Inflammation... Can You Feel The Heat...?

Since converting to Paleo, I've noticed many previous minor health concerns disappear or change significantly. The three that have changed the most for me: acne, joint pain, and allergies. All of them, really, are signs of inflammation, and all of that inflammation was coming from a former diet heavy in grains and dairy, even though I had been educated for years that they were "healthy" for me.

Eating foods that keep your immune system under a constant barrage means that your body doesn't have the ability to fight off additional problems. So how can those foods be called "healthy"?!

Here's where I started out:

• My skin used to be so sensitive that even I couldn't touch my own face without fear of a massive breakout... the kind that makes you feel like you'd rather rip all you skin off and replace it with Jell-o
• I had been getting endless injuries from kickboxing because my joints and attachments were so sore from bad food choices that they couldn't take further abuse, so if I kicked the heavy bag the wrong way on a day of conditioning, my ankle would scream at me for the rest of the week
• This time last year, my allergies were so bad that they actually made me sick-- I spent almost a week so sick that I lost about 6 pounds in less than 48 hours, couldn't eat, couldn't drink, and spoiled any energy I had conserved when I had to throw up the snot I'd been collecting

I've been eating strictly Paleo for 8 months now. What's happened in 8 months? Well, once I gave up grains in particular and slightly increased my healthy fat intake, all these issues started fading away into nothingness:

• I went from using Proactiv every day twice a day to using baking powder and apple cider vinegar once a day with almost no breakouts (unless I eat something I shouldn't)
• I went from icing ankles and feet and knees a couple times a month to increasing my strength, flexibility, muscle tone, endurance, and posture... pain free
• I can breathe through my nose and mouth at the same time, my eyes aren't red and scratchy and endlessly watering, and I'm not confined to the couch watching my life waste away before my swollen, bloodshot eyes

Side note: an injury from high school has made my left knee ultra sensitive to weather changes. Turns out now, it's also sensitive to dietary changes; when I eat some kind of grain product, I'll feel wicked stiffness in that knee for a few days, until I work most of the food out of me.

And because I had this thought before Easter, but didn't find a picture for it until today, here ya go: