6 Evidence-Informed Habits I Use to Help Manage Inflammation
Inflammation comes up in almost every session — joint pain, perimenopause and menopause symptoms, poor sleep, changes in body composition, brain fog — the list goes on. Clients often arrive having already cut out food groups or bought a supplement someone on social media recommended, without much change. What I’ve found, both in the research and in nearly 25 years of working in the health and wellness space, is that inflammation responds better to a handful of consistent, evidence-informed habits than to any single fix.
These are the six habits I rely on myself, and that I build into the personalised protocols I design for clients. They’re ordered roughly by how strong the evidence is, not by how much work each one takes — and some, like breathing, I assess and teach in the room, because they’re harder to get right on your own than they look. None of them are guaranteed to resolve any particular condition on their own, and none replace advice from your GP or specialist. But each has a reasonable evidence base behind it, and together they form the foundation of what I’d call a genuinely anti-inflammatory lifestyle.
1. Red Light Therapy
Photobiomodulation uses specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light — typically in the 630–660 nm and 810–850 nm ranges — that are absorbed by a mitochondrial enzyme called cytochrome c oxidase. This interaction influences cellular energy production and downstream signalling pathways involved in inflammation, including the activity of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the behaviour of macrophages (the immune cells that help clear damaged tissue and drive the inflammatory response).
A widely cited 2017 mechanistic review by photobiomodulation researcher Michael Hamblin sets out how these light–tissue interactions can shift cells toward a less inflammatory state under the right conditions. It also describes a biphasic dose response: too little light does nothing, and too much can inhibit rather than help. It’s an area still being actively researched, and effects vary with wavelength, dose and the tissue being treated — which is exactly why I don’t run a one-size-fits-all protocol. In my clinic, wavelength, frequency and areas targeted are tailored to what I’m assessing in each client, and I track how they’re responding over a course of sessions rather than judging on one visit.
2. Regular Movement
This doesn’t necesarily mean training hard every day — for most of my clients, especially women navigating perimenopause and menopause, it means finding a level of regular, sustainable movement their body tolerates well and then slowly building on that baseline. The anti-inflammatory case for exercise is the best established on this list.
A frequently referenced review by Bente Pedersen and colleagues describes how contracting skeletal muscle releases interleukin-6 (IL-6) in a pattern that, somewhat counterintuitively, triggers anti-inflammatory downstream effects rather than the harmful pattern of chronically elevated IL-6 seen in sedentary, higher-inflammation states. Regular movement is also linked to reductions in visceral fat, which is itself a source of inflammatory signalling.
Clinically, I often see clients tolerate their exercise sessions better and report steadier energy when they’re pairing red light therapy with even modest, regular movement — a daily walk for a minimum of 20 minutes counts. For me personally, moving my body every day for at least an hour isn’t optional — it’s non-negotiable. My routine is a mix of strength training, boxing, yoga and walking in nature, with the occasional run thrown in. That’s my baseline, not a prescription. What matters is consistency, not volume.
3. Reduce Refined Sugar
I don’t ask clients to eliminate whole food groups — that’s rarely sustainable and isn’t what the evidence actually supports. What the research points to is an association between high-glycaemic-load diets (diets heavy in refined carbohydrates and added sugars that spike blood glucose) and elevated inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein (CRP). A 2026 meta-analysis found reductions in CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α on lower-glycaemic-load diets, though the authors note considerable variation between trials — this is the least settled habit on the list, and I’d rather say so than overstate it.
Decreasing refined sugars that drive blood glucose variability is one of the more actionable habits on the list — less about strict rules, more about noticing where refined sugar is sitting in a day (the mid-afternoon biscuit, the sweetened coffee) and making a few sustainable swaps or eliminations.
4. Vitamin D
Vitamin D receptors sit on most immune cells, which is part of why deficiency has been studied so closely in relation to immune function and inflammation. It’s also particularly relevant here in Melbourne — indoor work, winter months and sun-safe habits (appropriately) mean a lot of my clients are running low.
Some of the most relevant evidence on this is local. A 2025 study from NIIM — the building one of my clinics is based in — led by A/Prof Karin Ried and Prof Avni Sali assessed vitamin D status in 199 Australian adults. Only 34% were in the optimal range. Participants who were severely deficient reported respiratory illness at around 70%, compared with roughly 50% across the rest of the group, and within the insufficient group there was a statistically significant inverse correlation between vitamin D levels and the number of respiratory episodes reported. A subgroup then supplemented with 4,000–8,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily for three months: of the 66 who completed it, 85% reached optimal levels and none remained deficient.
That’s a correlation in a single cross-sectional study, not proof that correcting your levels prevents illness — and the supplementation arm was small and uncontrolled. But it’s a locally relevant reminder of how common, and how correctable, low vitamin D is.
The broader picture on vitamin D and inflammation is more conditional than it’s often presented. A 2026 umbrella review in Inflammopharmacology, pooling seven meta-analyses across roughly 11,600 participants, found meaningful reductions in CRP, IL-6 and TNF-α in people with disordered glucose metabolism, but no significant effect in overweight or asthmatic populations. In other words, the response depends on where you’re starting from. That’s why I encourage clients to get their blood levels checked through their GP rather than supplementing blind.
Sources: Ried K & Sali A, “Prevalence of Vitamin-D deficiency and respiratory tract infections in adults: A cross-sectional study”, Advances in Integrative Medicine, 2025; Hsu C-Y et al., “The effects of vitamin D supplementation on inflammatory biomarkers: an umbrella study of meta-analysis on randomized controlled trials”, Inflammopharmacology, 2026.
5. Turmeric, Ginger and Garlic
These three sit together in my kitchen and in this list because they share a similar profile: culinary staples with active compounds — curcumin in turmeric, gingerols and shogaols in ginger, allicin in garlic — that have been studied fairly extensively for their effects on inflammatory pathways.
For turmeric, a 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies found curcumin supplementation reduced several serum inflammatory biomarkers in people with knee osteoarthritis. For ginger, a 2020 meta-analysis of 16 randomised trials, published in Cytokine, found significant reductions in CRP and TNF-α, though not IL-6. For garlic, a 2020 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials found garlic supplementation reduced circulating CRP, with aged garlic extract also reducing TNF-α; neither shifted IL-6.
I treat all three as a food-first habit — regularly cooking with them — rather than a substitute for any prescribed medication or supplement protocol. It’s also worth noting that the doses used in these trials are generally higher than what you’d get from cooking, so I’d frame this as a sensible everyday habit rather than a therapeutic dose.
Sources: “Effects of curcumin on serum inflammatory biomarkers in patients with knee osteoarthritis”, BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 2025; “Effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale) on inflammatory markers”, Cytokine, 2020; “Effects of garlic supplementation on serum inflammatory markers”, Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, 2020.
6. Breathwork
Of the six habits here, this is the one clients are most often surprised to see included — but the link between how we breathe and systemic inflammation runs through the autonomic nervous system, specifically the vagus nerve.
A study published in Scientific Reports found measurable improvements in vagal tone, alongside reduced state anxiety, after a single five-minute session of deep, slow breathing — with the larger effect in older participants. More directly relevant to inflammation, a randomised controlled trial in the Journal of Affective Disorders tested four weeks of slow-paced breathing with heart-rate-variability biofeedback against sham biofeedback, and found a significant reduction in TNF-α (though not IL-6). That trial was in people with panic disorder, so I wouldn’t over-extrapolate from it, but the finding is consistent with what’s sometimes called the “inflammatory reflex”, where vagal activity appears to help regulate immune signalling.
I build a few minutes of guided slow breathing into every client session, both for the nervous-system benefit and because clients tend to settle into the rest of the session more easily. For some clients a few minutes is enough but others sometimes need considerably longer before the parasympathetic nervous system actually engages — and plenty of people arrive breathing almost entirely into the upper chest. Breathing into the diaphragm isn’t automatic; for a lot of clients it’s a skill that has to be learned. I assess where someone is at and teach as we go, adjusting how much time we spend on it based on what I’m seeing rather than working to a set number of minutes.
Sources: Magnon V et al., “Benefits from one session of deep and slow breathing on vagal tone and anxiety in young and older adults”, Scientific Reports, 2021; Herhaus B, Conrad R & Petrowski K, “Effect of a slow-paced breathing with heart rate variability biofeedback intervention on pro-inflammatory cytokines in individuals with panic disorder”, Journal of Affective Disorders, 2023.
Where This Fits Into a Protocol
None of these six habits is a quick fix. A single red light session, one walk, or one turmeric-spiced meal isn’t going to shift chronic inflammation on its own. What I see clinically, and what the research on most of these habits reflects, is that consistency over weeks and months — not days — is where change tends to show up. This is why I build clients toward a committed protocol, typically six consecutive weeks, rather than a single session here and there.
If you’re dealing with chronic pain, inflammation, or symptoms that haven’t fully responded to what you’ve tried so far, I’d encourage a conversation with me before you invest in any of this on your own. Every protocol I design is tailored to what I’m seeing in that person — their history, their current habits, and what’s realistic for their week.
This article is general information based on published research and clinical observation. It isn’t personal medical advice and doesn’t replace a consultation with your GP or specialist about your specific condition.
