Chronic Inflammation Awareness Month

When I began this journey with food, I truly didn’t know where to begin. This might resonate with you. I KNEW we had to change our traditional eating habits but was so overwhelmed with all the information I found online.

Low carb? Low fat? FODMAP? Night Shades? Whole 30? Keto? How many calories? Is meat bad? Is all cholesterol bad? How can I lower my blood pressure? What can’t I lose this extra weight? Should I weigh my food? Am I eating too much? Should I fast? What are macros? How many calories does this protein bar have? Do vegetables lose their nutrition when I cook them? Why is my skin red? How can I have more energy? 

You name it. It was there. It was ALL out there for me to read. AND…all I did was get more confused. So…I sat still. 

Some call it meditating, some call it listening. Some say they pray. I sat still and listened. I listened to my internal self to guide me. That’s what I do when I simply need to make a decision and have no idea where to turn. 

My stars aligned (or call it luck or an answered prayer). I was on Facebook one morning and somehow The Institute for Integrative Nutrition popped up in my feed. It was NOT an ad. But, I had never heard of a holistic nutrition school before so I was intrigued to say the least.  I did a ton of research and Neil and I decided that I should go to this school to learn real ways to change our food behaviors.

THIS WAS A GAME CHANGER FOR ME! It changed my outlook on food and my life. The veil had finally come off and I was “getting it."

The biggest take-away from getting 2 certifications in the nutrition field is this…IT ALL STARTS WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATION.

Every health issue I had. Every health issue Neil had. MOST health issues today…ALL START WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATION.

So here is where my “sitting still” took me. It took me down a path of erasing everything I had read online. Erasing every diet and negative eating pattern I had tried in the past. 

Instead…I ONLY focused on lowering the inflammation in our bodies by changing up the foods we were eating. 

No more diets. No more counting. No more weird restrictions.

Just keeping it BASIC. And eliminating some of those inflammatory foods (completely) so our bodies could get back on track and begin to heal. 

Last year, I decided to proclaim April as CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AWARENESS MONTH. All jokes aside, I really did look into making this a national holiday. You know… like “national donut day” and “national dog day”. But..it takes an act of congress to get that approved (literally it takes congress). So for now, it will remain here inside Shelley Can Help. 

So for April, I am going to put a ton of awareness and focus on Chronic Inflammation by inspiring YOU. By eating an anti-inflammatory diet, you CAN begin to feel better, and possibly reduce some of your symptoms. 

Please go to all things “Shelley Can Help” from social media, to my website. Read my emails and go by my cookbook on Amazon. I am going to flood you with anti-inflammatory inspiration and it all starts IN YOUR KITCHEN.

Chronic inflammation is the starting point for most illnesses, diseases, chronic conditions, viruses, and so on. So, let me educate you on ways you can lower it so your body can fight off those nasty things that come your way.

It is a liberating and joyful feeling to take the reins on my health by choosing better foods. It feels amazing to FEEL GOOD! It’s almost indescribable to wake up nearly every single day and FEEL GOOD. 

Join me, will you? 

Xoxo,