Anti-inflammatory medications, supplements, and “anti-inflammatory diets”… oh my.
With so many options, it’s no surprise people start to think inflammation is something to avoid at all costs.
But stopping inflammation is only half the story. What really matters is optimizing your inflammatory response. And that balance is essential for weight health.
What is inflammation doing in my body?
Inflammation is a natural response.
It’s one of the main ways your body protects you. It’s a normal part of your body’s immune system. If your body couldn’t create inflammation, you would miss key signals that there is something to address. And your immune system would miss its cue to go to war. You wouldn’t fight off infections. You wouldn’t recover from workouts, injuries, or even everyday stress.
Inflammation is not a mistake. It’s a built-in response.
Touch something hot. Twist your ankle. Catch a cold.
That redness, swelling, heat, fever or pain you feel is your immune system doing its job.
It’s your body saying, “I’ve got this. Let me handle it.”
And in most cases, it does.
The real issue is not inflammation itself.
It’s when the body doesn’t resolve inflammation efficiently and effectively – that’s when health issues occur.
To understand what’s happening in your body, it helps to look at how inflammation is supposed to work, the difference between acute and chronic inflammation, and what can get in the way.
The Faucet Analogy: How Inflammation is Supposed to Work
This analogy is one of the simplest ways to understand how inflammation is supposed to work.
Think about a faucet.
When you need water, you turn it on. When you’re done, you turn it off.
Now imagine that faucet never fully shuts off. Not a full stream. Just a slow, steady drip.
At first, it doesn’t seem like much. But over time, that drip adds up. It wastes water. It increases your bill. It can even cause damage you don’t see right away.
Inflammation works similarly.
Your body turns it on when it’s needed. That’s healthy. But if it doesn’t turn off, even low levels over time can start to take a toll.
“Wow! After stopping the milk, most alcohol, adding the SPMs and polyphenols I feel like a new person. I was waking up feeling 90. I feel 45 … I’ve even lost weight.” — SL, BNP Customer
Acute vs. Chronic Inflammation: What’s the Difference?
Not all inflammation works the same way. This is where much of the confusion starts.
Acute Inflammation: A Short-Term Healing Response
Acute inflammation is short-term and purposeful.
It shows up when your body needs to protect you or repair something. You might notice swelling, soreness, or even a fever. Those symptoms can feel uncomfortable, but they’re actually signs that your system is working.
Once the job is done, the response winds down.
That’s the goal. Turn it on. Handle the issue. Turn it off.
“There is a BIG difference between inflammation being
finished and it being turned off.”
Chronic Inflammation: When the Response Doesn’t Turn Off
Chronic inflammation is different. Instead of resolving, the response lingers. Sometimes quietly. Sometimes very very loudly. Often for months and years. And often without the signals being decoded by traditional assessment.
Signs of Inflammation in the Body
Inflammation doesn’t always look the way people expect.
With acute inflammation, the signs are usually obvious. Think redness, swelling, heat, or pain.
Chronic inflammation is different. It can be much quieter.
Instead of clear symptoms, it often shows up as patterns that are easy to overlook or explain away, like:
- feeling tired even when you’re getting enough sleep
- joint or muscle discomfort that comes and goes
- digestive issues such as bloating or irregularity
- brain fog or trouble focusing
- frequent headaches
- sugar cravings or feeling like your appetite is hard to regulate
- mood changes, including anxiety or low mood
None of these automatically means you have chronic inflammation.
But when they show up consistently or together, they can be a sign that your body is working harder than it should to manage something that hasn’t fully resolved.
Why Chronic Inflammation Matters for Your Health
Chronic inflammation is not just about how you feel day to day.
Over time, many of the conditions people are trying to avoid or manage, including heart disease, metabolic issues, autoimmune conditions, cancers and digestive disorders are linked to unresolved inflammation.
That doesn’t mean inflammation is the cause of everything. But it is often part of the picture. And more importantly, it’s something you can influence.
Why Inflammation Doesn’t Always Resolve
This is the part most people haven’t been taught — including practitioners.
Inflammation resolution is not passive. It doesn’t happen like an automated response when the offending issue ends.
Inflammation resolution requires the following three things:
- Optimal resources — specifically omega fatty acids
- Optimal digestion — to absorb and use these nutrients
- Resolvins reaching their destination — the tools the cells need to resolve
In someone showing signs of chronic inflammation or wanting to attack acute inflammation without unwanted side effects, this is what we need to decode.
Is it your genetics? Or challenges to your digestion at the moment? Is the stress that’s triggering the inflammation also impairing resolution? What if your dietary choices don’t include optimal amounts of the ingredients to form resolvins? What if what you are taking to address inflammation (NSAIDs like Tylenol etc.) is creating longer term issues with inflammation resolution?
A better question is: Is my body able to turn inflammation on and off the way it’s supposed to?
Because the goal isn’t to eliminate inflammation. The goal is to support your body so it can use inflammation when it’s helpful and resolve it when it’s done. That’s what balance looks like.
Why the Weight Health “Pizza” Approach is Better Than an Anti-Inflammatory Diet
In Your Best Shot, I share how failure to resolve inflammation or even the ways we address acute inflammation and even an anti-inflammatory diet are insufficient for and often worsen your weight health.
What? You thought the anti-inflammatory diet was the gold standard?!
Turns out everybody needs PIZZA instead!
So before I get Dr. Andrew Weil and integrative medicine practitioners coming at me, there’s a lot of benefit from the anti-inflammatory diet. And it can be part of making delicious “sauce” [this analogy is easier to understand if you’ve read my book. For those who haven’t, you can do it now do it now. Ok, ok, jkjk, but here’s what the pizza analogy looks like:
The Crust: Digestion and Hydration
This is where we start with optimizing your inflammatory response (and what a suboptimal one is challenging, thus making your weight health goals like fat loss difficult or not doable). In this phase, we ensure that your body can use the nutrients it gets to create and deliver resolvins.
The Sauce: Better Total Nutrition
Your anti-inflammatory diet can work in here, as long as it respects the 4 pillars: quality, quantity, timing and balance. And it needs to make sure you get in the precursors to (omega 3s and 6s) or fully formed resolvins (fatty fish). If not, a key topping for you will be specialized pro-resolving mediators (like Lipinova® ) also called SPMs.
The Cheese: Better Lifestyle Choices
These will impact inflammation amounts, timing and the ability to resolve them. Stress, sleep, activity and joy are the pillars we optimize here using breathing as a technique among others.
The Toppings: Supplements, Medications & Treatments
Here you may use some herbs to prevent and stop inflammation — including ginger, boswellia, and turmeric — along with omegas from plants and animal sources. And you may use supplements like SPMs instead of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories or in collaboration with them and with other medications. You may also use therapies like pressure, cold, heat, red light etc. Lots to choose from to make your PIZZA deliciously doable for resolving inflammation in your body today and tomorrow.
“When I started with BNP (for weight goals) I was taking meds for back pain most days just to keep up with my kids. I changed to SPMs and after one week no longer needed back pain medication. Not only did I lose 5 lbs in 1 month, but everyone said I looked like I lost 15! It’s been over a year and I am at my goal weight and am able to keep up with my kids without any back pain. Bonus, my acne is gone and I am off those medications too.”
Your Better Next Step
This is where a truly personalized approach matters.
Two people or one person at different times can have similar symptoms and completely different underlying drivers of inflammation. That’s why guessing rarely works long term.
When you understand:
- What’s triggering inflammation in your body
- What’s preventing it from resolving
- What your system specifically needs
You can start making changes that actually move things forward.
If you’re noticing symptoms that don’t fully make sense, or don’t seem to resolve, it may be worth looking at how your body is managing inflammation.
Book a free 15-minute consult, and let’s figure out what your body needs to turn inflammation on when it’s helpful—and off when it’s done.
About the Author
Ashley Koff, RD, is a registered dietitian with 25 years of clinical experience and one of the country’s leading weight health experts. She is the founder of The Better Nutrition Program and the bestselling author of Your Best Shot. Her work focuses on personalized nutrition, gut microbiome optimization, GLP-1 wellness, and helping individuals achieve lasting weight health through approaches tailored to how their specific body functions.
FAQs about Inflammation
What are common signs of inflammation?
Signs of inflammation can include sugar cravings, fatigue, joint pain, digestive issues, and brain fog.
Is inflammation always bad?
No. Acute inflammation is a necessary and helpful response. Chronic inflammation can create problems over time.
What causes chronic inflammation?
Chronic inflammation is often subtle. It’s usually a combination of factors, including nutrition, stress, sleep, digestion, and lifestyle patterns.
What’s the difference between acute and chronic inflammation?
Acute inflammation is short-term and protective, like swelling after a sprain. Chronic inflammation lingers quietly or loudly and can affect your energy, digestion, and overall weight health over time.
How do I know if I have chronic inflammation?
Look for patterns like fatigue, joint or muscle discomfort, brain fog, digestive issues, sugar cravings, or mood changes. When these show up consistently, your body may be working harder than it should to manage unresolved inflammation.
Why does inflammation happen?
Inflammation happens when your body responds to stress, injury, or infection. Chronic inflammation can persist when your system lacks the resources, nutrients, or tools it needs to fully resolve the response.
Can lifestyle changes help manage inflammation?
Yes! Sleep, stress management, physical activity, and joy all impact your body’s ability to turn inflammation on and off efficiently. Small lifestyle adjustments can make a big difference over time.
Do anti-inflammatory diets solve inflammation problems?
Not completely. While helpful, diet alone often misses the bigger picture. Optimizing inflammation means supporting nutrient absorption, digestive health, and resolution pathways—not just avoiding certain foods.
What role do supplements play in inflammation?
Some supplements, like omega-3s or specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs), can support your body’s ability to resolve inflammation safely. They work best alongside nutrition, lifestyle, and personalized guidance.
