Inflammation and the Anti-Inflammatory Diet
What is inflammation?
Dr Josh Axe defines it as “an over-active immune system that results in the body being flooded
with defense cells and hormones that damage tissues.”
There are 2 types of inflammation: acute and chronic.
Acute is the body’s natural and immediate response to injury e.g. if you sprain your ankle, get
stung by a bee, bump your head or get an insect bite.
Chronic inflammation has the potential to do damage to your health long term. This type of
inflammation can go on for years without symptoms until noticeable symptoms start to emerge
and disease is diagnosed e.g. heart disease, cancer, auto-immune disease.
This article explains this well: http://naturalsociety.com/12-tips- extinguishing-disease- causing-inflammation/
Foods that cause inflammation:
- Sugar
- Vegetable oils such as corn and soybean, safflower and sunflower, trans fats, margarine
- Dairy that is pasteurized
- Conventional/feedlot/factory raised meats, processed meats with nitrates
- Alcohol
- Refined carbohydrates e.g. white grains, white flour products, high GI foods, as discussed last week
- Artificial food additives such as artificial sweeteners and MSG
Foods that reduce inflammation/anti-inflammatory foods:
- Blueberries
- Turmeric
- Ginger
- Garlic, onion, shallots
- Wild Alaskan Salmon or supplement with 2,000mg a day of Cod Liver Oil (if you takeANY kind of medication, (especially blood thinners) always check with your Dr first before starting any kind of supplement)
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Coconut Oil
- Chia, flax and hemp seeds
- Cruciferous vegetables e.g kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts
- Sweet Potato
- Green tea
- Leafy green vegetables
- Celery
- Beets
- Pineapple
- Walnuts
- Bone broth
- https://draxe.com/anti-inflammatory- foods/
- http://www.chicagonow.com/clean-convenient- cuisine/2010/09/best-and- worst-top- 10-most-inflammatory-and-anti-inflammatory-foods/
I am a huge fan of bone broth. It has so many healing properties, especially anti-inflammatory. Here are some recipes to make it yourself:
- https://draxe.com/recipe/chicken-bone- broth-2/
- https://draxe.com/recipe/beef-bone- broth/
Or you can buy it in a powder:
- https://store.draxe.com/products/bone-broth- protein-pure
Or if you don’t want to cook it yourself you can buy it made from a local Cleveland company
called Erie Bone Broth. You can order it online or they also stock this brand at Heinens and Lake
Road Market plus some markets and other stores. Check out the website on where to buy it:
http://www.eriebonebroth.com/
So we know that inflammation is the root cause of most chronic disease such as heart disease,
cancer, obesity, auto-immune diseases, diabetes, Alzheimers, high blood pressure, elevated
cholesterol.
https://draxe.com/inflammation-at- the-root- of-most- diseases/
We should all be actively trying to reduce inflammation in our bodies and here’s how:
- Eat a more plant based, whole food, real food diet
- Look after your gut health by eating fermented foods, taking a daily Probiotic
- Learn how to manage stress effectively
- Address any digestive/food sensitivity/food allergy issues
- Prioritize sleep, rest and relaxation
- Reduce your exposure to toxins in the environment, your food, beauty/personal care products, cleaning products
Some more ideas here: http://kriscarr.com/blog/5-tips- to-reduce- inflammation/
A suggestion for a topical anti-inflammatory that I use for sprains, bruises etc is Arnica Oil: https://draxe.com/arnica-oil/
I love making this anti-inflammatory juice: https://draxe.com/recipe/anti-inflammatory- juice/
This article discusses how being sedentary is a big risk factor for increasing chronic
inflammation and the importance of exercise/getting your body moving. Whilst sometimes
exercise can increase acute inflammation, therefore recovery time in between is important,
overall it is very effective in reducing chronic inflammation:
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2015/08/21/exercise-diet- inflammation.aspx