Inflammation is when the body and immune system react to “irritants”. It can cause swelling and pain, and can even disrupt the thyroid hormone receptors.

So, reducing inflammation can have many amazing benefits on your hormones, thyroid, and metabolism!

Here are a few of my ways to reduce inflammation naturally.

Eat your vegetables

The more whole vegetables you eat, the better. Vegetables not only give us tons of vitamins and minerals, but the fiber in vegetables also helps feed the gut microbiome. Try to eat vegetables at every meal - especially leafy greens! - and this will help reduce a lot of the inflammation, specifically in the gut.

Here are a few ideas: Toss spinach in with your omelet, put a handful of kale or romaine lettuce in a smoothie, or roast some bell peppers and squash with whatever protein you’re having at dinner.

Cut out sugar and gluten

Speaking of inflammation in the gut, sugar and gluten are horrible for the digestive system and two of the most common causes of inflammation!

But this doesn’t mean your meals are going to be boring. There are so many great alternatives on the market. Here are a few of the Sexy Thyroid Community’s favorite gluten-free snacks, and I love using Stevia as a natural sugar swap.

Take time for mindfulness

Whether you try meditating, journaling, breathwork, yoga, or something else, spending even just 5 minutes a day on reflection and mindfulness can reduce inflammation.

How? Well, all of these activities can help reduce stress, and chronic stress is a big cause of inflammation in the body!

Move

It’s so important to get moving throughout the day. Movement helps reduce stress, it can get the digestive system moving, it can get our heart rate up even just a little bit, and all of these can lead to less inflammation.

If you have a job where you sit a lot, try going for a little 5-10 minute movement break every hour. 

Get outside

Vitamin D can help reduce stress, it helps the body absorb other essential nutrients, and overall it’s just really great for the body and for inflammation. All you need is about 30 minutes a day of sun exposure. 

If you live farther north or in an area with less sun, consider investing in a sun lamp (these are also great for anyone suffering from seasonal affective disorder!).⁣

Catch those ZZZs

REM sleep is when the body really starts to repair itself, and this is when the inflammation can start to reduce. If you’re not getting good enough sleep each night, that repair just won’t happen and the inflammation can stay put or get worse.

The good news is that a lot of these strategies work together! If you practice more mindfulness, this can help relax you and give you a better sleep. Going for a walk outside gets you that movement and the vitamin D. Replacing gluten and sugar-filled foods with vegetables can really quickly heal your gut!

So many solutions on our health journey can help our bodies in more ways than one. So don’t let inflammation scare you: there are lots of natural solutions to helping get rid of it, and in turn, you will help your body in more ways than one!