In all the years I’ve been working with people with autoimmune and inflammatory health challenges, I’ve always been amazed at just how many believe that what you eat has no effect on how much pain and inflammation you experience. Well, I am here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth.
It breaks my heart to see you and so many others needlessly suffering. And the worst part of all is that it just doesn’t have to be this way. A few simple changes in the way you eat can result in dramatic improvements in how you feel, sometimes in a matter of days.
If you think of inflammation as the fire and your body’s defense against it as fire fighters, you can look at food in a whole new way. Certain foods increase the fire and paralyze the firefighters. Other foods decrease the fire and strengthen the firefighters.
Anti-inflammatory drugs work by decreasing your body’s production of inflammatory chemicals called prostaglandins. You can think of the inflammatory prostaglandins as the fire. The problem with taking the drugs is that they also disable the firefighters, also known as anti-inflammatory prostaglandins. What that means is that as soon as you stop taking the drugs, the inflammation comes back, sometimes worse than before because now your firefighters are sleeping on the job.
Choosing the right foods can either dramatically increase inflammation, pain and stiffness, or decrease it. There are many ways to manage inflammation without medication. I’d like to share three of them with you.
- Give yourself an oil change. The fats you eat can dramatically affect the amount of inflammation your body produces. The most inflammatory fats are trans fats, found in partially hydrogenated oils and all heated polyunsaturated vegetable oils. These are in all processed and packaged foods – cookies, crackers, desserts and prepackaged meals. Meat, poultry, milk and peanuts contain arachidonic acid, the precursor to inflammatory prostaglandins. Avoid these for a few weeks and notice how much better you feel. Deep ocean fish contain anti-inflammatory fats, but the FDA warns against consuming fish more than once a week, due to risk of heavy metal contamination. Flax, chia and hemp seeds, green leafy vegetables and sea vegetables also contain anti-inflammatory fats, and are safe to consume daily.
- Eat anti-oxidant and mineral rich, alkalizing fresh fruits and vegetables. To make more firefighters, you need B- vitamins, Vitamin C and minerals such as zinc and magnesium. Processed foods are deficient in these key nutrients and they also deplete your stores of the B vitamins. Fresh vegetables and fruits alkalize your body and provide you with the vitamins and minerals you need to make more fire-fighters.
- Use anti-inflammatory herbs and spices. There are several herbs that are extremely effective at putting out the fire. Among the most powerful are ginger, turmeric, onion and garlic. Other foods, such as berries, cherries and grapes contain bioflavinoids that decrease inflammation. Use generous amounts of herbs and spices in your food preparation.
Living with pain and inflammation is just not fun! While drugs can provide you temporary relief, they are not without side effects. Try these simple tips and as your body comes back into balance, inflammation will become a thing of the past.