Anti–Inflammatory Diet & Lifestyle Guidelines - Intelligent Health

by Dr. Richard Powers

Over 40 years in practice, I have witnessed many of my clients experiencing unnecessary pain and suffering, often related to systemic inflammation. However, with just a few diet and lifestyle changes and targeted supplementation, they were able to knock down their pain and inflammation and feel and function better, and as a result, experience greater joy in their lives.

The summary¹ of an anti-inflammatory diet, lifestyle, and supplement guidelines highlights specific recommendations for a variety of healthy habits, including your nourishment, movement, rest, and more! Everyone can be successful at making better diet, lifestyle, and supplement decisions when given safe-and-sound, practical, and wholesome advice, which inevitably and more predictably leads to lowered inflammation and less pain.

In a nutshell . . .

Learn what to do: Choose two or three diet and lifestyle recommendations to help relieve your pain and facilitate your healing.
Do what you can: Do your best to focus on implementing these changes and make them part of your daily routine.
Adjust as you must: Once those are established as habits, add another diet and lifestyle recommendation. If you find it too challenging to make the change, choose a different one.

¹ For an even more comprehensive list of recommendations and explanations on how to implement habits to help improve your well-being, refer to Dr. Powers’ Key Diet and Lifestyle Guidelines within the Foundations for Creating Optimal Health guidebook

Nourishment. . . dietary tips to reduce inflammation and pain

More vegetables—including a variety of green, leafy, cruciferous (e.g., broccoli), and colorful vegetables
More fruit—emphasizing lower sugar, antioxidant-rich fruits like cherries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, lemon, lime, kiwi, and apricots
Healthy fats—wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, herring, MonoPure fish oil supplements, cod liver oil, pastured eggs, avocado, olives/ oil, coconut/oil, almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, flaxseed/ hemp/chia/pumpkin seeds
Minimize processed, packaged, and fast foods, margarine, shortening, fried foods, chips, and snacks.

Movement. . . an array of exercise tips to help lessen pain

Move frequently and daily—walking, biking, sports activities, gradually working up to 45–60 minutes a day—ideally as 15–20 minutes, three times per day or 25–30 minutes, two times per day (minimally)
Weight training and resistance training (e.g., exercise bands) help build muscle mass and strength and reduce inflammation. Professional guidance and physician approval are recommended before engaging in high-intensity exercise.
Recovery training exercises (e.g., interval training) consist of repeated cycles (up to seven) of short bursts of exercise (20–60 seconds) followed by a three- to five-minute rest period.
Avoid jogging as it accelerates aging, promotes inflammation, and increases wear and tear on your joints.
Avoid pain—if you experience pain (or exacerbation), especially in your joints or back, stop and seek chiropractic care.

Rest. . . nightly tips for getting more restorative sleep, which helps reduce inflammation and pain

Block out all light in your sleeping room (consider blackout shades) to help promote deep sleep.

Use low blue-light glasses when looking at a TV, tablet, or computer after 7 p.m. to help with sustained melatonin secretion.

Avoid the use of electronic devices at least 30–60 minutes before lights out, including TV, computer, tablet, gaming, and phone.

Minimize caffeine and alcohol, especially after 7 p.m., as both interfere with and undermine restorative rest.

Resilience. . . powerful tips to help minimize stress and bolster vitality, both of which lower inflammation and pain

Move: Exercise is a powerful stressbuster. Incorporate both low- and high-intensity exercises within your body’s limits.

Breathe: Try paced breathing—breathe five seconds in, five seconds out. Keep this pace for about one to two minutes when feeling stressed.

Break: Take a five-minute “mini-vacation” when feeling stressed.

Step outside; face the sun; take five deep, slow breaths; drink some water; do two to three simple exercises (such as arm raises or squats); smile as you reflect on the gifts in your life and the beauty around you!

Stress Aids: Consider the use of natural medicine formulations to bolster your stress adaptability as needed (e.g., adaptogens— CortiSolv (botanical adaptogens); RelaxMax (neurotransmitter formula).

Detoxification. . . insightful tips to lessen your toxic body burden and as a result, your inflammation and pain

Eat plenty of vegetables and drink water to help ensure you are having at least one full, strain-free bowel movement daily.

Incorporate detoxification aids, including my Foundational Formulas, which contain gut and detoxification support, and Sunlighten infrared sauna therapy.

Use chemical- and scent-free household and personal hygiene products, including skincare and sunscreen products.

Minimize use of and/or exposure to insecticides, herbicides, and other pesticides such as at home, yard, work, and golf course.

Limit the use of plastic containers/bottled water and aluminum and nonstick cookware and utensils such as Teflon.

Supplementation. . . top tips to optimize your anti-inflammatory nutrient levels, which helps calm inflammation and reduce pain.

Supplements provide nutrients to help ensure every cell has the coenzymes, minerals, and Omega-3 fats (EPA/DHA) required to function optimally and limit inflammation. Supplements also include natural medicine—botanicals, pre/post/probiotics, antioxidants, polyphenols, and homeopathic remedies—which serve to facilitate healing and safely manage inflammation and pain.

To fulfill your daily supplement requirements and reduce inflammation with a doctor-designed formula based on 40+ years of clinical testing, consider my Foundational Formulas. Matched to your age, health, diet, and medication usage, I designed these six different daily supplement formulas to fill the most common dietary nutrient gaps with much-needed additional gut and detoxification support—all of which help control inflammation.