Chronic inflammation is one of those things that quietly runs in the background — slowing your metabolism, increasing fat storage, disrupting hormone balance (insulin, cortisol, leptin), and driving the kind of cravings and constant fatigue that make you feel like something's off but you can't quite name it. The good news is that with the right foods, movement, and lifestyle habits, you can genuinely reduce it. This is my personal protocol — what I've built into my week to glow from the inside out.
Lifestyle habits to include more
1. Movement
Daily low-stress movement is the goal here — walking, reformer Pilates, yoga, light weight lifting. The emphasis is on low-stress. Intense, high-cortisol workouts every single day can actually work against you when inflammation is already high. Gentle and consistent beats hard and sporadic.
2. Sleep
Seven to nine hours nightly. Sleep is when your body does the bulk of its repair work — skimping on it is one of the fastest ways to spike inflammatory markers. If there's one habit to protect above everything else, it's this one.
3. Thermal therapy
An infrared sauna or iyashi dome session once a week. Thermal therapy has become a regular part of my routine — it's one of those things that feels indulgent but is genuinely doing something for your body.
4. Limiting alcohol and late-night eating
Both of these are essential for hormone production and keeping inflammation in check. Alcohol and eating late into the night are two habits that quietly add up — neither one has to be eliminated completely, but pulling back on them makes a noticeable difference.
5. Support liver pathways
Your liver is doing a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to clearing inflammatory byproducts from the body. Supporting it with lemon water, bitter greens, and cruciferous vegetables is a simple, daily thing you can do without overhauling anything.
6. Gut health
Prioritise fiber and include fermented foods regularly. A healthy gut is one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory tools you have — the two are deeply connected.
Foods to include daily
These are the foods I try to build every day around. Not perfectly — just consistently.
Colorful vegetables are loaded with antioxidants and fiber that reduce oxidative stress and inflammation. The more variety and color on your plate, the better.
Omega-3s support hormones, gut health, and heart health. Fatty fish a few times a week is one of the most impactful food changes you can make for inflammation.
Rich in polyphenols that support gut health — berries are one of the easiest anti-inflammatory upgrades because they genuinely taste like a treat.
Essential for hormone production and anti-inflammatory benefits. These are the fats your body actually wants.
Natural inflammation fighters that you can add to almost anything. A pinch of turmeric in scrambled eggs, ginger in your tea, cinnamon on your oats — it adds up.
Foods to limit (not eliminate)
You do not have to avoid these entirely. Moderation and timing matter most — the goal is awareness, not restriction.
These are the foods that tend to fan the flames of inflammation when they show up too often or too late in the day. Processed foods like packaged snacks, cereals, and processed meats. Excess refined sugar. Alcohol. Trans fats, which are created through certain vegetable oils. And fried or fast foods. None of these are off the table forever — it's about how frequently and when.
- Going all-or-nothing — cutting out every 'bad' food at once and burning out within two weeks.
- Focusing only on food and ignoring sleep, which is one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory levers you have.
- Doing intense daily workouts thinking more is more — high-stress exercise when inflammation is already elevated can make things worse.
- Forgetting the gut connection — you can eat all the right foods and still feel inflamed if your gut microbiome isn't being supported with fiber and fermented foods.
- Treating it as a short-term fix rather than a set of habits you actually want to live with long-term.
Start here this week
Pick one thing from each list and add it to your week. One daily walk. One anti-inflammatory food at each meal — even just swapping refined snacks for a handful of berries and nuts. Move your last meal earlier by 30 minutes. These are small enough to be easy, and consistent enough to actually shift something over time.