Anti-inflammation General Diet Tips
- Aim for variety.
- Include as much fresh food as possible.
- Minimize your consumption of processed foods and fast food.
- Eat an abundance of vegetables and a moderate amount of fruit.
Water
- 1 gallon per day
- Drink pure water, or drinks that are mostly water (tea, sparkling water with lemon) throughout the day.
- Use bottled water or get a home water purifier if your tap water tastes of chlorine or other contaminants, or if you live in an area where the water is known or suspected to be contaminated.
- Body fat causes inflammation (the science behind it)
- The fatty tissues of the body secrete hormones that regulate the immune system and inflammation. In overweight individuals this can become out of control.
- Three of the hormones that play a role in metabolism are leptin, resistin and adiponectin. Leptin is involved in appetite control. Resistin is a hormone that increases insulin resistance. Adiponectin lowers the blood sugar by making your body more insulin sensitive. The fact that it is the fatty tissue that produces these hormones makes the fat self-regulating The hormones should act to bring the increased fat under control.
- Bodies with more fat will produce more leptin bringing the appetite under control. However in cases where the body is inflamed there is often a problem with leptin resistance, and the self-regulation of fat does not occur. Leptin resistance is where to body stops responding to the appetite controlling effects of the hormone.
- In addition to these metabolism regulating hormones fatty tissue also produces chemicals that cause inflammation and this can make the problem of leptin resistance worse. This is why obesity can cause an increase of these inflammatory chemicals which in turn inhibit the correct balancing function of the weight controlling hormones. This results in a vicious circle of weight gain causing inflammation which inhibits hormone function thereby causing further weight gain.
- Losing just 10% of your weight can greatly improve this inflammatory reaction.
Notes for those suffering from inflammatory issues:
- Eat a balanced diet. Your body needs carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
- Choose healthy carbohydrate foods that are high in fiber and low in sugar.
- Load up on vegetables and fruits. They are high in fiber and packed with vitamins and minerals.
- Balance your carbohydrate foods with proteins and healthy fats.
- Limit your portions
- Eat small meals and healthy snacks during the day instead of 3 large meals.
- Don’t forget to exercise! Good nutrition is important, but it isn’t enough. You also need to exercise regularly. Adding exercise or increasing the exercise you already do will help you manage inflammation as long as you don’t overdo it.
- Try not to get frustrated if you don’t lose weight quickly or if you’ve tried to lose weight before and it didn’t work. Learning how to choose and balance your carbohydrates and doing regular exercise will help!
- Stay positive! It can be very difficult to achieve visible results. Doing what’s right for your body IS doing something good, even if you don’t see a big change in your weight.
More on our body’s inflammatory mechanisms:
*Low-level, chronic inflammation lies so far below the skin’s surface that you can’t see it or feel it.
*It’s the result of an immune system in overdrive, damaging healthy tissue and leading to chronic illnesses. Continuing inflammation can trigger heart disease, cancer and diabetes, but it also can exacerbate asthma, acne and obesity – even ruin your mood.
*Within two decades, more than one-third of Americans will have an inflammatory disorder, and most of it stems from an unhealthy diet.
Fight Fire with Food
*The typical Western diet – high in processed foods, refined starches, added sugars and animal fats and low in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and omega-3 fatty acids fuels inflammation.
*But people in Greece, Italy and France have better eating habits and less chronic disease. In those Mediterranean countries, sweets, eggs and beef don’t show up on the plate as often as in the U.S.
*Their diet is naturally anti-inflammatory and includes low-fat and nonfat dairy foods, olive oil, potatoes, nuts, poultry, legumes, olives and wine so eat lots of fruits, veggies, green salads and fish – and drink red wine in moderation (up to 4 ounces daily for women and 8 ounces for men).
*Lettuce and green beans alone won’t do it. To get a wide variety of nutrients, including fiber, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, chow down on fruits and vegetables of all kinds and colors.
*Begin at breakfast. If you wait until dinner to eat the 5-9 servings (a half cup each) recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, you’ll be at the table a long time.
*To get started on an anti-inflammatory path, consume more foods straight from the farm, fewer processed and fried foods or those loaded with butter, and use the 10 foods below in your meals:
- Canola oil
We eat too little omega-3 and too much omega-6 fatty acids because of corn and soybean oils in margarine, candy, crackers and processed foods. That tips the balance of compounds involved in inflammation for the worse, Tribole says.
The fatty acids compete in the body for enzymes: Omega-3 fats yield anti-inflammatory compounds; omega-6 fats give us inflammation.
Diet fix: Limit highly processed foods (always a good idea). Dress your salad and sauté your meats and veggies in omega-3 rich canola oil. Eat other plant sources of omega-3 fats including walnuts and ground flaxseed.
- Grass-fed beef
Humans are at the top of the food chain and the diet your food eats affects your inflammation levels.
Today, most cows are fed high-calorie corn and grain – high in inflammatory omega-6 – to fatten them quickly. But the meat from leaner cattle grazing on grass have higher levels of vital nutrients – vitamin E and omega-3s.
A 2004 study from California State University, Chico examined lipid composition of 36 cattle fed on grain, grass and a combination of both. The beef from grass-fed bovines was lower in saturated fatty acids and omega 6 and 40% higher in omega-3 fatty acids.
Diet fix: Grass-fed beef may be more expensive, but worth it for your health. The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends no more that 18 ounces of lean beef weekly BUT I would suggest no more than 6 ounces while trying to drop body fat. More than 18 ounces raises your colon cancer risk. Less is probably better – maybe two portions per week – because it frees your plate for even more disease-fighting foods.
