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Anti Inflammatory Based Foods – How They Help

Anti Inflammatory Based Foods – How They Help

by | Jan 20, 2020 | Lifestyle, Nutrition

We have all heard anti inflammatory is the way to go. To avoid x or y to prevent ___.  There is so much different information out there how do you know what is right? It can become overwhelming as you start to read it all and try to implement or try different things. Once you hear about one new thing then there is another. Who is with me on this?!

I am going to make it a little easier for you. I have done alot of the research so I am going to lay out the basics. I like lament terms personally so if you are like me in that way then this will help!

First off—- What exactly does anti inflammatory mean?

Lets back up first then make our way to that…. The definition of inflammation “is a localized physical condition in which part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot, and often painful, especially as a reaction to injury or infection”. (1)  So when you think of it as our bodies defense mechanism meaning, when our immune systems think there is something harmful so it ups its defenses (our white blood cells, immune cells and cytokines). This is suppose to happen, however these things can go into overdrive, and that is where auto immune conditions come into play. For example Rheumatoid Arthritis- the immune system is attacking joints based on different factors putting up defenses to those areas. This happens when things like toxins, or medicines that build up over time in our liver, or having leaky gut occur and harmful substances are in our body for an extended period of time.  This would be referred to as chronic inflammation. On the other end of the spectrum though when you get red after your fall or eat something with too much histamine and react by allergies that in turn is an acute inflammation response.

Hopefully that helps somewhat!?

So WHY do we want to choose Anti Inflammatory Foods?

Alot of foods I grew up on like, chips, cookies, boxed meals, or really anything boxed for that matter have artificial preservatives and toxic like chemicals in them (I.E. Corn Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sodium Benzonate, Artificial Colors and Sweeteners)  these things have in some way been linked to cancer, diabetes, thyroid and metabolic damage, etc. So think of what these things are doing to your body when you ingest them. We weren’t made to process this fake stuff… so hello immune response, and if you consume them frequently hello chronic response.

Now this isn’t to say that only foods are the problem for inflammation, our environments such as mold, dust, gasoline and other fumes in the air and then the metals in the tap water we drink and use…. they all play a part too.

We want to add things to our diets and lifestyles that help us. That make us thrive. Our bodies were built for that believe it or not. Many Anti Inflammatory Foods listed below have super antioxidant, vitamin, mineral and nutritional properties that can help combat these harmful pathogens and toxins weve allowed ourselves to have over the years.

The Anti Inflammatory Food List

Eating the right foods that our bodies were made for can help us heal! Foods actually do have healing properties when eaten without any thing like preservatives or chemicals added to them.  The ones listed below are just a starting point, but some key things to look for when going to the grocery store.

Some staples to look for or start adding to your diet are:

  • Turmeric – a great spice that contains one of the best known things for inflammation curcumin. Curcumin is well known for fighting inflammation within the body. Now just sprinkling a little on your food isn’t going to cut it though. You need it mixed with black pepper and honestly the best is to take it in supplement form.
  • Vegetables – Like broccoli, cauliflower and brussels are great for some of their anti inflammatory compounds.
  • Organic Leafy Greens – These are rich in antioxidants and polyphenols which are protective compounds (think spinach, kale, collards)
  • Organic Cherries and other dark colored berries
  • Organic Wild BlueBerries – I love these. These have 2x the antioxidants of normal blueberries. I add them to my smoothie every morning
  • Organic Meats/ Poultry/ Fish/ Eggs – be sure to read where they originated from. Whether they were fed corn or soy as many “cage free” varieties are still fed these things which can in turn pass it to us when we ingest it.  (For fish look for Wild Caught) The EPA and DHA in fish like salmon and mackerel are great for helping combat inflammation as well.
  • Olive oil – (the best being extra virgin for anti inflammatory effects) – contain something called oleocanthal which is shown to have similar effects like taking ibuprofen.
  • Avocados – it is basically a superfood as far as I know lol. I love them personally but so does my body. They are packed with magnesium and fiber and healthy monounsaturated fats as well as other things that have been shown to help fight cancer risk.
Ok so what is the takeaway here?
Well for starters lets focus on incorporating some of the foods listed above into our diets. Along with that try to start eliminating or cutting back on soda, burgers, fries, anything with words you cant pronounce on the label.

Is that doable?? I think so!

Another option is to add in some good for you vitamins and whole minerals daily, You can check out some of my favorites here MY FAVORITES . I personally use the Daily Nutritional Support Daily with Wild Blueberries and Spinach. It is a great way to start the day!

As always if you have ANY questions please don’t hesitate to contact me!

-C

 

*This page may include links with partners that I could receive commissions on.*

Struggle to lose weight? Inflammation could be the problem.

Struggle to lose weight? Inflammation could be the problem.

by | Sep 13, 2019 | Lifestyle, Womens Health

In our lifetimes, almost everyone at some point is trying to lose some weight. Could be a little bit, could be alot. It could be for an event or something like a trip coming up, it could be for life. Regardless of the reason (this may be the only time I say that), weight loss is a part of most of our lives at some point. Yet many have no idea that inflammation within our bodies may be the culprit for weight gain.. and/ or the reason we struggle to get it off.

You may have tried everything cutting calories, exercising more, working out harder, eating only fats or proteins, cutting carbs, trying cleanses…. There are so many options out there…. yet nothing works now or anymore. Not to mention most of them are only going to hurt us in the long run. Why is that? To keep it short…. We are stressing our body in some way when we do these things, and whether it was in the past or present if done too long, we cause chronic stress… which can and will cause weight gain, then struggling to get it off when that time comes.

Chronic stress is caused by inflammation and only leads to more within us. When it comes to weight gain/loss inflammation is a major culprit to our progress.

Inflammation is a response our body has that is natural within us. . When our immune system senses something foreign (like an illness or bruise) it defends us by firing up white blood cells to defend us and cytokines. However it does the same when we eat something that is processed and unnatural or if we have an allergy (even a slight one we may not typically notice, like brain fog) or ingest toxins in our water or skin care products. These stress responses overtime trigger our cortisol (stress hormone) and histamine to rise. This can lead to hormone imbalances due to more and more elevations of these and our body starting to think it is normal, so it re adapts. Unfortunately hormones are what control our metabolism so in turn it affects our metabolism function. In a similar fashion this process can also lead to insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance essentially means continuously high blood sugar because cells are not responding to insulin how they should when it is released (a normal process again our body does). This leads to an increase in fat cells within us (especially with visceral fat, in women). Fat cells when stored can start to have the ability to expand beyond what they should because they want to hold onto fat stores to live off of because our body is tricked through this process to think it needs to. And once again this adds more stress and inflammation in our bodies. Inflammation can also affect our brains ability to release leptin which is a hormone that is released to tell us when we have eaten enough and to get full….. Another factor to weight gain… and more fat cells.. Making us more inflamed.

So to wrap it up – Inflammation is essentially caused by a stressor that we experience for an extended period of time. – it can be any sort of stress be it physical, mental, from eating bad foods, to taking certain medicines for too long, from lack of sleep, from toxins in our environment, etc.  – This “stress” develops inflammation through our immune system by it attacking certain parts of our body (autoimmune conditions), other diseases, increase in weight through fat cells and insulin resistance.

So how do we fix it?!? Or work on fixing it??

We need to decrease the inflammation and toxins we are exposed to, we need to replace certain things with better supplementation, better foods, better things that can help first fight inflammation and bring it down, and then restore and heal parts affected.

One of the best ways to start is by learning the right stuff to add to your diet. Here is a FREE grocery list for you with all of my favorite anti inflammatory foods.