difference between types of inflammation.

When we accidentally scrape our knee - for example - this cut leads to some bleeding, and then swelling, scabbing and eventually healing. This is an example of acute inflammation. Acute inflammation is good because it brings attention to something going wrong in our body and helps with the healing process.

Yet chronic inflammation, on the other hand, happens when our body is constantly in a flared-up state of stress. Chronic inflammation is the root cause of disease. Reduce chronic inflammation, and you all but eliminate disease from your body.
Stress, lack of sleep, emotional turmoil, smoking, drugs, inactivity, and processed foods are all causes of chronic inflammation.

Typically, when you go to the doctor for any type of inflammatory disease, lifestyle and diet are rarely talked about, and instead, they prescribe you some sort of medicine. While medicine may bring temporary relief, it’s crucial that you get to the root cause of your inflammation and treat it from the inside out.

Diet alone can make a major impact on your pain and inflammation level. This article details a few foods to avoid and include in your diet to minimize chronic inflammation in your body. Read on for foods that "cool" and "fuel the fire of inflammation" here.