Inflammation is not an evil manifestation that randomly transpires in the body. Inflammation plays an important part in your immune system. According to Keenan Walket, Ph.D, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of neurology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, “Inflammation is, very basically, the body’s reaction to something that’s not supposed to be there.” Inflammation occurs in order to repair your body and keep it healthy.

I’m sure you have experienced a cut on your knee or a bee sting. The red, swollen, painful area that resulted was inflammation flooding the area in order to repair the damaged tissue. This temporary, short-lived inflammation is known as Acute inflammation. Inflammation is released, the cycle of destruction and repair happens relatively quickly (a few hours to a few days) and everything goes back to normal.

Chronic inflammation is a different story. While the same process occurs, the inflammation lingers for much longer periods of time (weeks, months, even years) as a result of the threat not being neutralized. In some cases, even after the invader has been nullified, inflammation persists.

Clients that are overweight are experiencing chronic inflammation. The body recognizes the excessive fat cells as a threat. In order to eliminate the threat, the body continues to pump out more white blood cells. Until the fat cells are diminished, the body will stay in a constant state of inflammation.

If a client tells you they are experiencing more joint pain and inflammation than normal, ask them what they have been eating the past few days. You will likely see a direct correlation between a “cheat week” and more pain.

I had a client, who was in great shape by todays standards. She was in her 50s, a little overweight, but ate healthy for the most part. Along with our workouts, she would also go walking every day. She came to me by her Doctor’s recommendation due to her recent weight gain, and persistent joint pain. She made great progress, we got her weight into a much healthier category and her joint pain immensely improved.

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