Anti-inflammatory Lifestyle Part 1: Inspiring a Healthier Me
In this 5-part series, I'll outline what I do every day and every week to reduce inflammation in my body. I'll explain the reasons for it, and link relevant scientific studies to them. In part one I will share the trigger for my health transformation and the reason for my commitment to health and wellness. It is this foundation that has empowered me with the experience and knowledge that I want to now impart to you.
To begin, let me explain what I mean by "inflammation". Inflammation, as many of you know, is necessary for everyday functions. For example, when you get a cut, inflammation stops the bleeding. The kind of inflammation I'm referring to is chronic and harmful and can create serious health conditions. Some symptoms I experienced were bloating, gas, feeling lethargic, various pains, brain fog, and poor quality sleep.
Scar from removal of tumor on C1/C2 vertebrae.
Like most people in the world, I ate what I felt like whenever I felt like it. How I felt after these meals is what I expected to be “normal,” …similar to how societal beliefs in previous centuries thought the Earth was flat and if you kept walking you’d eventually fall off the Earth. In both cases, we don't know what’s “normal” unless we challenge the idea and try something different. After fracturing my spine in a skiing accident and getting radiation treatment for spinal cancer at age 18, I was forced to pay attention to my health. As per doctors' instructions, I used opiates heavily for 2 years straight to help with the pain of my injuries. This is the jolting life experience that changed me. The combination of uninformed dietary choices, radiation, and opiate use led to my disassociation from life and a victim mentality that held me back from being who I knew I could be today. Over time, it came to me, I didn’t want to feel bad for myself anymore and let my mental or physical health stand in the way of who I could be today. The decision was made, I’d take control of myself and my health. This is when I learned to tune into what my body was saying and how I felt. For example, I noticed the once ‘essential’ milkshake I’d have on a daily basis actually made me feel like shit afterward–gas, bloat, lethargy. I consulted a nutritionist on my oncology team and they confirmed that nutrition was most certainly a factor in my overall mental and physical health. This is the information I needed to put my hopes into action and change my lifestyle to better support me and my goals.
