For Patients
It is becoming increasingly clear that chronic inflammation is the root cause of many serious illnesses – including arthritis, auto-immune disease, heart disease, many cancers, and Alzheimer’s disease. We all know inflammation on the surface of the body as local redness, heat, swelling and pain. It is the cornerstone of the body’s healing response, bringing more nourishment and more immune activity to a site of injury or infection. But when inflammation persists or serves no purpose, it damages the body and causes illness. Stress, lack of exercise, genetic predisposition, and exposure to toxins (like secondhand tobacco smoke) can all contribute to such chronic inflammation, but dietary choices play a big role as well. Learning how specific foods influence the inflammatory process is the best strategy for containing it and reducing long-term disease risks.
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet is not a diet in the popular sense – it is not intended as a weight-loss program (although people can and do lose weight on it), nor is the Anti-Inflammatory Diet an eating plan to stay on for a limited period of time. Rather, it is a lifestyle diet, a way of selecting and preparing anti-inflammatory foods based on scientific knowledge of how they can help your body maintain optimum health. Along with influencing inflammation, this natural anti-inflammatory diet will provide steady energy and ample vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, dietary fiber, and protective plant phytonutrients.
You can also adapt your existing recipes according to these anti-inflammatory diet tips.
General Anti-Inflammatory Diet Tips:
- Eat an abundance of fresh, fibrous, whole foods to include:
-
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Whole grains
- Legumes
- Nuts and seeds
- Incorporate Omega-3’s and healthy fats such as:
-
- Avocado
- Olives and olive oil
- Wild caught fish such as Salmon
- Minimize your consumption of excess alcohol, processed foods, added sugars, and fast foods
Making The Shift:
Don’t try to suddenly switch to a new eating style. Start by slowly making changes so that these become more of a lifestyle shift rather than “going on a diet”. Incorporate the concept of “crowding out.” By prioritizing putting nutrient-dense foods on your plate, you’ll have less and less room for nutritionally void foods. When choosing foods to add to your diet, try eating fewer foods that come from packages and more that come from the ground. Ask yourself, was this made in a plant or from a plant?
Apply that approach to each meal. For breakfast, you might have a fruit smoothie or oatmeal with a few berries; for lunch, a salad of dark leafy greens with colorful vegetables topped with beans, nuts, and seeds; for dinner, a lean protein, more colorful vegetables, and a fiber-rich starch. The more color and variety you add to a meal, the more natural inflammation-fighting compounds you’ll consume.
– – – – – – –
The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.