14 Signs of Inflammation and How to Stop It

The signs of inflammation are many and varied — it’s been linked to everything from bloating to joint pain to sinus congestion and skin rashes. Although a clinical assessment is the only way to determine for sure if you suffer from inflammation, the more of the following symptoms you experience, the more likely you have low-grade inflammation, says Mark Hyman, MD, author of The UltraSimple Diet (Pocket Books, 2007).

Bloating, belching, passing gas
Diarrhea or constipation
Fatigue, sluggishness
Itchy ears or eyes
Dark circles or bags under eyes
Joint pain or stiffness
Throat tickle, irritation or coughing
Stuffy noise, sinus trouble, excessive mucus
Acne, cysts, hives or rashes
Ruddy, inflamed-looking skin
Flushing
Water retention, skin puffiness
Craving certain foods
Compulsive or binge eating

The good news: Inflammation is fixable: “Our best tool to reverse inflammation isn’t a drug, but our diets,” says Barry Sears, PhD, a former research scientist at Boston University School of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of the forthcoming Toxic Fat Syndrome. One of the best ways to snuff out inflammation is by heeding food sensitivities and intolerances. These are inflammatory responses that occur when the gut fails to break down certain foods.

The most notorious offenders are dairy, wheat, corn, sugar, soy, eggs and peanuts. Keep a food diary to identify negative reactions (which may be delayed by hours or days after you’ve eaten), then root out food sensitivities by following an elimination diet for at least a week. (For more on that, see “False Fat” in the March/April 2003 archives.)

By eliminating the foods that irritate your body and eating more of those that help your body combat inflammation, you’ll get rid of a lot of bloating and water retention, produce fewer “weight-gain” hormones, and have more energy for activity, says Elson Haas, MD, medical director of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin in San Rafael, Calif., and author of The False Fat Diet (Ballantine, 2001). That sounds like a slim-down strategy we can all live with.

By Catherine Guthrie, Experience Life

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Angie V.

1:19AM PDT on Mar 23, 2013

I have some of these... =(

March 23
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Monica M.

8:20AM PDT on Mar 19, 2013

our bodies are overloaded with poor quality foods....

March 19
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Edvanir L.

11:05AM PST on Feb 27, 2013

It's incredible.

February 27
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Charla D.

6:54AM PDT on Oct 20, 2012

When I was in my teens I went to an allergist for hay fever (seasonal sneezing, itchy eyes), but mainly for a chronic "stuffiness" which was not due to mucus but to inflammation in the nose. I also experienced occasional flushing of the face. He told me I was allergic to just about everything, and encouraged me to give up my cat, which I'm very glad I refused to do. I was finally helped tremendously with acupuncture and most importantly by reducing/eliminating sugar and dairy products from my diet.

October 20
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Heidi A.

6:05PM PDT on Sep 18, 2012

Runny nose? I strangely, DO produce alot of mucus, my nose runs almost every morning, and every time I eat. I go through a box of Kleenex weekly. Now I know why. I must be allergic to something I am eating or something in my environment.