David PerlmutterPresident,, Perlmutter Health Center · Board-Certified Neurologist | Functional Medicine Pioneer | #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author | International Speaker | Host of The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

Want to lower inflammation?

1 May 2026 · 1 min

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1:29

In this short health monologue, Dr. David Perlmutter answers the frequent question of how to lower inflammation. He emphasizes that chronic inflammation damages the brain, heart, bones and overall longevity, making its reduction a vital health goal. He outlines two primary lifestyle levers: sleep and diet. For sleep, he recommends at least eight hours of restorative rest and suggests quantifying both duration and quality with wearable devices such as the Oura Ring, Apple Watch, or Fitbit. Regarding diet, he warns against foods that spike blood sugar and foster insulin resistance, which he identifies as a key driver of inflammation. He advises monitoring metabolic markers—blood glucose, A1C, and optionally using a continuous glucose monitor—to assess insulin sensitivity and adjust dietary choices accordingly. The overall message is that systematic tracking of sleep and glycemic health provides concrete, actionable steps toward reducing systemic inflammation and supporting longevity.

Chapters

One of the most common questions I am asked day in and day out is, what can I do, doctor, to lower inflammation in my body? First, before I answer the question, let me indicate that that's a really, really important goal. Inflammation harms the brain, it harms the heart, it harms everything. It leads to osteoporosis, who knew? So I think we've got to look at our lifestyle choices and most importantly look at sleep and diet. We need to get at least 8 hours of restorative sleep, so I think we should be metricizing our sleep with an Oura Ring or an Apple Watch or a Fitbit or whatever tool you use that can give you an indication not just how many hours you slept, but what was the quality of your sleep as well. We also need to look at our diet and metricize that as well. Is our diet one that is raising our blood sugar and contributing to insulin resistance? That sets the stage for inflammation, it sets the stage for destruction of your entire body, and if you're interested in this whole longevity anti-aging movement, there's probably nothing more important you could be doing than looking at your diet and adjusting your diet based upon what you're finding on the various ways that you are measuring how you're able to deal with blood glucose. How is your insulin working? What is insulin sensitivity like in your body? Using, looking at your blood sugar, your A1C, and maybe using a continuous glucose monitor.