As functional medicine coaches and practitioners, we know that chronic inflammation in the body can cause symptoms that make life extremely challenging for our patients and clients. And sometimes, conventional medicine has a tough time figuring out the root causes of the symptoms and diseases others are struggling with, which can be so overwhelming, frustrating, and disheartening for them.
But with specialized attention to the individual and a different approach to healing, we can make a real difference that can change lives. Helping your patients and clients uncover the root causes of their inflammation and giving them the tools they need is paramount to their healing and achieving long-lasting wellness.
Let’s break it down into 3-steps you can use to help your clients better understand how their environment, diet, habits, mental health, and lifestyle are contributing to their inflammation – and their symptoms – and how small tweaks can have a huge impact on the success of their health journey.
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Three-Step Plan To Reduce Inflammation, Detoxify Their Life, And Heal Their Body
Have your clients follow these steps toward total body healing:
Step 1: Identify The Inflammation Type
Identifying and treating the root causes of chronic symptoms and diseases - not just the symptoms alone - is the most effective way to heal long-term. One of the best ways of doing this is through specialty lab testing - such as the ELISA ACT/LRA Food Intolerance Test, DUTCH hormone test, or Full Thyroid Panel - which you can order right here at RUPA!
These lab tests go beyond standard diagnostic tests to assess the underlying causes of health issues, often at a functional or cellular level, and they will help guide personalized and targeted treatment plans for your patients and clients.
There are six core types of inflammatory diseases and complications. These inflammation types include:
- Muscle and Joint Inflammation: This inflammation type can cause degenerative joint diseases and conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, muscular dystrophy, sleep apnea and other respiratory problems, plaque buildup in the arteries, constant stiffness, aches and pains, or muscle tightness.
- Hormonal and Thyroid Inflammation: Symptoms of this inflammation type include painful or irregular menstrual cycles, depression, anxiety, weight gain, hair thinning or loss, feeling cold all the time, bloating, and food cravings. Diseases or conditions associated with this type of inflammation include hormonal imbalance, infertility, PCOS, hypothyroidism, and others.
- Inflammation from sugar: Sugar is inflammatory, and almost everyone in the world has sugar inflammation. Sugar inflammation is most likely secondary to the core inflammation and needs to be addressed.
- Psychological Stress: Mental disorders and other symptoms of psychological stress—such as irritability, negative thoughts, worry, and excessive mental stress—can all be traced back to inflammation in the body.
- Digestive Inflammation: Constipation, diarrhea, bloating, painful abdomen, and low energy all point to inflammation in the digestive system.
- Allergies, Asthma, and Skin Inflammation: The body’s response to irritants, including seasonal and environmental.
Each of these types of inflammation has diseases and chronic symptoms associated with them. By examining your clients’ symptoms in light of these inflammation types, you may be able to pinpoint the underlying causes.
Step 2: Create an Anti-inflammatory Environment
Once the source of inflammation is identified, the next step is to establish an environment that not only eliminates the triggers responsible for it but also fosters their overall well-being.
This approach involves taking a holistic look at clients’ everyday lives, providing them with the tools and insights needed to eliminate toxins from their homes, workplaces, and anywhere they spend a significant amount of time. This includes removing toxins in household products, personal care items, and hygiene routines.
Lifestyle changes can also make a significant difference. For example, there are techniques that specifically target inflammation reduction, such as stress management, improving sleep patterns, and incorporating daily detoxification practices like exercise and movement.
This step involves a lot of mindset and mindfulness work. In our fast-paced modern world, stressors and constant stimulation often push our bodies into "survival mode." Everyday situations like a traffic jam or work deadlines can trigger the fight-or-flight response, activating the sympathetic nervous system and causing imbalances and inflammation. So, even if someone’s home environment is entirely free from toxins, persistent stress can get in the way of their efforts to reduce inflammation effectively.
By incorporating mindfulness and mindset strategies, such as breathing techniques, visualization, practicing gratitude, and more, clients can shift into a parasympathetic nervous state even in situations that would typically trigger the fight-or-flight response. The parasympathetic nervous system is often called the "rest and digest" system because it conserves energy, maintains normal bodily functions, and promotes relaxation. Being in a parasympathetic nervous state reduces heart rate and lowers blood pressure, promoting a state of calm and relaxation and creating an optimal environment for healing.
Step 3: Eat to Treat
The final step is helping clients intentionally use food to nourish and heal their bodies. Discovering exactly what to eat and how to eat can immediately improve their symptoms and rebalance their body for the long term.
Certain foods and ingredients, such as artificial sweeteners and citric acid, have the potential to trigger particular types of inflammation or exacerbate existing inflammation. On the other hand, there are foods and ingredients known for their anti-inflammatory properties and healing effects, such as lean proteins, turmeric, and healthy fats. A tailored approach that examines their unique disease or inflammation type helps identify the ingredients they should avoid to mitigate inflammation and those they should incorporate to support healing.
Just as in step 2, step 3 involves a lot of mindset work. Regardless of the specific actions taken in this stage, the mindset around eating and nutrition plays a crucial role. Cultivating a belief in the healing power of food and recognizing its potential to rejuvenate the body are absolutely essential in moving the needle toward long-term wellness.
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Summary
The work you do as a coach or practitioner is so incredibly valuable and impactful! Every day, you're making a positive difference in the lives of so many people. By helping your patients and clients identify their inflammation type through functional lab testing or inflammation assessments, guiding them to detoxifying their environment by removing toxins from their home, hygiene, and personal care routines, and teaching them how to nourish their bodies with foods that support their unique needs, you will reduce their inflammation and help them heal.
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