What You Eat Can Either Cool or Fuel Inflammation:

What is Inflammation?

It’s when our body attempts to protect itself and remove harmful irritants or pathogens. This is an essential part of the body’s healing system. If this process did not take place, injuries a person sustained could possibly take longer to heal and a simple infection could prove to be deadly.

But if it happens to get out of control, such as when a person suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, it could do the opposite and cause damage to the body.

What is an anti-Inflammatory diet and how does it work?

The thought process or philosophy of an anti-inflammatory diet is based on two things, fat and sugar. Some of the fat we consume can be pro and some anti-inflammatory. Having too many foods high in fat can be bad for us, but consuming healthy fats such as organic whole milk or coconut oil can prove to be quite beneficial.

Eating food that is high in sugar can cause the body to take in more than it can burn, which then gets into our bloodstream where we feel that “sugar high". Ultimately leading to a sugar high crash.

What foods should you eat?

When it comes to making a change in what we eat, knowing what the right foods are can prove to be a little tricky.

Foods High in Omega 3

Consuming foods that have a healthy dose of omega 3 such as oily fish, nuts, flax or hemp seeds, or plants can have the most anti-inflammatory fat that a person could use. If you’re not a person who enjoys eating fish, you can always try supplements to get what you need. Krill oil is a great choice to consider as it is easily absorbed into the body. You want to choose fish oil that comes from a small fish and has been purified to prevent any contaminants that may try to sneak in from the ocean.

Oils

When purchasing oils to do your cooking, consider choosing the best in culinary quality and buy them in glass rather than plastic. The best type of oils for high temperature cooking seem to be coconut or avocado, you can also use full-fat organic butter as well.

Herbs and Spices

Herbs and spices are no longer consider just for adding flavor to foods, they seem to potently anti-inflammatory. The plant compounds in spices such as chili, ginger and black pepper help to dwindle down inflammation and keep away promote less infection.

Let’s Talk About Carbs

There are diets out there that promote less carbs but in the case of inflammation, it may actually be healthy. Choose carbs that are whole-grain such as whole-wheat pasta when making spaghetti or brown rice instead of white. You want to avoid foods such as white bread or pasta which are highly refined.

Fruits and Vegetables

The antioxidants in fruits and vegetables are important to our well being because they have the ability to repair damage in our body but also protect its fat from our sometimes not so healthy diets.

It is recommended to have five servings of vegetables in our daily food consumption but also two servings of fruits. Oranges, grapes, lettuce are all great choices to add into your daily eating rituals.

What 3 Things Should You Avoid

It takes practice and sometimes trial and error to finding the right foods to consume. But what about the ones you shouldn’t have.

Sugars

Sugar has been known to cause tooth decay but it’s been found as one culprit to diseases such as diabetes and inflammation. You can find them in in a favorite beverage such as coke and of course in candy. Can’t shake the sweet tooth in drinks, try using natural sweeteners such as Stevia or honey.

Dairy

A lot of people are unable to process any foods made with dairy. It has been shown in some that it can cause a spike in inflammatory responses such as stomach pains or diarrhea.

Artificial Additives

Aspartame and monosodium glutamate or MSG additives have been reported to trigger inflammation in people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. You can find these additives in packaged foods that contain them, so to be sure to read the labels before making a purchase.

In The End

It’s tough to stop eating certain things that we’ve consumed for most of our lives, but with slow changes and moderation it is extremely possible. We only have one life and we need to take care of our body the best we can.

Here at Stanford Chiropractic Center, we focus on whole body health. If you have more questions about inflammation and or how chiropractic care can help you please call, (650) 326-7000 today.