Six tips to stay away from "inflammation"

Balanced nutrition, exercise, and quitting smoking are the three cornerstones of keeping you in good health and can also reduce inflammation. Here are the specific steps:

Eating more foods rich in omega-3 can prevent "militant" white blood cells from reaching inflamed parts of the body. Fish, walnuts, and flax seeds are all good choices.

Eat more fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants contained in fruits and vegetables can fight free radicals. In particular, you should eat more spinach and dark orange, red or yellow vegetables, which are rich in carotenoids and have excellent anti-inflammatory effects.

Avoid "bad" fats. A review in the New England Journal of Medicine points out that trans fatty acids cause inflammation and are more likely to increase the risk of heart disease than other food components. But the saturated fats in meat and dairy products are no better than trans fats.

Add some spices to your food. The curcumin in curry has a strong anti-inflammatory effect. Adding some black pepper and olive oil can promote the absorption of turmeric.

Quit smoking. "The study showed that just 72 hours after the subjects stopped smoking, certain inflammatory markers in the body were reduced," said Christine Metz of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in New York.

Lose weight. Obesity is generally considered to have pro-inflammatory effects. Cardiologists at Johns Hopkins University have found that overweight people have higher levels of inflammatory proteins in their blood, which can increase their risk of heart failure.