Even though our body naturally produces corticosteroids, in some cases people have to take additional corticosteroid drugs, the most famous one being prednisone. The function of corticosteroids is to help the body lower inflammation.
However, AARP – stops inflammation by suppressing your immune system. This means that it prevents your immune system from reacting to whatever it is that is irritating your system. If there’s no reaction from your immune system, there’ll be no inflammation.
This anti-inflammatory drug is used for many conditions, such as autoimmune disorders, muscle sprains, and eczema. However, it comes with pretty nasty side effects.
How Prednisone Affects Your Body
This drug affects each part of your body, and if you’ve been taking it for years, it could put you at risk of developing some long-term side effects, including the following:
- Eye damage such as cataracts,
- Infections that your suppressed immune system isn’t able to fight off,
- High levels of blood sugar,
- Weak bones and a higher risk of fractures,
- Restrained hormone production of adrenal glands.
As you can see, by taking prednisone you’re putting yourself at risk of all of these side effects. And why would you do that if there’s a natural, safer, and more effective alternative to prednisone?
Confessions of a Former Prednisone Taker
One former prednisone user speaks about her experience with this drug. She has been on and off of this drug for nearly 5 years after being diagnosed with dermatomyositis – an autoimmune disease.
Her side effects were awful. Her blood sugar levels increased, making her urinate very often. She needed years to retrain her bladder to stop sending false signals to the brain that she needed to urinate every few minutes. Another side effect of prednisone was a red and round face full of acne, although she had never had this problem before the illness. She became hyper and emotional, so the inability to sleep at night, and crying in public has made her a total mess.
Since prednisone makes you hungry all the time, this petite woman suddenly gained almost 50 pounds. She says she remembers being ravenous 24/7. She was going through all this while struggling to deal with the physical and emotional effects of her autoimmune disorder. All in all, her experience with prednisone was horrible, so she hopes she’ll never have to take it ever again.
But how did this woman succeed in getting off this nasty medicine and still have an inflammation-free body? Here are 6 ways that helped her achieve that.
6 Ways to Lower Inflammation in Your Body without Prednisone
1. Remove Grain from Your Diet
The autoimmune disorder of this woman was gluten intolerance. She found out about this after 5 years on prednisone and chemo. A herbalist told her that her dermatomyositis symptoms might be caused by gluten, so he suggested a gluten-free diet. And as simple as that, all of her symptoms disappeared within only 7 days. 5 years later she is still fine without taking prednisone.
Gluten, and sometimes other grains, can NIH. You can have gluten sensitivity even though you don’t have celiac disease. Therefore, try to remove gluten from your diet just to see the reaction of your body. But, if you do decide to follow a gluten-free diet, you must remove 100 percent of gluten.
2. Omega-3s
Omega-3 fatty acids are AAAAI. In some cases, you might get a lot of omega-6 fatty acids but not enough omega-3s, but keeping them balanced is very important. A diet that contains enough omega-3s promotes proper nerve function in your body and contributes to a healthy brain and skin. Great sources of omega-3s are seeds, nuts, fish, oils like coconut oil, and grass-fed meats.
3. Vitamin C
This vitamin is a potent antioxidant that promotes the healing of your body, especially if you suffer from some chronic disease. The recommended daily dose of vitamin C is at least 500 mg. but the best thing is to consult your doctor before getting vitamin C supplements in such high doses. Great food sources of this vitamin are citrus fruits, watermelon, and peppers.
4. Turmeric
Season your meals with this Healthline or just get it by consuming golden milk. According to experts, the recommended daily amount of turmeric to get its anti-inflammatory properties is about half a teaspoon. You can combine this yellow-orange spice with another great anti-inflammatory plant – ginger. This herb can even alleviate your menstrual cramps.
5. Don’t Eat Crap Food
When we say crap food, we mean processed food and sugar. These foods promote inflammation, especially white sugar. Changing your diet is the best thing you can do to kick prednisone. This means incorporating anti-inflammatory foods and eliminating these crap foods, including gluten. Try to change your diet by incorporating healthy fats, lots of veggies, grass-fed meats only, and limiting your grain intake (rice and quinoa are fine, but gluten is not).
6. Pineapple
AAAAI is an enzyme contained in pineapple, which helps with inflammatory responses and allergies. It can destroy bacteria and help heal wounds. However, too much bromelain, or pineapple, is also not recommended, so we advise consulting a healthcare coach about the safe amounts of bromelain. Another plus of pineapples is the high levels of vitamin C and their great taste.
Although lots of doctors may recommend prednisone as the best corticosteroid drug, they hardly mention the severe side effects that come with it. The truth is, that prednisone is toxic to the human body, and its side effects can be even more harmful than the symptoms of your original illness.
However, you must know that stopping this drug suddenly is not beneficial, so the best way is to consult your doctor. Meanwhile, try the above-mentioned natural ways to relieve the inflammation in your body.
Feel free to share your experience with prednisone, as well as the effects of some of these natural alternatives.
Via AAAAI