Inflammation is like a fire in the body that triggers an alarm to alert me to a crisis
The alarm gets different names… such as joint pain, indigestion or a headache. Each one is telling me something is on fire and needs attention. If I take a shortcut and medicate the symptom, I may never know what is the cause or be able to correct it. For instance, I had stopped doing pushups a year ago because I thought my wrists were too weak. Now that the inflammation has gone, my wrists are strong again and I can easily do 30 push ups twice a day. If I had taken a painkiller for it and continued to exercise, I might have caused harm. Addressing the cause of the problem is so much better.

It is easier to make the connection with my joints and muscles that I can observe, but what about inflammation on the inside? When I used to eat large quantities of plant foods my body had to process a lot of fibre and would complain by producing haemorrhoids. I thought I just had a weakness that I needed to tolerate and manage. Now, with a change of nutrition, that problem has gone away, telling me that all that indigestible fibre I have been eating for years was causing inflammation in my bowel. Once again my body is telling me what is best.

When I find myself trying to do too many things in a day, I might think that driving the car faster will be a solution. That decision can actually increase the chance of trouble. So ‘inflamed’ just means anything in excess that results in a signal by the body. It is asking for less – stress, speed, confusion, …whatever.

I have learned to breathe less, not more, when under stress. That is the exact opposite of what I used to do and people are still saying ‘take a deep breath’ to anyone under stress. Bohr, Warburg and Buteyko discovered the benefits of breathing less and hardly anyone was listening to them! This approach gives
more oxygen to my muscle cells so they can recover from running, for example. It gives more oxygen to my brain cells so I can think clearly and make good choices. Yes, less air taken in from the outside means more oxygen for my cells and the body has the wisdom to know where it is needed most.

Breathing can save your life!

• Part One: What are we doing wrong?
• Part Two: What does the science say?
• Part Three: Nose Breathing can have a profound health benefit

In daily life I now have a practical way to avoid or minimize a lot of stressful interactions. Hey, that sounds like calming inflammation, doesn’t it? I focus on what I can do and not on what is outside of my control. Does this sound too simplistic? impractical? Why not try to observe, and even journal, what is
going on in your day. Just notice what you can change and what you cannot influence at that moment. Then take note of how invested you are in each side of this equation. By doing this little exercise you are examining your life and not trying to apply someone else’s formula. I am suggesting that can be the
beginning of asking your body what is best for its needs.

Inflammation is a key component of many chronic conditions. Imagine if you could address that factor alone and stop feeding the fire within. In many cases this symptom represents the acute expression of a chronic underlying illness that is developing over months or years. Nothing promotes it more than what
we eat if you can begin to make that connection. More on this in a later article.

We also note that life is full of ‘acute stress’ and because of it, we grow stronger and more resilient in every way. What I have learned is that I have the choice to avoid acute stress turning into chronic stress. So when I hear that there is a lot of chronic illness in our community, I now see it as acute stress that was allowed to continue until it became chronic stress leading to chronic illness. What is the point of living a long life only to be limited by ill health for the last numbers of years? I want to go for quality of life, not just many years of misery. I am so glad I have learned to do LESS and get more out of life!

Other perspectives on Inflammation from elsewhere on Blood Cancer Uncensored