Anti-inflamatory Foods

One of the things that is now being recognized as a way to improve and protect your overall health is an "anti-inflammatory diet." It's got a big word so it must be good. What the heck does it mean?

Most problems in your body are due to inflammation. Most of the inflammation is due to diet and lifestyle. That means we eat bad and don't get any exercise. We also have no ability to de-stress properly. Our need to accumulate drives us to pack too much into our days. We have forgotten how to live healthy.

An anti-inflammatory diet is one step in regaining your ability to live healthy. What is in this diet? When I use the word "diet" I mean a lifestyle change and not a temporary fix. An anti-inflammatory diet is basically a mostly plant based diet with good lean proteins. It should be as organic as possible.

The plant based part is easy. Hit the organic produce section of the grocery store and stock up. Better yet, hit the farm or farmers' market and cut out the middle man. There are no lists necessary here. Buy and use as many types of fruits and vegetables as you can. Also eat as many of them raw as you can. Try making a broccoli salad instead of steaming or sauteing it. Toss fresh green beans with a little minced garlic, Olive oil and red wine vinegar. You get the idea.

The lean protein part is more difficult. The best way to go is high Omega 3 fish products like salmon and Tuna. These NEED to be WILD FISH! No farm raised "frankenfish." The bottom line is that the food you eat should be as natural as possible. If you need to add other animal proteins then Organic poultry can be added. You will not see pork or any red meat on ANY anti-inflammatory diet.

Plant based protein is better for you. Even the worst vegetable for protein - potato - has 10% of the calories from protein which is what you need. Great plant sources for protein are quinoa, beans, and organic soy products.

Your fats should come from Olive oil, organic canola oil, and omega 3 sources. You should never eat margarine or anything with margarine in it. The less dairy you eat the better, but if you have to eat dairy eat only Organic dairy products. You don't need the hormones in the regular stuff. FYI - the more dairy consumed in a country the HIGHER the rate of osteoporosis. Really! Check it out for yourself.

Basically, an anti-inflammatory diet is "eating clean." We all know we shouldn't eat fast or processed foods and yet people feed it to their kids. I know it is fast, but nothing worth doing is really fast or really easy. It just isn't.

More soon....