Wanna stop being in so much physical pain all the time and ACTUALLY start feeling young again?
I gotchu.
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At 18, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, after seeing doctors for 2 years telling them that I felt like I was hit by a bus - every damn day!
Fibromyalgia is widespread body/muscle/joint pain that interferes with your daily life (hence, the hit by a bus feeling) and is often associated with brain fog, mood swings, depression, anxiety, and extreme fatigue. Like not just really tired....𝑭𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑮𝑼𝑬 - drop dead and sleep for a century and still not be rested!
While there is still little known about Fibro (what causes it, why some people are more prone to having it, etc), one thing that is clear is that it's related to a very sensitive immune system that has high levels of inflammation.
Fast forward a few more years and I also end up with PCOS and Endometriosis (estrogen-dominant hormone imbalances). Both include symptoms of extreme pain and are exacerbated by high inflammation.
𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 in the body is the root cause of most illnesses, diseases, sicknesses, and 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍!
So I think it's safe to safe, that having lived with high inflammation and intense wide-spread pain in my body for 15 years, I'm 𝙀𝙓𝙏𝙍𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙇𝙔 familiar with it.
Now, from a medical standpoint, I've only ever been offered hard-core pain-killer medication - which I refuse to take.
Both caffeine and alcohol raise cortisol levels (stress hormone), which puts our body 'on alert' internally. When our body is in a constant state of 'internal stress' it wears out our system very quickly, so that our immune system doesn't work as efficiently. It also confuses our immune system into believing that the body must be under attack and begins to launch immune anti-bodies into our body on a widespread scale.
This is what causes inflammation. Inflammation = body pain!
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𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸 #𝟮: 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗩𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻 𝗗 - 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆!
Vitamin D helps support the functions of our immune system. If we make the correlations from the above discussion about a confused immune system, then we can see how supporting our immune system really well can help lower inflammation and subsequent body pain.
An adult requires 400 IU daily - which can be achieved by eating fatty fish, egg whites, mushrooms, fortified foods, and spending 15-30 minutes in direct sunlight, every single day! (Talk to your health care provider before taking supplements)
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𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸 #𝟯: 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽
It's not enough for you to get 7-8 hours of sleep if the quality of the sleep is terrible. Seriously. I used to sleep 12-13+ hours and never feel rested. ⠀
Our body heals and repairs itself when we sleep. It resets the damage done from the day before, it resets our systems, it resets our mind, and converts memory. Sleep consumes about 30% of our adult lives, so it 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗧 be good quality.
You can improve your sleep by having a consistent bedtime and wake up time, turning off electronics 1 hour before bed, slowing your mind before bed, stop eating 3 hours before bed, and ensure that your bedroom is set up for a restful night (quality mattress, cool air temperature, darkness, white noise).
