While inflammation is a necessary bodily response, it can become chronic and is often the underlying cause of many diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, ulcerative colitis and crohns, and even cancer.

The good news is that you can be proactive about it.

Eating healthy, exercise, getting adequate sleep and staying well-hydrated are all good ways to get inflammation under control. There are supplements that you can add to your daily routine to help keep inflammation from becoming chronic that won’t cause irritating side effects like NSAIDS and other medications will.

Remember to always check with your physician or health care provider before starting supplements to make sure it’s compatible with medication that you may already be taking.

Here are some helpful supplements you can look into:

1. Fish oil- rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil has been shown to reduce some inflammatory markers. In studies, people who ate fatty fish were less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, and people with rheumatoid arthritis who took fish oil were able to reduce their dosage of anti-inflammatory drugs.
2. Quercetin-among other mechanisms, quercetin blocks the release of histamine, which is important in some seasonal allergies and it has also been shown to help in symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. It also fights infection and boosts athletic performance, so look for it in your workout supplements if you use those.
3. Curcumin-a component of Tumeric, curcumin is helpful in reducing the inflammatory response.Curcumin appears to be very beneficial for reducing inflammation and improving symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, in addition to diabetes, heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease and cancer, to name a few. (Be sure to take it with black pepper to help increase absorption.)
4. Ginger-Ginger may reduce the inflammation linked to colitis, kidney damage, diabetes and breast cancer.When people withs diabetes were given 1,600 mg of ginger daily, their CRP (an inflammatory marker), insulin and HbA1c levels decreased significantly more than the control group.Another study found that women with breast cancer who took ginger supplements had lower CRP and IL-6 (an inflammatory maker) levels, especially when combined with exercise.
5. Reservatrol-this is antioxidant found in blueberries and grapes. (also wine, but it’s really insignificant or you’d have to consume 3 gallons of wine a day to get the benefits!)
6. Spirulina-a type of blue-green algae that has strong antioxidant that helps reduce inflammation and boosts the immune system.