Why You’re Still Inflamed — The 5-Step Plan for the Next 12 Weeks

Tired, bloated, or struggling with stubborn belly fat? Dr. Josh Axe explores how inflammation may contribute and shares a five-part protocol used in a 12-week study of 110 people. Learn about food, movement, spiritual practices, supplements, and a simple daily habit—plus how to measure inflammation and track your progress. Download my FREE Guide for Your 12-Week Anti-Inflammation Plan - https://guide.thehealthinstitute.com/l-412.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Josh Axe?

  Imagine dropping inflammation levels in your body by nearly 200%. This happened with a group of people in just 12 weeks. These people dropped their HSCR P, that is the main marker for inflammation in your blood, 196% with no drugs, no crash diets. They did five things, and I'm going to share those five things with you today. And here's the reality of how most people are feeling. You wake up and you feel stiff, right? You're tired by two in the afternoon. You're bloated after your meals. Maybe you feel foggy, achy, stuck, you have your belly fat, it won't budge. And you've been told you're just getting older. But here's the reality, oftentimes it's inflammation.

• 0:43Josh Axe?

  And today I'm going to share with you the top five things that will make a radical difference in dropping inflammation levels and dropping it fast. And by the way, number three is one of the biggest that most people skip on a regular basis. But here's the reality, all five are crucial. And I want to mention this about this study. Nobody in the study did just one of these. All of them did it, all five stacked together. And this is something that I found in practice is when you can do not only one of the right things, but multiple of the right things together, your body can heal radically. I saw this in my mom fighting cancer. I saw this with my own healing miracles. I've seen this with thousands of patients reversing chronic conditions like chronic pain, hormone issues, immune issues, and any type of illness.

• 1:28Josh Axe?

  And if you're a person right now saying, hey, I want to look and feel radically younger, the number one way to do that is to drop inflammation fast. And that's exactly what I'm covering today. Now, before we dive into all five, hit the subscribe button so you never miss a thing. And also I want to mention this, you'll want all five of these. And number five takes just two minutes.

• 2:01Josh Axe?

  Every day my body is doing a lot of quiet work, repairing, defending, and keeping me going. I like giving my body good fuel to work with. And one thing I do daily is a spoonful of Manucora Manuka honey. This is the real deal, raw, never over processed. The jar I use is MGO 850 plus, one of the highest grades they offer. And every batch is third party tested, so I know exactly what I'm getting. It's part of my daily ritual for immune support and steady natural energy without the crash. It's also certified glyphosate free and fully traceable. You can scan the jar and see exactly which beekeeper in New Zealand it came from. My kids and I eat it straight off the spoon, or I stir it into tea or coffee. It's just really good honey.

• 2:47Josh Axe?

  Go to manucora.com/axe to get 31% off plus $25 in free gifts with their starter kit.

• 2:57Josh Axe?

  All right, so welcome to the Dr. Josh Axe Show. And by the way, I put the whole 12 week plan for you on just a few pages. It's free. If you go to the link in the show notes, you can download those right now. So you have the exact plan in place. You could even tape this up on your refrigerator or have a document you open up so you know exactly what to do, what to eat, what to drink, what to take in order to reduce inflammation fast. And so here's the number one thing people did in the study. They focused on protein first, fiber second, and they really focused on just a few different food groups. Number one, protein, protein, protein. They ate a lot of wild caught fish, grass fed beef, even things like lamb, eggs, chicken,

• 3:39Josh Axe?

  turkey, but protein was the center of the meal, aiming for 30 to 40 grams of protein per meal. And then the secondary thing on the plate were vegetables, a lot of steamed vegetables and sauteed vegetables and baked vegetables. So they would get out a big steamer and steam vegetables and maybe dip them in hummus or do some olive oil and sea salt. They would also bake them in olive oil or coconut oil with some sea salt or saute them up with some garlic. And so they got a lot of fiber from vegetables. And then the other things they did were a lot of low glycemic fruit, a lot of berries, cherries, green apples and pomegranates were the main fruits found on this diet.

• 4:20Josh Axe?

  And then in terms of carbohydrate, mostly sweet potatoes, on occasion things like rice or quinoa. And then the main oil used every single day was extra virgin olive oil. And it was this diet that allowed people to see these radical changes. And as I mentioned, we're talking about a reduction in inflammation by nearly 200%. Can you imagine how your body would feel if you reduced inflammation by 200% in just 12 weeks? Now, I also want to mention there was another trial done outside of the trial I'm talking about. By the way, this study on 110 people, this was a trial that myself and Dr. Will Cole put our patients through that saw these incredible results.

• 5:03Josh Axe?

  So they went through a virtual functional nutrition program for those 12 weeks. Now there's another trial that was done on over 3,000 people where they followed a Mediterranean style diet for 12 weeks. And the people in this study also saw a major drop in inflammation. By the way, this is a newer study that was just published in 2026 on 3,476 people. And so they saw a big reduction in inflammation. Now, it wasn't as big as this group of 110 people. And I think that's because they didn't stack the other four that I'm about to share with you, but there was still a big drop in inflammation when following this Mediterranean diet. And so that's number one. Now, before I jump into number two, I want to encourage you to hit the subscribe button.

• 5:46Josh Axe?

  By doing that, you will be entered into our giveaway. We're going to be giving away over the next few months in infrared sauna, infrared light mask, free cellular blood work, a copy of my new book, and so much more. So don't miss out. Make sure to hit the subscribe button to be entered into the giveaway. All right, now let's jump into number two, and it is move every single day. Now, this is something they did in the study was simply either walking or doing any type of working out, but at the very least, walking 30 minutes a day. Listen, the reason why walking is so effective, especially around your meals is the increasing blood flow. And the more you can increase blood flow, the more your cells and body can flush toxins

• 6:27Josh Axe?

  out and inflammation and bring more nutrients and oxygen into your cells and body. And so one of the keys to healing is continually bringing in new blood, flushing toxins out, bringing nutrients in. And the more you walk and move, the more your body does that. So this is why walking, you know, they say 7,000 steps a day at minimum or 10,000 steps a day. Everything you can to hit that mark allows for this blood and oxygen exchange in the body, which also is constantly flushing out inflammatory proteins that linger in our blood and our joints and our tissues. So it's absolutely key. The number three way to drop inflammation quickly is reducing stress.

• 7:11Josh Axe?

  And it's through the power of prayer and stillness and meditation. Basically, it's spiritual growth practices. And we found this is the absolute best way to reduce cortisol. Here's the thing, if you are in a situation all day where you feel like you're rushing and you're busy, right? You wake up and you're getting the kids ready for school, or you're a student and you're getting ready for school, or you know, you have a work day coming up, but from 6:00 a.m. to, you know, 10:00 p.m. you are rushing and even throughout the week and you have something going on every second of the day, your cortisol stays elevated. And when cortisol is high, your body is not in repair mode, your body is in work mode. And so your body kind of operates on the spectrum.

• 7:53Josh Axe?

  It's either healing and regenerating and reducing inflammation, or it's creating cortisol and it's working. And so if you want to heal, you need to go from one end of the spectrum where your body is continually in fight or flight mode, working, and you need to get into this rest in this stillness mode where you're content and your heart is at peace and you're not rushing around all the time. And what I found in working with thousands of patients and even for myself is the best way to do this is to practice some stillness. Spend some time reading your Bible. Spend some time in prayer. Spend some time going to church, spending time in a growth group, but doing everything or just sitting there and meditating on a principle from the Bible like love conquers

• 8:37Josh Axe?

  all and thinking about how to apply that to your life and just connecting deeply with God in that state of prayer. And this washes away cortisol and excess inflammation and gets you out of that fight or flight response. Listen, if you feel internally and mentally and spiritually like everything relies on you, you need to perform, everybody's relying on you, then you kind of put yourself in the place of God and you take on all this responsibility. That is very stressful. And so cortisol will stay elevated because your subconscious is thinking, hey, I've got to prove myself to my parents, or I've got to finish this checkmark list in order for me to be truly successful. And the reality is, when you give these things over to God and ask for his help and ask

• 9:19Josh Axe?

  for his partnership and you work alongside him, all of that responsibility, all of that weight that you feel for taking care of your family and other people and work and success and achievement, it transfers from you over to God. And there's a Bible verse that reminds me of this. It's Philippians 4, 6 through 7 that says this, be careful for nothing, but in everything with prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So overall, this Bible verse just says, listen, don't be anxious about anything. So think about that, how hard that is. We are all anxious every day about so many things.

• 10:00Josh Axe?

  And so it says, don't instead of being anxious, instead of worrying, instead of being fearful, instead of being angry, instead of whatever that emotion is you're experiencing. So it's with prayer and petition and with Thanksgiving, it's a state of gratitude. You're living, you're praying in the state of gratitude, giving these things over to God and letting him control and influence the things that are out of your control. Right. And when you do that for just 10 minutes a day, it will radically change your life. And what I found is it causes this amount of stress that builds up that causes cortisol to be high, which then raises insulin, which then causes an inflammatory cascade throughout your entire body. It melts away. So what I'd encourage you to do is spend at least 10 minutes in the morning, reading your Bible, prayer, gratitude. I call that my spiritual triathlon.

• 10:45Josh Axe?

  Spend, you know, 10 to 30 minutes with that in the morning. Do that for a few minutes in the evening and it's amazing what happens to inflammation, how it drops in the body. And now let's jump into four and five, which are critical. By the way, I think you'll be surprised at some of these results. And when they took supplements, which ones they did, which made the biggest difference in dropping inflammation in their bodies by nearly 200%. So here is the supplement stack these patients took. Number one was a bone broth based powder, very high in collagen, very high in things like chondroitin and hyaluronic acid and glucosamine. So amazing for joints, amazing for gut, amazing for inflammation. So that could be a bone broth protein, protein that supports stem cell production.

• 11:31Josh Axe?

  But doing those collagen based proteins are fantastic for supporting the body. The next thing was a very, very high dose probiotic. I'm talking about like one trillion probiotics, very high dose. And it shows, by the way, there are 20 studies that have shown that supplementing with probiotics reduces inflammation because that's ground zero for inflammation. Why most of you have inflammation is you have inflammation of the gut lining, which then causes things to leak into your bloodstream that shouldn't get in there. Then that causes inflammation throughout your entire body. So the more you can care for the gut with things like a bone broth base, like protein powder and probiotics, that calms the root of inflammation.

• 12:13Josh Axe?

  The third supplement they took was a mitochondrial support, supporting mitochondrial energy production. So this combination formula had methylated B vitamins, like vitamin B12 and folate. It had adaptogenic herbs like rhododendron cordyceps, and it had an N80 plus precursor supporting cellular energy that way. So it was a mitochondrial supplement. The fourth supplement they took was a combo of magnesium with vitamin D3 and K2. So they were getting magnesium and vitamin D and the results there are also very positive. And when they took all four of these supplements together, it helped reduce inflammation. By the way, of all of these supplements, the one is that's the most proven by far

• 12:58Josh Axe?

  at reducing inflammation are probiotics. And by the way, the evidence here is 20 studies pulled together showing on probiotics benefits. You know, probiotics are typically one of those top three supplements I recommend for almost everybody because we're exposed to antibiotics in our food supply, in cleaners, in our home. I mean, it's everywhere we've got these antibiotics, you know, hand soap. It's all over the place and it kills a lot of the good bacteria in our gut. One of the other things that probiotics do, not only do they help heal your gut, protect your gut, they can reduce inflammation, they also support greater nutrient absorption. So if you're deficient in zinc or vitamin B12 or magnesium, probiotics are going to

• 13:40Josh Axe?

  improve the absorption and digestion of those nutrients into your bloodstream. And so those are the four supplements they took in the state. Now listen, there are other supplements that are beneficial, but I think when I look at the research, probiotics, vitamin D and magnesium. Now the other big one would be this, okay? Now, most of the time though, you can get this via food, but in omega three supplement, that would be one other. If you're saying, I want to reduce inflammation fast, doing about 2,000 to 3,000 milligrams of a omega three fish oil or cod liver oil or algae oil would also be fantastic. Now here's number five, and this is so easy to do, and it makes a huge difference. Drink two cups daily of fresh ginger and turmeric tea.

• 14:23Josh Axe?

  Now you can buy just ginger and turmeric tea together as a combination, put it in hot water, steep for 10 minutes, and you want to drink at least one to two cups of this a day. And it takes just five to 10 minutes to make, and you can make a big batch of it and drink it throughout the whole week. In fact, one thing you could do is you could go to the grocery store, buy actually ginger and turmeric root. You cut them up in quarter like slices, put them in water, and then you make an entire, I would say like a, you know, just you get a big pot and you put about a liter, even a half a gallon of water in there. You, you get it to boil, you then simmer it for 30 minutes and then you'll have that liquid for at least three to four days, if not the entire week. And you just keep drinking it all day, every day, and you will be blown away what that does to inflammation.

• 15:08Josh Axe?

  You know, there are several medical studies that have proven how ginger and curcumin, which is found in turmeric radically drops inflammation, specifically that blood inflammation marker, high sensitivity C reactive protein also drops down. Now, most of these studies use capsules, but I like the tea version just as much or even more.

• 15:31Josh Axe?

  Here are the four words people say to us most often. This finally makes sense. Years of scattered symptoms, random supplements, diets that have worked for a little while, but ultimately fell to the wayside. For many, it's the first time somebody has actually shown them the cellular pattern behind their symptoms. And that's what a cellular blood work analysis is for. It's an at home kit, followed by a full hour with one of our senior health advisors, who will explain exactly what's going on in your cells. And if one of our cellular healing protocols is right for you. And we have hundreds of five stars on TrustPilot that say the same. If you're ready for it to finally make sense, go to mybloodwork.com and order your kit today. That's mybloodwork.com.

• 16:18Josh Axe?

  Now here's the thing to remember, and this is something I've been saying for years. Don't try and treat inflammation with a pill, treat it with a protocol. Okay. And what a protocol is, is combining several things that work together to get a greater result. And I see this all the time. Somebody has hypothyroidism, they're like, okay, what's the one supplement I can take? Or what's the one thing I can do versus, hey, I'm going to follow the ideal diet. I'm going to file, follow some of the ideal lifestyle habits. I'm also going to take the right supplements. I'm going to do several things together in order to help heal my thyroid or my hormones or my testosterone or my gut health or my immune issues. And so remember this, protocol over pill.

• 17:00Josh Axe?

  And so these are the five things you need to do to really move the needle to drop inflammation. Number one, start with your plate. Right. I would follow that diet that we talked about. By the way, if you want the entire diet and exactly what to do, I put this in a PDF. If you go to the show notes, we have the guide there for you, this anti-inflammatory guide that walks you through exactly what to do and to put on your plate, even a meal plan to reduce that inflammation fast. Okay. So number one, build your anti-inflammatory plate. Remember protein first, vegetable second, and then add in some things like low glycemic fruit, some healthy fats, sweet potato, extra virgin olive oil. Those are the foods that are going to reduce inflammation the most.

• 17:44Josh Axe?

  Number two, move regularly, either walk for 30 minutes to an hour plus, or do some sort of weight training or cardio or some other exercise, but move every single day. Number three, reduce stress with spiritual practices like prayer and gratitude and spiritual reading. Number four, take the right supplements, especially probiotics and omega threes, and then herbal tea, ginger, turmeric. If you combine these things together, you will be blown away at how much your inflammation will drop. Now I also want to mention this about the study that was performed at the Health Institute on those 110 people that dropped inflammation by 196%. Here are the other results they saw on this program. They saw a drop in vitamin C sulfate.

• 18:27Josh Axe?

  That's an oxidative stress marker, meaning their body used up less of it because inflammation was so much lower. So there's a 45% improvement in those vitamin C markers. Also, there was a 33 to 36% improvement in gut health in just 12 weeks, a 35% improvement in heart health. I want to say there was like a 60 to 70% improvement in hormonal health and the telomeres of their cells lengthened between one and three years. So they also were able to reverse their biological age in just 12 weeks. So we're talking about radical results in just 12 weeks. Now here's something important I want to ask you as well. Do you currently know the levels of inflammation in your body?

• 19:10Josh Axe?

  Like right now, do you know what your HS CRP is? This is the main marker for looking at inflammation in your blood and in your cells. And you want your levels to be well below one. In fact, it really should be below point five, if you want optimal levels of inflammation. In fact, when I took mine last time, I think it was zero, I mean, it was like point one or zero. It was very, very low because I'm doing all of these on a regular basis. And anytime I have patients come in, oftentimes they're above one or even two, and we're able to drop that dramatically. And so go back and look at your last blood test, if you have it, and look up what your CRP levels are. And what's even more important is not just CRP, there's now a newer test called HS CRP.

• 19:54Josh Axe?

  It's high sensitivity CRP. It's a lot better at looking at inflammation in your body. And so look at your last blood test and see where you're at today. And if you haven't had this blood work done, you really should know where you're at. I mean, if you want to achieve your optimal level of health, you should know where your blood's sitting at right now. And I would put that as maybe my number one marker to know. After that, knowing what your insulin is for your metabolic health, so your blood sugar, after that, looking at certain vitamins and nutrients like vitamin D, but knowing some of these key nutrients is absolutely essential. And I'm also going to put a link here in the show notes. If you're interested in getting the right type of blood work done, you can go and click the link there.

• 20:37Josh Axe?

  You can visit, there's a great website for this called CellRx, that's C E L L R X.com. You can go to cell, like cellular, C E L L R X.com and look at getting either a basic and more advanced blood work done. And by the way, you can do this in the comfort of your own home, getting this blood work done, or you can go to a lab and get it done. But overall, get this blood work done and then have it read and then lay out a plan and then follow the plan to reduce inflammation because it's likely going to add years to your life and life to your years. All right. So here's some priorities if you are ready to reduce inflammation. Number one, go and get your blood work done. Number two, start with that anti-inflammatory plate. Use this as a challenge.

• 21:20Josh Axe?

  I know some of you are competitive and driven people and highly educated. And here's how I like to operate. Get that blood work done and see where you're at. And then aggressively follow an anti-inflammatory routine. Right. Start off with following that anti-inflammatory diet that we talked about and adding in the herbal tea. And then start with doing those 30 minute walks a day at least. And then add in 10 minutes of prayer and gratitude, then maybe add in the supplements. And then after 12 weeks, retest your inflammation levels, the CRP levels and see where you're at. And I guarantee you are going to see a massive, massive drop in those levels of inflammation. Well, I also want to remind you guys of the free gift I have for you in the show notes.

• 22:02Josh Axe?

  It is your 12 week plan to reduce inflammation. It goes through the plate, the meals, all those things you need to do to start to reduce inflammation fast. So don't forget to download that in the show notes. Also, don't forget to subscribe. It's the number one thing you can do to support the show. Also subscribing allows you to enter the giveaways to possibly get a free infrared sauna, red light therapy mask, free signed book, free blood work and so much more. So make sure to subscribe as well. You're not stuck with inflammation. It's not your age. Your body can reduce inflammation radically. Think about that, nearly 200% in just 12 weeks. I want to say thanks so much for tuning into the Dr. Axe Show.

• 22:45Josh Axe?

  Remember if there's other things you want to dive deep into, you can explore my YouTube channel, you can visit drax.com. Remember stress was the number three thing that was driving inflammation today. So if you want to lower that, take a minute and watch this seven ways to lower cortisol episode. Again, I did the whole episode on exactly what to do right here. You can click here to watch it. You can also click the button here to subscribe. I can't wait to see you on the next episode.