Inflammation has been a hot topic over recent years as mounting research has linked it to virtually every form of illness. It makes sense, then, that it would also be associated with diabetes. Inflammation is so pervasive in a diabetic body, in fact, that reducing inflammation can significantly decrease the risk and negative side effects of diabetes.

Inflammation and Diabetes

Over the past decade, metabolism has been studied as an important mechanism in inflammation in the body. Researchers have found that the inflammation response system relies upon metabolic support and the distribution of stored lipids. When working properly, the body uses metabolism to fuel inflammation when needed.

This results in a suppressed anabolic pathway while the body works overtime to heal itself. Normally, this could be life-saving. In a person with diabetes, however, a suppressed anabolic pathway means that the insulin-signaling pathway has been rendered useless.

Without getting too deep into the cellular mechanisms of the inflammatory response, it is important to note that a lifestyle that initiates the inflammatory response can further suppress an already compromised insulin response in the body. For diabetics, this can be detrimental.

How Inflammation Hurts

There are so many different factors that can cause excessive inflammation. A poor diet, emotional stress, physical labor, environmental factors, poor sleep habits… almost everything that isn’t good for the body can directly result in inflammation. Understanding the mechanism behind inflammation, however, can help better guide you in successfully reducing inflammation long-term.

The American Diabetes Association has funded a study that explored this very idea. Autoimmune inflammation, they found, leads to the destruction of beta cells—the insulin-producing cells found in the pancreas. As the body responds to various stressors, it is secondarily destroying the very thing that helps regulate glucose throughout the body.

When glucose goes unregulated, thanks to the suppressed insulin response, hyperglycemia sets into the body. Hyperglycemia, an abnormally elevated blood glucose level, promotes the oxidation of glucose. This oxidation process then releases free radicals throughout the body, leading to rapid and formidable damage to the body’s blood vessels.

Reduce Inflammation, Reduce Diabetes

Elevated blood glucose levels and damaged blood vessels are hallmark signs of diabetes. The consequences that follow, then, are dangerous byproducts of this insulin-based disease. The American Diabetes Association recommends that to prevent Type 1 Diabetes, a form of the disease that has previously been viewed as unpreventable, you must first address this autoimmune inflammation response in the body.

      Antioxidants Combat Inflammation

The very nature of antioxidants can help reduce inflammation, regardless of the cause or the associated disease. This is because antioxidants directly combat the damaging effects of free radicals. They do this by binding to the free radicals and terminating the chain reaction before they can damage cells throughout the body.

A diabetic body is subject to an overload of free radicals as unchecked glucose oxidizes in the blood. When these free radicals overwhelm the body and remain unchecked, much like the glucose levels that cause the abundance of free radicals, blood vessels can become dangerously damaged, and a number of bodily systems can be rendered defunct.

      Ways to Stop the Inflammation, Now

1. Eat your antioxidants

A plant-based diet can significantly boost your antioxidant intake. Not interested in eating plants, only? Then consider eating more of them.

2. Omega 3s

Omega 3s are known to reduce inflammation and also lower the risk of disease, cancer, and arthritis.

3. Gentle exercise

Gentle exercise helps reduce the reactive protein that is behind inflammation. A little bit of exercise in your daily activity can help keep inflammation at bay.

4. Holistic medicine

Turmeric, or curcumin, has long been known as an incredibly powerful anti-inflammatory food for centuries. Try incorporating into your daily diet to reap the benefits!

Diabetes may be in your life path, but there are ways to make it a manageable path. Try incorporating these habits into your daily routine to help support your body against the damage of inflammation!

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