Fight Inflammation with Food!

Fight Inflammation with Food!

Inflammation is something that we all experience. We also have a loved one or ten who experience discomfort, pain, or disease of some sort due to inflammation. Those ones that we love are the reason that this is a topic that I am choosing to share with you about. I preach and preach and preach (did I say that I preach) the importance of a holistic lifestyle, real nutrition, and the such all the time. I am sure some are sick of hearing it, so I am sharing with you! J

First question: who benefits from this and who has inflammation in their body?

EVERYONE! To break it down a little, here is a list:

·         Muscle aches

·         Joint aches

·         Arthritis

·         Headaches

·         Cancer

·         High Blood Pressure

·         Cardiovascular diseases

·         Diabetes

·         Any “-itis” or inflammatory disease

·         And many more chronic diseases

Okay, I know that there are a handful of “Anti-Inflammatory Diets” out there. And they all very a little depending on who you ask or what you are searching. What I am writing about is not another diet. Although the term diet really means what you are consuming or putting into your body, our society has destroyed this simple word to make it something limiting, unhealthy, and nasty.

However, this does not mean that you cannot truly fight the inflammation in your body, it’s systems, and inflammatory disease by simply eating good stuff. You don’t have to start a diet to decrease or eliminate inflammation. It’s as simple as adding a few good things and getting rid of a few bad ones. You’re making good lifestyle changes, you’re not “dieting”.

Everything that you consume becomes a part of who you are and affects your body in some way, good or bad. Didn’t your Mama tell you, “you are what you eat”! It is all chemistry my friends! Mix this with that and you get … well what you get depends on what the this and the that are.

When selecting items to start eating, organic is always best because added chemicals and pesticides may cause other harmful effects and they aren’t food, so why ingest them?  However, you don’t have to always buy organic; I know it can get expensive. (I will soon share about when to buy and when not to buy organic. Until then, feel free to search “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen”).

What to incorporate into your meals: 

·         Virgin Coconut Oil!!!

·         Cruciferous vegetables REGULARLY (cabbage family)

·         Lots and lots of green veggies (broccoli, kale, spinach, kelp, etc)

·         Fresh Fruit (Don’t forget the Blueberries!)

·         Fresh Veggies

·         Whole grains & their flours (whole grain, bulgar, quinoa, etc.)

·         Beans & Legumes

·         Squash & Sweet Taters

·         Nuts & Nut Butters (especially Walnuts)

·         Avacados (Avacado oil is great also)

·         Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Not the adultered, diluted, fake stuff. Visit http://www.foodrenegade.com/your-extravirgin-olive-oil-fake/ for more info)

·         Omega’s (Salmon, sardines, black cod, eggs, hemp seed, flax seeds, etc)

·         Mushrooms (all are good, but shitakes are best)

·         Spices/seasonings (turmeric, ginger, curry, garlic, cayenne, black pepper)

·         Dark Chocolate – 70% or higher (YES, I said CHOCOLATE … but in moderation)

·         Red Wine (Yup, I also said WINE … again, in moderation)  

That isn’t so painful. Look at all those options! And there are so many meals you can make incorporating these items, it’s ridiculous … and delicious!

Now the part that you may be afraid of – What should I NOT eat?:

·         Fast Food (If you didn’t expect to see this, please feel free to smack yourself on the forehead and say “duh”)

·         Processed foods (read the labels; there is a lot of non-food going on in these things)

·         High Fructose Corn Syrup

·         White or Bleached Flour

·         Refined sugar (raw sugar, honey, and maple syrup are much healthier, much tastier sweetener options!)

·         Vegetable oils

·         Vegetable shortening

·         Margarine

·         Any “partially hydrogenated” oils

·         Other common oils – safflower, soy, sunflower, corn, and cottonseed)

·         Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, suclarose, etc … artificial; again, a non-food, don’t eat it)

·         MSG or monosodium glutamate

·         Feed-Raised meats (ALWAYS opt for Organic, Grass-fed, Free-range, Pasture-raised, Wild Caught, etc)

·         Dairy (this one can be very debatable; if you must consume dairy, always chose organic or raw)

·         Alcohol

·         Anything you are allergic too (this should be a given)

This is the hard part – When you do chose to buy anything packaged, you will want to read the ingredients and make sure these nasty items haven’t snuck their way into the food you think you are getting. We all cave to the convenience of packaged foods at some point; that is what they are there for, convenience. But it is still important to be sure of what you are putting into your body. I will say this again, everything you consume becomes a part of you!

As I mentioned in the beginning, eating to fight inflammation is not another diet! You don’t have to clean out your cupboards and go break the bank restocking your kitchen. It can be as gradual as you are comfortable with. I never suggest drastic, sudden change. It is easier on your system and wallet to slowly make these changes for the better. And a slow, progressive change is always better than none at all!

If you have any specific questions or topics you would like to read about, please share on my Facebook page or email me. Together we can “Relax your body, Refresh your mind, Rejuvenate your life!”