Did you know that 6 out of 10 Americans have “pro-inflammatory” diets, according to a recent study? And other research has found that 3 out of 5 adults worldwide die of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as stroke, chronic respiratory diseases, heart disorders, cancer, obesity, and diabetes?
We don’t mean to shock or scare you, but chronic inflammation risks are worth paying attention to. In addition, the risk of premature death aside, inflammation can cause a litany of health concerns, including issues like weight gain (or difficulty losing weight), digestive problems, joint pain, mood imbalances, and even neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, says Jacqui Justice, a functional nutrition specialist and DailyOM course creator.
“Ultraprocessed foods, chronic stress, poor sleep, environmental toxins, and sedentary lifestyles all keep the body in a constant state of low-grade inflammation,” Justice tells us. “This ‘silent fire’ often smolders for years, damaging cells, hormones, and immunity, long before symptoms appear. Understanding and addressing these triggers is the key to protecting your long-term health.”
Read on for more about how to do exactly that.
Interested in learning more? Check out Protect Yourself From Chronic Inflammation.
Although her professional journey began in interior design and fashion, Jacqui Justice always felt a deep calling toward wellness. In her 20s, she faced her own struggles with gut health, which sparked a personal quest to find lasting solutions. Eventually, she discovered the field of functional nutrition, an approach that looks beneath the surface to uncover and address the root causes of health challenges, and was able to reclaim her well-being and embark on a whole new career path. For more than 28 years, she has been working with clients in her private practice and through online courses — and witnessing them move from feeling stuck, frustrated, and out of options to feeling empowered, energized, and in control of their health.
“I specialize in weight loss resistance, an often misunderstood condition where underlying metabolic, biochemical, hormonal, or medical imbalances make it nearly impossible to shed excess weight,” Justice explains. “In most cases, it’s multifaceted and requires a highly personalized, root-cause approach. Inflammation is one of the most common and overlooked root causes of weight loss resistance.”
For starters, Justice wants to set the record straight that inflammation itself can be a good thing. “Our body’s natural process of inflammation kicks in when we get injured or when we are fighting an infection, sending immune cells to heal and protect,” Justice says. “This short-term, targeted response is a good thing and part of staying healthy.”
Things go awry when inflammation becomes chronic — and it doesn’t naturally subside the way it’s intended to. “Chronic inflammation is when that immune system response stays switched on for months or even years; instead of repairing damage, it starts wearing down tissues, disrupting hormones, and greatly increasing the risk of serious chronic diseases,” she explains. It’s sometimes called “silent inflammation” because it’s below the threshold of pain — which means that, at first, we might not even feel its effects.
Over time, though, symptoms become undeniable, and they can range from exhaustion, low energy, and poor sleep to gut problems, skin issues, mood disorders, and more. “Essentially, chronic inflammation acts like a slow-burning fire that gradually undermines your overall health and vitality,” Justice adds.
Chronic inflammation can manifest as physical, mental, or emotional distress and greatly affect the quality of your life. Moreover, research has continually found it to be a contributing factor to some of the most severe diseases around, such as stroke, chronic respiratory diseases, heart disorders, cancer, obesity, and diabetes.
“Chronic inflammation quietly stresses your body over time, damaging cells, tissues, organs, and blood vessels,” says Justice. “By addressing inflammation early — through nutrition, lifestyle changes, stress management, and gut support — you help your body maintain balance, protect your organs, and set the stage for a longer, healthier life.”
The key? It’s up to us to decide whether we want to keep going the way we’re going — or begin laying the groundwork for a healthier, more vibrant life.
Tweaking your diet and implementing new lifestyle habits may greatly support the reduction of inflammation in your body, which is vital to feeling your best and staying healthy long term.
“Small, sustainable, and meaningful changes add up over time and can dramatically improve your overall well-being,” Justice adds.
With that, here are some of the shifts you can expect to experience as you consciously take charge of the inflammation in your body.
“Inflammation can drain your energy and leave you feeling fatigued — even after sufficient rest,” Justice says.
By reducing inflammation, the body can allocate resources more efficiently to boost your daily energy levels, she adds. Combined with supportive lifestyle habits, this can also enhance your resilience to stress and environmental challenges.
Inflammation affects the brain as well as the body, contributing to brain fog (or the inability to think clearly), irritability, and low mood, Justice explains.
“Anti-inflammatory habits, such as eating nutrient-dense, antioxidant-rich foods and managing stress, support optimal brain function,” Justice tells us. “Over time, this can improve focus, memory, and overall emotional well-being.”
“Persistent inflammation quietly damages tissues and organs over time, increasing the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, type 1 diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and cognitive decline,” Justice says. “Making anti-inflammatory lifestyle adjustments helps protect the body and maintain vitality. This proactive approach can promote a longer, healthier life.”
Recent research examined 80,000 children and linked a diet rich in fish and veggies — and low in sugary beverages — in the first year of life to a decreased risk for developing inflammatory bowel disease. No matter what you were fed at an early age, you can protect your body against the ill effects of chronic inflammation now by making similar food choices. It’s never too late.
Many people don’t sleep well — and science has shown how this can adversely affect our well-being in numerous ways, causing us to gain weight, feel overwhelmed and underfocused, decrease our immunity, and more.
According to the National Council on Aging, 1 in 5 people report feeling sleep deprived. And chronic inflammation might be partially to blame, Justice notes. “Inflammation interferes with the body’s natural sleep cycles, making it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep,” she says.
The good news? Calming inflammation through nutrition, hydration, and stress management choices can be effective in getting quality sleep. “Better sleep supports more restorative rest, which, in turn, further reduces inflammation, creating a positive feedback loop,” Justice tells us.
“The gut is a central hub of immune activity, and chronic inflammation often originates there,” Justice explains. Making key changes to decrease inflammation can improve, or, in some cases, reverse your gut health, making you feel better overall.
“A healthier gut improves nutrient absorption, reduces bloating, and strengthens overall immunity,” Justice says. “When the gut is happy and healthy, the rest of our body (and our mental health, too) generally follows suit.”
Chronic inflammation is closely linked to insulin resistance and weight gain, making it harder to shed or maintain weight, Justice tells us. Often, it’s the underlying cause for stubborn weight loss, which is becoming more and more commonplace.
“Reducing inflammation through anti-inflammatory foods, balanced meals, and movement can regulate metabolism and support a healthy weight,” Justice says. “It also helps prevent the vicious cycle where excess weight drives more inflammation.”
While chronic inflammation is common in this day and age, it’s a condition that is unknowingly holding many of us back, preventing us from feeling our best and living the lives we desire and deserve.
All it takes is some simple lifestyle changes to greatly reduce chronic inflammation and take control over your physical, mental, and emotional health — and you can start right now. Remember: It’s never too late to feel at ease in your body and confident that you're doing everything you can to support your overall well-being and longevity.
