6 natural ways to lower inflammation
Inflammation is a proven killer but there are simple things you can do to reduce it.
Jan, 2026
1 of 7
Slide 1
Inflammation is more than a buzzword; it’s one of the essential ways your body protects itself.
“Inflammation is a general response to some kind of stress that’s being placed on the body,” says Thomas Shook, PA, of Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California. “White blood cells and other chemicals are mobilized to an area to combat whatever injury there is.”
The problem occurs when the immune response continues after the damage is cleared up, or if there is no damage in the first place. If inflammation goes too far, or goes on for too long, it can contribute to serious health problems, from cancer to heart disease to depression.
What can you do about inflammation? Here are six natural ways to help tame it.
Written byPatrick Sullivan.
Medically reviewed byAmy Gonzales, MD.
Sources: UC San Diego Health. Exercise … it Does a Body Good: 20 Minutes Can Act as Anti-Inflammatory. January 12 + 11
- UC San Diego Health. Exercise … it Does a Body Good: 20 Minutes Can Act as Anti-Inflammatory. January 12, 2017.
- Dimitrov S, Hulteng E, Hong S. Inflammation and exercise: Inhibition of monocytic intracellular TNF production by acute exercise via β2-adrenergic activation. Brain Behav Immun. 2017;61:60-68.
- U.S. Surgeon General/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking Cessation: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2020: Introduction, Conclusions, and the Evolving Landscape of Smoking Cessation 33. Accessed November 22, 2022.
- Derella CC, Tingen MS, et al. Smoking cessation reduces systemic inflammation and circulating endothelin-1. Scientific Reports. 24122 (2021).
- Mullington JM, Simpson NS, Meier-Ewert HK, Haack M. Sleep loss and inflammation. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010;24(5):775-784.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sleep and Sleep Disorders: How Much Sleep Do I Need? Last reviewed September 14, 2022.
- Williams CJ, Hu FB, et al. Sleep duration and snoring in relation to biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk among women with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2007 May;30(5):1233-40.
- Patel SR, Zhu X, et al. Sleep duration and biomarkers of inflammation. Sleep. 2009 Feb;32(2):200-4.
- Grandner MA, Buxton OM, et al. Extreme sleep durations and increased C-reactive protein: effects of sex and ethnoracial group. Sleep. 2013 May 1;36(5):769-779E.
- American Heart Assocation. How Too Much Added Sugar Affects Your Health Infographic. Accessed November 22, 2022.
- Reichert V, Xue X, Bartscherer D, et al. A pilot study to examine the effects of smoking cessation on serum markers of inflammation in women at risk for cardiovascular disease. Chest. 2009;136(1):212-219.
- Irwin MR, Olmstead R, Carroll JE. Sleep Disturbance, Sleep Duration, and Inflammation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies and Experimental Sleep Deprivation. Biol Psychiatry. 2016;80(1):40-52.
Recommended for you
How can I be more consistent?