94: 5 Root Causes of Inflammation and Its Impact on Your Energy and Success!

Chronic, low-grade inflammation could be the hidden culprit behind your persistent low energy and numerous health issues. What if you could uncover the five root causes of this imbalanced inflammation and take actionable steps to regain your health, energy, and vitality? In this episode of Breaking Boundaries for Entrepreneurs, Jeffrey Mort dives deep into the critical issue of inflammation, revealing its role as a natural response to injury and infection, and how it can spiral out of control to wreak havoc on your well-being. From quality sleep to dietary adjustments, learn how to reduce inflammation by embracing a lifestyle that prioritizes health.

We'll explore the adverse impact of a processed food diet on gut health and chronic inflammation, and why switching to a whole foods diet can be revolutionary. Jeffrey also sheds light on the imbalance between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and how chronic stress can exacerbate inflammation. Discover practical strategies like meditation, hypnosis, and adaptogenic herbs to manage stress effectively. As an entrepreneur, maintaining high energy levels is crucial, and this episode is packed with insights to help you achieve just that. Don’t forget to share your questions and stories through the fan mail link above —your contributions shape the content of future episodes!
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Chapters

• 0:00 Root Causes of Imbalanced Inflammation
• 10:20 Balancing Inflammation Through Healthy Lifestyle
• 22:46 Fueling Entrepreneurial Success Through Health

Transcript

Speaker 1: 2:17

Hello wellness seekers, welcome to another episode of Breaking Boundaries for Entrepreneurs, where we delve into health and wellness and longevity topics that can literally transform your life. I'm Jeffrey Mort, your personal high-performance health coach, and today we're discussing a critical issue that affects many of us imbalanced inflammation. You're about to discover five root causes of imbalanced inflammation and how addressing them can help you regain your energy and your vitality. So stay tuned. Hello, I'm Jeffrey Mort. If you're like most entrepreneurs, you're busy taking care of business, yet who's taking care of you? If you're ready to take your energy and performance to the next level in your life care of business yet who's taking care of you? If you're ready to take your energy and performance to the next level in your life and your business, then this podcast is for you, because today you're going to start breaking boundaries of your mind, body and business with integrative health, and when you do that, your possibilities are limitless. I'm grateful you're here. Ah, yes, always grateful for you joining me here today on Breaking Boundaries for Entrepreneurs podcast, and today we are diving into a crucial topic, as I alluded to in the intro, about understanding imbalances of inflammation. Now, inflammation is a natural and necessary response to injury and infection. However, when inflammation becomes chronic meaning low-grade, I should say low-level inflammation on a regular basis, a daily basis or weekly basis it can actually lead to a range of so many health issues, but including persistent low energy, and today we'll focus on five root causes of imbalanced inflammation. There are there are many root causes of imbalanced inflammation, but we're really narrowing down on the five that can affect most people and if you address these, you'll be able to feel better, have more energy, more vitality, uh, less illness and longevity, and that's that's really what we're going for here. So, before we dive in, you know, I'd love to hear from you. Have you ever experienced chronic inflammation or low energy? You can send us a message using the fan mail link in the show notes. It says it actually says send us a message. So go right to the show notes, wherever you're listening to this podcast, uh, and you'll see in the show notes and you can share your story. I'd love to hear from you now, before we do get started. Of course, uh, you know I don't claim to diagnose, treat or cure disease and don't provide any medical advice here on the program, but what we do is we get to the root causes of the problem and actually how I know about this inflammation problem is because I experienced all of these root causes myself and as I addressed each one of these root causes, my chronic low-level inflammation started to subside. I started feeling better. I had more energy, more vitality started to subside, I started feeling better. I had more energy, more vitality. I had actually diagnosed diseases that started to go away and eventually went away completely. Yeah, so it's absolutely an amazing transformation and that's why I wanted to bring this information to you today.

Speaker 1: 5:37

So first on our list today is poor sleep. Now I would be shocked if your primary care physician, your medical doctor, when you went to them with complaints of inflammation, joint pain, you know any of those things and they said, well, you might have arthritis or you know, this abdominal pain might be pancreatitis or you or anything that ends in itis is an inflammatory response, and that's again medical terms and diagnosis and we're not diagnosing anything here. But I would be shocked if your medical doctor or primary care physician ever asked the question how are you sleeping? Because sleep is so essential. Yes, poor sleep can cause inflammation and quality sleep is essential for reducing inflammation. When we don't get enough sleep, our bodies can't perform necessary repair processes, leading to increased inflammation, of course, and this can result in fatigue and brain fog and a weakened immune system and getting sick more often, staying sick longer. So you want to ensure that you're getting your seven to nine hours of restorative sleep each night, and that sweet spot might be different for different, of course, different listeners, but what we're actually looking for is somewhere around 90 minutes of deep sleep and 120 minutes of REM sleep, and that can significantly reduce inflammation. And how do you know if you're getting that? Well, you need to wear, you know, a wearable device like an Oura ring or a Whoop strap or an Apple watch or a Fitbit to sleep at night, so it can monitor your sleep metrics and that's, you know, really helpful to be able to dial in, like what is offsetting my sleep. I got great sleep this night. I didn't. It can monitor your sleep metrics and that's, you know, really helpful to be able to dial in, like what is offsetting my sleep. I got great sleep this night. I didn't get good sleep metrics this night. What did I do differently? Maybe it's you ate dinner after 6 pm or too close to bedtime, within you know, an hour or two before bed if you're eating dinner, that's gonna offset your sleep, because your body is shifting to digestion instead of restoration. So it could be as simple as that. So what's your biggest challenge when it comes to getting enough quality sleep? I'd love to know.

Speaker 1: 7:51

Next in the imbalance is the imbalance between omega-3s and omega-6 fatty acids. Now, omega-3s are anti-inflammatory, while omega-6s can be pro-inflammatory when consumed excessively. Now many of us have diets that are really high in omega-6s. Now your body I'm not saying you, don't you want to stay away from omega-6s, you need those as well but we want to balance the omega-3s to omega-6s and we get high omega-6s in our diets due to things like processed foods, especially seed oils. Seed oils are very, very inflammatory and this imbalance can cause things like joint pain and fatigue and other inflammatory symptoms and responses of the body. So, incorporating more omega-3 rich foods like fatty fish so that would be smaller fish like anchovies or sardines, or wild-caught salmon never farm-raised, but wild-caught salmon is good. Yeah, cod fish and in haddock are also decent, but not as good as that. You know that wild-caught salmon or sardines, so high-quality fish oil and even flaxseed can also help restore balance.

Speaker 1: 9:06

So I'm curious have you ever tried adding more omega-3s to your diet and how has that affected you? You know, if not, it could, if it hasn't gotten you the results that you want. It could be that if you're taking an omega-3 supplement and you can actually go back to the episode that I did on omega-3s Let me see if I can find the number here for you. It was quite a while ago, yeah, episode 63, somewhere around January 22nd. Episode 63 was on omega-3s and the quality and how. That is important. But if you're taking a poor quality omega-3 supplement, maybe it was processed using high heat, which a lot of those supplements are and then that's going to oxidize the oil that fish oil, the omega-3 oil, and that's going to supplement. Maybe it was processed using high heat, which a lot of those supplements are and then that's going to oxidize the oil that fish oil, the omega-3 oil, and that's going to actually cause more inflammation. So this supplement that's marketed for anti-inflammatory is processed in a fashion that it causes more inflammation, like, how crazy is that? So the quality of your omega-3 supplement could be causing more inflammation. So send us your thoughts and I'd be happy to see what you're using for an omega-3 supplement. You can text me and say, hey, this is what I'm using. Is this any good? I'd be happy to look it up for you and start that conversation.

Speaker 1: 10:20

So next is a diet high in processed foods. Yes, poor diet, of course, can cause inflammation. It might just sound too simple, but this is one of the underlying root causes, and major, because we eat every day, or most of us do every day, and so a diet high in processed foods, especially sugars, can lead to chronic inflammation. These foods, they disrupt gut health and they can actually feed the bacteria in your microbiome, causing an overgrowth and increase systemic inflammation. Now, symptoms include digestive issues that would be like gas or bloating after dinner, could also come out as like skin problems and chronic fatigue as well. So back to that energy issue that we're addressing here today.

Speaker 1: 11:05

So, switching to a diet that's rich in whole foods, like fruits and vegetables, working up to seven to nine cups daily of fruits and vegetables, more veggies than fruits, but I know that you know that number sounds crazy. Like almost nobody that I know, except for you know other fellow integrative health practitioners and private wellness clients that are extremely devoted and dedicated and committed to their health are eating those seven to nine cups daily. Now, honestly, that's like two to three cups per meal, so I recommend more fruits in the morning. So with your breakfast smoothie you can do maybe one to two cups of berries in there, and a banana would be fantastic, and then maybe a handful of mixed greens would be great. That now there's your three or four cups just in the morning and then at lunch you can do three cups of of vegetables there, brightly colored vegetables, maybe. It's a half a cup of carrots and a cup and a half maybe of you know some green, leafy green or a cruciferous vegetable. I don't want to go too deep in here, I already am. But a great way to get that in is also using our daily fruit and vegetable blend powder. So that's 22 organic fruits and vegetables in one scoop of this powder Absolutely amazing. It's a product by our partner, equal Life life, the global leader in functional medicine. You can find that over at. I can't link that up, unfortunately, because I'm naming, uh, inflammatory diseases and things like that, but uh, you can find that over at love energy wellnesscom slash shop, our shop page. That'll take you over to our partnership with equal life and and there you can find the Daily Fruit and Vegetable Blend.

Speaker 1: 12:48

Now next in your diet. You want to have a small amount of healthy fats in your meals Each meal, like two to three tablespoons per meal. That could be, you know, two tablespoons of a high quality olive oil. That could be maybe a half of an avocado, like. Those are the top two that I recommend, but two to three tablespoons at each meal. And if you're missing a healthy fat in your meal you're not going to be satiated. Uh, it's not going to control your um, you know, your digestion it's, it's needed for digestion, it's needed for so much. Uh, having balanced macros is, uh, extremely important. So if you're missing that healthy fat in your meals or during the day, you know that that whole thing of low fat or non-fat, you know, depends what kind of fat we're talking about here.

Speaker 1: 13:34

And then in your healthy diet, about 90 grams of plant-based and lean animal proteins. Now, if you want to be completely plant-based, I'll support you with that. You know, if you're interested in how to do that and if you want to mix it up, you know some people go all animal proteins. And you know if you want to do a carnivore diet, I don't recommend it but I can support you in that as well. But most people that do carnivore diets. They feel really good at the beginning and then they're actually doing themselves a disservice in the long run. And what are we optimizing for? Are we optimizing for bodybuilding? Well then, yeah, more animal protein is going to be beneficial for you, but that is not helping longevity by any means. But if you're optimizing for living healthily to 100 years old and potentially beyond, well then you know we might want to take a strong look at what we're doing for proteins. But on average, about 25 to 30 grams per meal of proteins that could be a mixture of plant-based and animal-based proteins can help reduce inflammation and actually boost your energy. So I'm wondering what's one healthy food swap that you've made recently? Reach out and let me know. Next, on our stop here.

Speaker 1: 14:45

Number four chronic stress. My goodness, stress is such an underlying root cause to poor health. Chronic stress is another major contributor to inflammation. Now high levels of cortisol, which is the stress hormone. When we're under stress, the adrenal glands release cortisol and that can suppress immune system function and promote inflammation. I'll tell you the cortisol elevated levels of cortisol of course we we want it. I'll tell you the cortisol elevated levels of cortisol of course we want it balanced, but we want it higher in the morning, lower in the evening, and that is very important. And when that chronic stress or the cortisol levels are imbalanced, this leads to fatigue, it leads to headaches, it leads to muscle pain. One of the bigger things is hormone imbalance. So, of course, you know, if somebody is having a difficult time losing weight, no matter their diet and exercise regimen, they're still holding on to belly fat, especially around the hips and the waist, then chances are they have elevated levels of cortisol that's offsetting their hormones. Now, managing stress through techniques like, of course, meditation you know any health practitioner is going to talk about meditation, or most health practitioners are going to talk about meditation and that's helpful. Yes, absolutely, I agree. I love hypnosis for that as well, for calming that cortisol spike. Of course, that is something that I do in my neurotrust method of hypnosis practice over at Leviton G Wellness.

Speaker 1: 16:14

But what else can we do? We can utilize adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha. Now, of course, ladies, if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, you want to stay away from the herbs. But what can you do? Well, you can shift more towards things like vitamins and minerals. Those are perfectly fine when a woman is pregnant or breastfeeding. You just want to stay away from the herbs. Now, if you're not pregnant and breastfeeding, then the ashwagandha is going to be absolutely amazing about 500 milligrams per day. We have a great product called Adrenal Soothe that not only has the ashwagandha in it at that dosage but it also has other adaptogenic herbs in it as well. You can find that on our shop page as well.

Speaker 1: 16:53

But you know, if, um, what else can you do? What else buffers stress? Methylated b vitamins. Now why did I say methylated? Because that's the most absorbable kind, you know. You might say, hey, my daily multivitamin, my one a day, um, you know shelf brand that I'm getting at my local pharmacy has b vitamins in it. Well, if it doesn't say like things like methylcobalamin, or methylated or activated, chances are it's poorly absorbable and it's the lowest grade of vitamin. That's just not doing you any good. So you want methylated B vitamins those buffer stress, as well as minerals like magnesium. Magnesium buffers stress as well. You want to stay away from magnesium oxides you want to use like a glycinate or a threonate. We have a wonderful full-spectrum magnesium that covers the spectrum of highly absorbable magnesium products, usually using that one at lunch, two at dinner to be able to buffer stress.

Speaker 1: 17:49

And, yes, even light exercise can help reduce inflammation and improve your overall well-being. Now you don't want to overdo your exercise or exercise too close to bed, because that's going to elevate cortisol levels. Exercise is a stressor on the body. It's a hermetic stressor. It can be beneficial in the right amounts. So we want to make sure we're not doing too much. How do we know what's too much? You run some at-home functional lab testing. You look at your minerals levels, your heavy metal toxicities. Your mineral levels give you a great metabolic blueprint of your body's level of stress and your body's response to that stress. And what else would we do? We would do the stress, mood and metabolism lab, of course, because that's going to look at your sex hormones. It's going to look at your stress hormones, as well as a cardiometabolic panel, thyroid panel, vitamin D levels absolutely amazing stress, mood and metabolism. You can find all of those lab tests over at loveandagwellnesscom slash shop and I'd love to hear your strategies. So what have you been doing to reduce your chronic stress on a daily basis?

Speaker 1: 18:55

Next, number five, our last root cause that we're covering today environmental toxins, such as pollutants, heavy metals, as I mentioned. How do you know if you have heavy metals. You run a minerals and metals test. It's just a simple small snip of hair and we're able to see your levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic and aluminum. Those can often elevate cortisol levels. Those are toxins that can cause inflammation, for sure in the body, and definitely you know the environmental pollutants can also trigger chronic inflammation. And these toxins, these toxins, lead to persistent low-grade inflammation, which is the leading cause of all disease, causing early symptoms like fatigue and headaches. So if you're struggling with fatigue, if you're struggling with headaches, we might want to take a free toxicity assessment right over at our website 11agwellnesscom, over at our website loveenergywellnesscom. For that assessment you actually have to log in on a PC or you know, a Mac or something like that, and you can see it right at the header at the top. But the URL if you're on a phone is loveenergywellnesscom. Forward slash toxicity dash assessment. And so reducing exposure to toxins and supporting your body's detoxification processes can help restore this balance.

Speaker 1: 20:16

So I'm curious if you've ever taken steps to reduce your toxins in your environment, and that could be, you know, one-for-one swaps in your home, maybe slowly eliminating plastics or getting rid of any aluminum cookware. Stop, please stop covering your food with aluminum foil, whether you're baking with it or covering it in the refrigerator. Just stop using aluminum foil because that is a toxin aluminum cookware. I don't want to hop all over aluminum. I know I've done episodes strictly on heavy metals before, but I'm curious if you've ever done a true functional medicine liver detox protocol, as we recommend every 90 days for all of our private wellness practice clients. Um, I'm about to do my own I. I didn't do one with our summer group, our summer detox group, so I have mine on the way and I'm going to be doing that next week. I can't wait because I can just feel it that, um, you know, I know that I'm ready for that reset for seven days of a functional medicine detox, and perhaps you are too. So that toxicity assessment is a great free tool. I don't even ask for your email. It's a great free tool to be able to assess whether you're ready for a seven or a 21-day functional medicine detox.

Speaker 1: 21:27

So, wrapping things up here, you know the importance of balanced inflammation. Balanced inflammation is essential for maintaining energy and preventing chronic disease period like mic drop. That's it, right there. It's such an important part of the wellness process by addressing these root causes, you can improve your overall health and your vitality. So to help you on your journey, we're actually offering a free inflammation at home health test and this test will help you understand your inflammation levels and take proactive steps towards better health.

Speaker 1: 22:01

So if you visit the show notes, you can click on the link. You can get your free test shipped to you today. You just have to pay a small shipping fee, but the lab test itself is absolutely free and when you get your lab test you have absolutely free. And when you get your lab test, you have to register it. And when you register it, if you would like to list me as your personal integrative health practitioner on that applicable line when registering your lab, and I will gladly interpret the results for you and give you an individualized wellness plan after our call. That's what sets aside integrative health practitioners from you know, naturopathic doctors or some of these lab companies out there that just offer the lab test and a report but no recommendations, no personalized wellness plan specific for your bio-individualized needs.

Speaker 1: 22:47

So I appreciate you joining us on this episode of Breaking Boundaries for Entrepreneurs. I ask that you stay healthy, you stay energized and I'll see you next time. Don't forget to send us your questions and stories using the fan mail link and the show notes. Your experiences and your feedback help shape the future episodes of the Breaking Boundaries podcast. Be well, my friends and I will see you on the next episode.