If you live in Montrose or up in Telluride, you already know that life at elevation feels different. The air is thinner, the sun is stronger, and if you’ve ever had family visit from sea level, you’ve watched them struggle just walking up a flight of stairs. But here’s something most people living on Colorado’s Western Slope don’t realize: high altitude isn’t just harder on your lungs, it quietly puts stress on your entire body, including your immune system.
And if you’re already managing a chronic condition like lupus, diabetes, arthritis, or heart disease? That stress compounds what’s already happening.
I’m Melisa, a registered nurse based right here in Montrose. I was diagnosed with lupus in 2011, and I’ve spent years learning how altitude, food, and inflammation interact, not just in a textbook, but in my own body.
I moved here from Chicago in August 2024, and the difference was immediate and humbling. Within days I noticed I was short of breath doing things that never challenged me before. My skin felt tight and dry. My hair was parched in a way I’d never experienced, I now mist it every single morning just to maintain moisture. Sunscreen, which I wore occasionally back in Chicago, became a non-negotiable daily staple. And UV-protective clothing, something I never thought much about before, is now part of how I manage my lupus, because UV exposure is a well-known trigger for flares.
Here’s what I tell people who visit me in Montrose: if you feel thirsty, you are already very dehydrated. At this elevation, by the time your body signals thirst, you’re already behind. That’s how fast this environment pulls moisture from you.
Here’s what I wish someone had told me before I made the move.
What Altitude Actually Does to Your Body
Montrose sits at about 5,800 feet above sea level. Telluride is closer to 8,750 feet. That’s not Everest, but it’s high enough to matter; especially if you’re managing a chronic condition.
When you live at elevation, your body is working with less available oxygen in every breath you take. Your body adapts over time, but that adaptation process involves real physiological changes. Research shows that exposure to high altitude can trigger an inflammatory immune response as the body works to maintain oxygen balance. In simple terms: your immune system is already quietly working harder than it would be at sea level.
For someone with lupus, arthritis, or any autoimmune condition, that background inflammatory burden is the last thing you need added to the mix.
High altitude also causes your body to lose fluids faster than you realize. The dry air of Western Colorado means you’re breathing out more moisture with every exhale, and you’re losing water through your skin even when you don’t feel sweaty. Dehydration, even mild dehydration, can increase inflammatory markers in the body and make chronic symptoms feel worse.
The Altitude-Inflammation Connection Nobody Talks About
Most conversations about altitude focus on acute mountain sickness, the headaches and nausea that visitors get when they fly into Telluride for a ski trip. But there’s a less talked-about side of high-altitude living that affects people who live here year-round.
Chronic low-grade inflammation is already the driver behind most of the conditions I work with in Montrose; lupus, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease. Living at altitude adds oxidative stress on top of that. Altitude increases UV radiation exposure, which generates free radicals in the body. Free radicals damage cells and fuel the inflammatory process.
The good news is that food is one of the most powerful tools you have to counter this.
What to Eat When You Live at Elevation
The following are foods that specifically support your body at high altitude and fight inflammation at the same time. Many of these you can find right here at City Market or Natural Grocers in Montrose.
1. Antioxidant-Rich Fruits and Vegetables
At altitude, your body faces increased oxidative stress from reduced oxygen and stronger UV exposure. Antioxidant-rich foods help neutralize the free radicals that drive both altitude stress and chronic inflammation. Think berries, leafy greens, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and colorful bell peppers.
Practical tip: Aim for vegetables with at least two meals a day and fruit with breakfast. Frozen berries count, and they’re often more affordable and just as nutritious as fresh.
2. Iron-Rich Foods
Iron plays a key role in how your body carries oxygen through your blood. At altitude, your body needs to work harder to oxygenate your tissues, which means iron becomes especially important. Good sources include lentils, spinach, beans, lean red meat, and yes dark chocolate.
Important note: Don’t self-supplement with iron. Too much iron can actually increase inflammation. Get your levels checked with your doctor first.
3. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Fatty fish like salmon and sardines, walnuts, chia seeds, and flaxseed are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are among the most well-researched anti-inflammatory nutrients available. If you’re managing lupus, arthritis, or cardiovascular disease, these should be a regular part of your diet not an occasional one.
Practical tip: Canned wild salmon is affordable, available locally, and just as effective as fresh. Try it on salads or with crackers.
4. Garlic and Ginger
Both have well-documented anti-inflammatory and immune-supporting properties. Ginger in particular has been noted for helping reduce altitude-related nausea and headaches. These are easy additions to soups, stir-fries, and even smoothies.
5. Beets
Beets are rich in natural nitrates, which the body converts to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide helps open blood vessels and improve oxygen delivery especially useful at altitude. This is one of the most altitude-specific foods on this list. Beet juice, roasted beets, or even beet powder added to a smoothie all count.
6. Complex Carbohydrates
At altitude, your body burns carbohydrates more efficiently than fats or proteins because carbs require less oxygen to metabolize. This doesn’t mean loading up on processed foods, it means reaching for oats, quinoa, brown rice, and sweet potatoes as your energy base. These also happen to support stable blood sugar, which matters if you’re managing diabetes or insulin resistance.
What to Limit or Avoid
Just as important as what you eat is what you pull back on especially living at altitude.
Alcohol: Alcohol dehydrates you and disrupts sleep, both of which increase inflammation. At altitude, its effects hit harder and faster than at sea level. If you drink, do so sparingly and always compensate with extra water.
Processed and high-fat foods: Foods high in saturated fat and trans fat are known to promote the inflammatory process. At altitude, where your body is already managing increased stress, these foods work against you.
Excess caffeine: A morning coffee is fine. But relying heavily on caffeine can worsen dehydration at altitude and disrupt the quality of your sleep, both of which drive inflammation.
Skipping meals: At altitude your appetite may decrease, especially in the first days after travel to higher elevation. But skipping meals means your body lacks the nutrients it needs to manage oxidative stress and maintain immune function.
Hydration: The Most Underestimated Factor
I want to give this its own section because it is that important.
Living on Colorado’s Western Slope, you are losing more fluid through breathing and your skin than you would at lower altitudes, and the dry air means you often don’t notice until you’re already behind. Mild dehydration increases inflammation markers and makes virtually every chronic condition feel worse.
I learned this personally within my first weeks in Montrose. Coming from Chicago, I was used to humid air that keeps your skin and respiratory tract naturally moist. Here, that moisture is constantly being pulled away through every breath, through your skin, through your hair. It caught me off guard in ways I didn’t expect.
The general guidance for altitude living is to drink noticeably more water than you think you need, at least 8 to 10 cups daily, more if you’re active. And again, don’t wait until you’re thirsty. By that point you’re already dehydrated. A simple check: your urine should be light yellow. If it’s dark, you’re behind.
Electrolytes matter too, especially potassium and sodium. Foods like bananas, avocados, potatoes, and leafy greens help you hold onto fluids better than water alone.
Sun Exposure at Altitude, A Lupus Trigger Most People Underestimate
This section is especially important if you have lupus or any autoimmune condition, but it matters for everyone living in Montrose and Telluride.
At higher elevations, UV radiation is significantly stronger than at sea level. For every 1,000 feet of elevation gain, UV intensity increases by roughly 4–5%. Montrose at 5,800 feet already has meaningfully stronger UV exposure than a city like Chicago or Denver. Telluride at nearly 9,000 feet? Even more so.
For me personally, UV exposure is one of the clearest lupus triggers I have. Before moving here, sunscreen was something I wore sometimes. Now it goes on every morning before anything else; no exceptions, no matter what the weather looks like. Cloudy days at elevation still carry significant UV.
I’ve also made UV-protective clothing a regular part of my wardrobe. This isn’t vanity, it’s disease management. Fabrics rated UPF 50+ block the majority of UV rays and can make a real difference in reducing flare triggers for anyone with a photosensitive condition.
For anyone with lupus, psoriasis, dermatomyositis, or other UV-sensitive conditions living in Western Colorado please take this seriously:
- Daily broad-spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen, reapplied if you’re outdoors
- UPF-rated clothing for extended outdoor time
- Hats with wide brims; I quickly found out that the Montrose sun is not the Chicago sun
And yes, UV exposure also contributes to oxidative stress and inflammation in the body, which circles back to everything we’ve discussed about food. Your diet and your sun protection strategy work together.
A Note for Those Managing Chronic Conditions
If you have lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, or any autoimmune condition, the altitude-inflammation connection is especially relevant to you. Your body is already navigating an elevated baseline of inflammation. Living at elevation adds a layer of physiological demand that your food choices can either help manage, or make worse.
This doesn’t have to be complicated. Small, consistent changes to what you put in your grocery cart make a real difference over time. You don’t need a perfect diet. You need a better-informed one.
Living Here Has Its Challenges. And Its Advantages
I want to be clear about something: high altitude isn’t all bad for inflammation. Some research suggests that altitude exposure can lower certain inflammatory markers over time as the body adapts. Colorado’s clean air, access to outdoor movement, and natural environment are genuine assets for your health.
The goal isn’t to fear where you live. It’s to understand what your body needs in this specific environment and make choices that support it.
That’s exactly what I help adults do right here in Montrose.
Montrose sits at about 5,800 feet above sea level. Telluride is closer to 8,750 feet. That’s not Everest, but it’s high enough to matter; especially if you’re managing a chronic condition.
When you live at elevation, your body is working with less available oxygen in every breath you take. Your body adapts over time, but that adaptation process involves real physiological changes. Research shows that exposure to high altitude can trigger an inflammatory immune response as the body works to maintain oxygen balance. In simple terms: your immune system is already quietly working harder than it would be at sea level.
For someone with lupus, arthritis, or any autoimmune condition, that background inflammatory burden is the last thing you need added to the mix.
High altitude also causes your body to lose fluids faster than you realize. The dry air of Western Colorado means you’re breathing out more moisture with every exhale, and you’re losing water through your skin even when you don’t feel sweaty. Dehydration, even mild dehydration, can increase inflammatory markers in the body and make chronic symptoms feel worse.
The Altitude-Inflammation Connection Nobody Talks About
Most conversations about altitude focus on acute mountain sickness, the headaches and nausea that visitors get when they fly into Telluride for a ski trip. But there’s a less talked-about side of high-altitude living that affects people who live here year-round.
Chronic low-grade inflammation is already the driver behind most of the conditions I work with in Montrose; lupus, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease. Living at altitude adds oxidative stress on top of that. Altitude increases UV radiation exposure, which generates free radicals in the body. Free radicals damage cells and fuel the inflammatory process.
The good news is that food is one of the most powerful tools you have to counter this.
What to Eat When You Live at Elevation
The following are foods that specifically support your body at high altitude and fight inflammation at the same time. Many of these you can find right here at City Market or Natural Grocers in Montrose.
1. Antioxidant-Rich Fruits and Vegetables
At altitude, your body faces increased oxidative stress from reduced oxygen and stronger UV exposure. Antioxidant-rich foods help neutralize the free radicals that drive both altitude stress and chronic inflammation. Think berries, leafy greens, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and colorful bell peppers.
Practical tip: Aim for vegetables with at least two meals a day and fruit with breakfast. Frozen berries count, and they’re often more affordable and just as nutritious as fresh.
2. Iron-Rich Foods
Iron plays a key role in how your body carries oxygen through your blood. At altitude, your body needs to work harder to oxygenate your tissues, which means iron becomes especially important. Good sources include lentils, spinach, beans, lean red meat, and yes dark chocolate.
Important note: Don’t self-supplement with iron. Too much iron can actually increase inflammation. Get your levels checked with your doctor first.
3. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Fatty fish like salmon and sardines, walnuts, chia seeds, and flaxseed are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are among the most well-researched anti-inflammatory nutrients available. If you’re managing lupus, arthritis, or cardiovascular disease, these should be a regular part of your diet not an occasional one.
Practical tip: Canned wild salmon is affordable, available locally, and just as effective as fresh. Try it on salads or with crackers.
4. Garlic and Ginger
Both have well-documented anti-inflammatory and immune-supporting properties. Ginger in particular has been noted for helping reduce altitude-related nausea and headaches. These are easy additions to soups, stir-fries, and even smoothies.
5. Beets
Beets are rich in natural nitrates, which the body converts to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide helps open blood vessels and improve oxygen delivery especially useful at altitude. This is one of the most altitude-specific foods on this list. Beet juice, roasted beets, or even beet powder added to a smoothie all count.
6. Complex Carbohydrates
At altitude, your body burns carbohydrates more efficiently than fats or proteins because carbs require less oxygen to metabolize. This doesn’t mean loading up on processed foods, it means reaching for oats, quinoa, brown rice, and sweet potatoes as your energy base. These also happen to support stable blood sugar, which matters if you’re managing diabetes or insulin resistance.
What to Limit or Avoid
Just as important as what you eat is what you pull back on especially living at altitude.
Alcohol: Alcohol dehydrates you and disrupts sleep, both of which increase inflammation. At altitude, its effects hit harder and faster than at sea level. If you drink, do so sparingly and always compensate with extra water.
Processed and high-fat foods: Foods high in saturated fat and trans fat are known to promote the inflammatory process. At altitude, where your body is already managing increased stress, these foods work against you.
Excess caffeine: A morning coffee is fine. But relying heavily on caffeine can worsen dehydration at altitude and disrupt the quality of your sleep, both of which drive inflammation.
Skipping meals: At altitude your appetite may decrease, especially in the first days after travel to higher elevation. But skipping meals means your body lacks the nutrients it needs to manage oxidative stress and maintain immune function.
Hydration: The Most Underestimated Factor
I want to give this its own section because it is that important.
Living on Colorado’s Western Slope, you are losing more fluid through breathing and your skin than you would at lower altitudes, and the dry air means you often don’t notice until you’re already behind. Mild dehydration increases inflammation markers and makes virtually every chronic condition feel worse.
I learned this personally within my first weeks in Montrose. Coming from Chicago, I was used to humid air that keeps your skin and respiratory tract naturally moist. Here, that moisture is constantly being pulled away through every breath, through your skin, through your hair. It caught me off guard in ways I didn’t expect.
The general guidance for altitude living is to drink noticeably more water than you think you need, at least 8 to 10 cups daily, more if you’re active. And again, don’t wait until you’re thirsty. By that point you’re already dehydrated. A simple check: your urine should be light yellow. If it’s dark, you’re behind.
Electrolytes matter too, especially potassium and sodium. Foods like bananas, avocados, potatoes, and leafy greens help you hold onto fluids better than water alone.
Sun Exposure at Altitude, A Lupus Trigger Most People Underestimate
This section is especially important if you have lupus or any autoimmune condition, but it matters for everyone living in Montrose and Telluride.
At higher elevations, UV radiation is significantly stronger than at sea level. For every 1,000 feet of elevation gain, UV intensity increases by roughly 4–5%. Montrose at 5,800 feet already has meaningfully stronger UV exposure than a city like Chicago or Denver. Telluride at nearly 9,000 feet? Even more so.
For me personally, UV exposure is one of the clearest lupus triggers I have. Before moving here, sunscreen was something I wore sometimes. Now it goes on every morning before anything else; no exceptions, no matter what the weather looks like. Cloudy days at elevation still carry significant UV.
I’ve also made UV-protective clothing a regular part of my wardrobe. This isn’t vanity, it’s disease management. Fabrics rated UPF 50+ block the majority of UV rays and can make a real difference in reducing flare triggers for anyone with a photosensitive condition.
For anyone with lupus, psoriasis, dermatomyositis, or other UV-sensitive conditions living in Western Colorado please take this seriously:
- Daily broad-spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen, reapplied if you’re outdoors
- UPF-rated clothing for extended outdoor time
- Hats with wide brims; I quickly found out that the Montrose sun is not the Chicago sun
And yes, UV exposure also contributes to oxidative stress and inflammation in the body, which circles back to everything we’ve discussed about food. Your diet and your sun protection strategy work together.
A Note for Those Managing Chronic Conditions
If you have lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, or any autoimmune condition, the altitude-inflammation connection is especially relevant to you. Your body is already navigating an elevated baseline of inflammation. Living at elevation adds a layer of physiological demand that your food choices can either help manage, or make worse.
This doesn’t have to be complicated. Small, consistent changes to what you put in your grocery cart make a real difference over time. You don’t need a perfect diet. You need a better-informed one.
Living Here Has Its Challenges. And Its Advantages
I want to be clear about something: high altitude isn’t all bad for inflammation. Some research suggests that altitude exposure can lower certain inflammatory markers over time as the body adapts. Colorado’s clean air, access to outdoor movement, and natural environment are genuine assets for your health.
The goal isn’t to fear where you live. It’s to understand what your body needs in this specific environment and make choices that support it.
That’s exactly what I help adults do right here in Montrose.
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