20 Ways To Lower Inflammation: A

Functional Medicine Expert Explains

FEB 6, 2017 | BRAIN HEALTH, CANCER, DETOX, FUNCTIONAL
MEDICINE, HEALTHY FOOD, HEART
DISEASE, INFLAMMATION, METHYLATION, STRESS, UNCATEGORIZED

by Dr. Will Cole

Fifty million Americans have an autoimmune condition, millions more are somewhere on the
autoimmune-inflammation spectrum, someone has a heart attack every 34 seconds, and a
shocking one in two men and one in three women will get cancer. This level of disease is not
normal, but it is certainly common. And all of these conditions have one thing in common:
inflammation.
 With the ubiquity of chronic inflammation, it’s important to know where your inflammation levels
are. You can only do something about what you know is there. There is one simple blood test that
I suggest all of my patients have to find this out for themselves.
Meet the protein that measures inflammation levels.
C-reactive protein or CRP is an inflammatory protein that is one of the best ways to measure
your inflammation levels. Produced mainly by the liver, we all make CRP and in normal levels
CRP helps fight off infections and protect your body. You see, inflammation is not inherently bad
but just like anything else in the body – like hormones and bacteria – inflammation is subject to
the Goldilocks principle: It can’t be too high or too low; it needs to be just right.
Inflammation becomes damaging when it flares unchecked, like a forest fire fueled by gasoline.
The CRP test measures your inflammatory firestorm.
So what raises CRP?
CRP is nonspecific. If it is high, it doesn’t tell you what is causing your inflammation; it is just
indicating that there is inflammation and how much of it is there. Research has found that CRP is
raised in the following conditions:
 Autoimmune conditions (such as RA, lupus, and inflammatory bowel
disorders)
 Brain inflammation
 Cancer
 Chronic fatigue
 Depression
 Heart disease
 High blood pressure
 Infections
 Metabolic syndrome
 Sleep apnea
Here’s your CRP lab guide.
To measure your CRP levels, I suggest running the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)
test, which measures CRP in the range from 0.5 to 10 mg/L. Typically CRP is used to gauge
heart attack and stroke risk; the American Heart Association and the CDC use the following
reference ranges to evaluate a person’s risk for heart attack or stroke.
 Low risk: hs-CRP level under 1.0 mg/L
 Average risk: between 1.0 and 3.0 mg/L
 High risk: above 3.0 mg/L
 Very high risk: 5-10 mg/L
 Greater than 10 mg/L: persistent elevation of inflammation
In functional medicine, we are looking for optimal health, so the functionally optimal range is less
than 1 mg/L.
Here’s how to lower your CRP.
If your CRP levels are high, I recommend working with your doctor and a qualified functional
medicine practitioner to find out what is causing your inflammation. Further testing and
comprehensive health history can uncover the pieces to your inflammation puzzle. Here are my
top tips for bringing inflammation levels back down to normal:
1. Quit eating so much sugar.
I’m hoping that this brings a big collective “duh,” but it’s worth mentioning just in case you don’t
know that sugar raises inflammation. Several studies have shown that the more sugar you eat,
the higher your CRP will be.
2. Check your hormones.
Just like inflammation, hormonal health is all about balance. Higher levels of the
hormones leptin and estrogen were both associated with increased CRP levels. Check out
my hormone guide to learn about the telltale signs of the different hormonal imbalances.
3. Eat wild-caught fish and quality fish oil.
People with inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis were able to lower their CRP levels
by increasing their intake of the beneficial omega fats found in fish.
4. De-stress your life.
I have written in the past about all the ways stress can hurt your health – and raising CRP is
one of them. Multiple studies have found that people who have stressful jobs or toxic
relationships have higher CRP levels. This is your life. Do what you can to create healthy
boundaries and an environment that is sustainable for your mental, emotional, and physical
health.
5. Get your B’s.
B vitamins folate and niacin were both associated with lower CRP levels. Activated B vitamins
are essential for healthy methylation pathways, which is super important for keeping inflammation
levels in check. Learn more about methylation here.
6. Get quality sleep.
The impact of sleep on health is drastically underestimated by most people. The science on
sleep? The less you sleep (even for one night), the higher your CRP levels will be. You may
have noticed that after a lousy night of sleep you feel sore and tight. This is all thanks to CRP.
If you struggle with sleeping, try turning off electronics two hours before you go to sleep. You can
also run yourself a warm bath with Epsom salt and lavender oil, and DVR Jimmy
Fallon and TGIT to watch another day at a more reasonable hour. Breathe. I know it’s a lot to
ask, but you can do this.
7. Maximize your fat-soluble vitamins!
Vitamins A, D, E, and K are wildly important for your health. One of the many reasons? They
lower good ol’ CRP. I use comprehensive nutrient labs to check for these nutritional deficiencies
and dose accordingly. While supplementation is typically needed, you can also focus
on foods that are high in these nutrients.
8. Get mindful.
Mindfulness meditation has so many benefits, and one of them is its ability to fight inflammation.
One study found that people with inflammatory bowel disorders drastically lowered their CRP
with just six months of participation in a mindfulness program.
9. Get moving.
People who regularly exercise were able to lower their CRP! I am a fan of high-intensity interval
training (HIIT) and hiking to get the blood pumping.
10. No more trans fats.
If you are still eating trans fats in the 21st century, your health and I must kindly ask you to stop.
One study showed that people who frequently eat foods with trans fat have CRP levels 73
percent higher than those who consume few trans fats. Read your food labels. If you see terms
like “partially hydrogenated,” put it down and walk (or run) the other way.
11. Take it easy on the alcohol.
Limiting the liquor was found to lower levels of CRP. Good news, winos – red wine is
actually associated with lower CRP levels when consumed in limited amounts.
12. Pump up your zeaxanthin and B-cryptoxanthin.
These two antioxidants are both great Scrabble words and CRP fighters! Research
has found that people who have the most zeaxanthin and B-cryptoxanthin in their diet had
the lowest CRP levels. The foods with the highest levels? Kale, spinach, collards, turnip greens,
and broccoli.
13. Get your good bugs.
A probiotic blend of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium varieties decreased CRP in just eight
weeks!
14. Tai chi it up.
Tai chi, a gentle Chinese martial art, was shown to decrease CRP in type 2 diabetics.
15. Increase your magnesium.
I have written in the past on the wide-ranging benefits of this essential nutrient. Multiple studies
have shown that magnesium has the wonderful ability to lower CRP.
16. Enjoy a cup of joe.
Coffee lovers everywhere, can I get an “amen”? People who drank coffee were shown to have
lower CRP levels. Can’t tolerate coffee? Green tea has similar CRP-calming results!
17. Be positive.
Say no to being a Debby Downer because pessimists were shown to have higher CRP levels.
Being around negative people and being in toxic relationships also will increaseyour
inflammation levels. So detox from unhealthy relationships.
18. Have more sex!
Not that you needed a scientific reason, but having a healthy sex life lowers CRP. Men who had
sex more than one time a month were less likely to have a higher CRP. Sex also increases
immune-balancing cells! Now you have two good reasons to get it on. You’re welcome.
19. Don’t mix refined carbohydrates with fat!
Refined carbs aren’t good by themselves, but mixed with foods high in fat they are a disaster for
inflammation. A moderate-size mixed meal results in significant increases in CRP and other
inflammatory markers. In fact, in just one hour after eating that burger with a bun and greasy fries,
CRP is triggered! The solution? Avoid refined carbs and focus on eating healthy fats away from
healthy carbs like sweet potatoes and fruits.
20. Become a yogi.
Yoga has so many awesome health benefits, and one study points to its ability to decrease
CRP. So get your downward dog on.
I originally wrote this article for mindbodygreen.
Photo: Stocksy
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