Inflammation
Inflammation sounds bad, right? Why on earth would our bodies do this to us? Inflammation has a healthy reason. It’s how our immune systems spots and stops foreign invaders. A sore throat or a drippy nose shows that our immune system is working to expel the foreign invader from our body, before it does long term damage. But if inflammation is chronic, even after the foreign particle is gone it may allow a disease like cancer, Alzheimer’s or heart disease to take root in our body.
According to Berkeley Wellness from the University of California, “It’s not proven that inflammation is directly responsible for chronic diseases or that consuming “anti-inflammatory” foods will prevent them. But such foods tend to be healthful in many ways and are worth eating. A good diet can also help people avoid obesity, which is linked to inflammation.” While studies are not conclusive about the long-term effects of inflammation, there are enough studies that indicate an anti-inflammatory diet is worth emulating.
What’s Eating Got to Do With It?
Since our digestive bacteria release chemicals that encourage or discourage inflammation, what you eat matters. The types of bacteria (and the chemical byproducts they emit) that live in our gut change based on the foods we ingest. In order to promote anti-inflammation in our bodies we can actively seek out certain foods, and reduce others. Some of the foods that fight inflammation include nuts, fruits, vegetables, healthy oils and whole grains. Foods that allow for inflammation include sodas, sugars, refined carbohydrates, processes meats and red meat. As usual, eating foods in the raw, homegrown, or less processes is usually better. According to Harvard Medical School: “Mounting evidence suggests that certain components or ingredients in processed foods, like the emulsifiers added to ice cream, may have independent effects on inflammation.”
How Do I Make Changes?
One great place to start is with a redesigned food pyramid. One example is Dr. Weil’s Anitinflammatory Food Pyramid gives ideas on specific foods to eat on an anti-inflammatory diet, as well as the amounts of each of these foods. He includes some ideas for sweets (dark chocolate or fruit sorbet) and even allows for a glass of organic red wine daily, if that is something you enjoy. Find foods that you enjoy off of this pyramid and focus on increasing them in your diet. Also, expand your horizons to new foods, or the same foods, prepared in different ways. Remember, as often stated in this blog, that change takes time. Small changes add up over time.
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