Inflammation
Inflammation is likely to emerge as the health concern of the decade. Most serious illnesses have inflammation as their root cause. How does it show up and how can you treat it or even prevent it?
You will get inflammation from infection, overuse of a muscle, straining a joint, or any kind of trauma and all of these result in pain. This is considered acute inflammation and is necessary for the body to heal the damaged tissue. Acute inflammation is painful but is much more serious when it becomes chronic due to poor posture, repetitive strain, chronic stress, and even our diet. This chronic inflammation is the silent killer that is linked to chronic conditions such as cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s.
One of the things we can look at to treat and prevent chronic inflammation is what we eat. Let’s not consider this an anti-inflammatory diet, but instead think of it as healthy eating. As is often the case with food, the sweet, fatty, and salty foods are not good for you and need to be consumed in moderation.
So let’s look at the foods that are help keep your inflammation to a minimum:
– onions, garlic, leeks
– leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower
– tomatoes, bell peppers
– beans (all types)
– nuts and seeds
– ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and turmeric
– tea (all types), red wine
– cocoa and chocolate (if low in sugar)
– flaxseed, flaxseed oil, fish, and grass fed beef (omega 3)
The ‘no-nos’ or pro-inflammatory foods are refined grains (bread, pasta, crackers…), processed foods, most meat fats (saturated and trans), any sweetener, artificial flavours or colours, basically anything that you think of as a treat. It’s okay to have it occasionally, just don’t have it too often.
Part 2 will focus on what physical things you need to watch in order to reduce the inflammation response.