Chronic inflammation is the underlying cause of many diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, cancer, heart disease, memory loss and more. So here are 5 easy ways to start combatting inflammation in your body, reduce your risk or disease and improve your overall health.

1. Cut out (or at least cut down) on refined carbohydrates.

Foods like white bead, white rice, chips, French fries, sugar-laden drinks raise your blood sugar and increase levels of inflammatory messengers called cytokines. Eat whole-grain bread, brown rice and other whole grains instead. They help control insulin levels and dampen cytokine production.

2.  Change your oil

Swap inflammatory saturated fats (animal foods such as red meat and dairy) and toxic trans fats (junk foods, processed foods and commercially fried foods) for olive oil, which has anti-inflammatory properties, or polyunsaturated fats like the omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines and anchovies).

3.  Eat your fruits and veggies (and herbs and spices too)

The more fruits and vegetables you eat, the more you reduce inflammation. That’s because they contain powerful antioxidants that help ‘mop up’ the free radicals that cause inflammation. Many herbs (like garlic and basil) and spices (like turmeric and ginger) act as direct anti-inflammatory agents.

4. Go nuts

Adding walnuts, peanuts, almonds and other nuts to your snacks and meals is another tasty way to ease inflammation. Starting your day with a bowl of nutty homemade granola is a good way.

5. Consider cutting out gluten and dairy

Gluten is inflammatory to may people (whether or not they have celiac disease or wheat allergy) and so are dairy foods (especially cow’s milk) so I often suggest taking out one or both of these food groups for a period of 6 weeks. Substitute gluten free grains (oats, millet, rice, quinoa) and dairy free milk (almond, rice, soy). You may feel so much better that you might never go back!

A final tip – the next time you have a headache or aches and pains and reach for the anti-inflammatory medication (like ibuprofen or paracetamol) remind yourself that they only serve to relieve the symptoms, not to address the root cause of inflammation and they do have side effects). Remember that the biggest factor contributing to inflammation is your diet – and YOU control that!