Feeling stressed, bloated, or struggling to maintain a healthy weight? Much of this comes down to something called oxidative stress — a natural process where your body produces damaging molecules called free radicals faster than your antioxidants can neutralise them.
When this type of body stress builds up, it can contribute to inflammation, weight gain, and chronic fatigue. The good news? Small lifestyle changes in diet, movement, and stress management can dramatically lower oxidative stress, helping you feel lighter, more energetic, and healthier overall.
I’ve recently republished my PhD from 15 years ago and expanded it with new research gathered over the past 5 years, completing a PhD in Integrated Medicine. At the heart of both projects was the topic of oxidative stress — and how it affects your long-term wellbeing.
In simple terms, oxidative stress is a biological condition that occurs when there’s an imbalance between free radicals (oxidants) and antioxidants in your body, as described by Sies et al., 2015.
Factors like how your body processes food, your environment, stress, and mental wellbeing all influence free radical production. The key is to take a holistic approach to boosting your body’s antioxidant defences.
Where is a good place to start? Obesity and getting your body fat levels to a healthy range. Obesity is associated with chronic inflammation and oxidative stress, as noted by Canfora et al., 2022, and there is a genetic link to excess fat accumulation (Nakamura et al., 2022). Thanks to the pioneering work in epigenetics and trailblazers such as Dr. Bruce Lipton, your lifestyle choices can activate or deactivate these genes, putting you back in the driver's seat of your health to combat inflammation, obesity, and prevent disease.
Overeating food with added sugar and refined carbohydrates causes inflammation and contributes to obesity, as shown in NIH Genetics. When the immune system is impaired, the body cannot mount an effective defence through acute protective inflammation. This can increase the immune response, creating excessive inflammation. The vicious cycle starts with poor diet, chronic inflammation, and can lead to health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, cancer, and other chronic conditions (Wang et al., 2024).
To achieve optimal wellbeing and reduce inflammation and body fat, consider your health through our 7 Pillars of Wellness. There is no silver bullet; instead, it is a journey to transform all critical pillars into a synergistic flow. One of those pillars is supplementation, which can support metabolic function as part of a holistic lifestyle.
After building your Free Wellness Profile, you'll know which three areas to focus on to balance your wellness pillars. Reduce inflammation and obesity by implementing my top 7 tips to shift into abundant health, and be lean and strong so you can live a life you love.
7 Tips to Reduce Inflammation & Obesity
1. Increase Protein, Fibre & Good Fats
Keeping blood sugar levels in check helps you maintain psychological health, knowing you can enjoy treats responsibly.
- Consume more low-inflammatory foods (read more here).
- Increase protein intake from wild small fish, nuts, and seeds.
- Add colourful vegetables to boost fibre intake.
- Include good fats such as avocados and olives.
- Reserve treats for weekends.
Balance is key. Include berries, apples, figs, broccoli, artichokes, Brussel sprouts, squash, onions, garlic, ginger, green vegetables, flaxseeds, and pumpkin to support detoxification, magnesium levels, and healthy blood sugar control.
Healthy fats like coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, hemp oil, nuts, seeds, and avocados benefit blood glucose levels and may help reverse pre-diabetes symptoms, as shown by Dreyfus et al., 2014.
2. Cut the Sugar to Reduce Inflammation
Avoid sugar and choose carbohydrates with a low-to-moderate GI, opting for more fruit, vegetables, and whole grains such as brown rice. Refined sugar spikes blood glucose levels, and even diet drinks are linked to inflammation and obesity, according to NIH Genetics.
Use alternatives like stevia, coconut sugar, monk fruit, or Manuka honey in moderation. Supplements may also help support blood sugar balance as part of an overall healthy lifestyle.
3. Boost Your Chromium to Regulate Body Fat Levels
Chromium supports carbohydrate and fat metabolism, reduces carb cravings, and helps regulate body fat. Deficiency is linked to glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, as reviewed by Volpe et al., 2016.
4. Eat More Bitter Foods to Manage Appetite
Include chilli, cayenne, garlic, ginger, lemon, grapefruit, bitter gourd, and green tea to lower appetite and support liver health. Bitter foods are thermogenic and help maintain a healthy metabolism, as shown by Sies et al., 2015.
5. Get Your Cinnamon On
Cinnamon, rich in polyphenolics, affects blood glucose and insulin signalling. A 2011 study in the Journal of Medicinal Food showed cinnamon can significantly lower fasting blood glucose.
It slows gastric emptying, improves receptor sensitivity, and inhibits enzymes that inactivate insulin receptors, keeping you full longer.
6. Chew Your Food to Support Digestion
Chew each mouthful around 20 times to aid digestion and fullness signalling, as described by Sies et al., 2015. Limit liquids to 200ml per meal to prevent diluting stomach acids. Adopt mindful eating to change your relationship with food.
7. Bounce to Reduce Water Retention
Bouncing on a trampoline or mini-rebounder flushes the lymphatic system and reduces visceral fat, according to Sies et al., 2015. Aim for 200 bounces daily.
8. Embrace Anti-Inflammatory Foods
Eating antioxidant-rich foods helps keep inflammation and body fat in check. Key foods include turmeric (with black pepper), blueberries, extra virgin olive oil, omega-3 fatty fish like salmon and trout, dark leafy greens, walnuts, garlic, lemon, and green tea, as shown by Sies et al., 2015.
A Clear Link Between Inflammation & Obesity
Without addressing inflammation, blood sugar levels, metabolic rate, liver function, and lymphatic flow, you risk stagnation and weight gain, as highlighted by Sies et al., 2015. This can create cravings for inflammatory foods, increasing stress and entrenching habits that no longer serve you.
