INFLAMMATION: The Fire Inside
Inflammation is a natural process that helps your immune system heal and defend itself from harm, it is actually good in the short run. However, inflammation long-term, is harmful if it become chronic.
The word “inflammation” traces back to the Latin word for “set afire.” Chronic inflammation may last for weeks, months, or years — and may lead to various health problems. That said, there are many things you can do to reduce inflammation and improve your overall health.
🔥 Let’s talk inflammation: What Is Inflammation?
Inflammation is your body’s way of protecting itself from infection, illness, or injury.
As part of the inflammatory response, your body increases its production of white blood cells, immune cells, and substances called cytokines that help fight infection. Classic signs of acute (short-term) inflammation include redness, pain, heat, and swelling. On the other hand, chronic (long-term) inflammation often occurs inside your body without any noticeable symptoms. This type of inflammation can drive illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver disease, and cancer. Chronic inflammation can also happen when people are obese or under a lot of ongoing stress.
🔥 What Causes It?
Certain lifestyle factors — especially habitual ones — can promote inflammation. Consuming high amounts of sugar, like drinking alcohol or sugary beverages, and high-fructose corn syrup is particularly harmful and can lead to diabetes and obesity. What’s more, eating processed, unhealthy, packaged foods that contain trans fats has been shown to promote inflammation and damage the endothelial cells that line your arteries. Additionally, an inactive lifestyle that includes a lot of sitting is a major non-dietary factor that can promote inflammation, so get outside and get active, eat healthy and drink plenty of water!
🔥 The Role of Your Diet
If you want to reduce inflammation, eat fewer inflammatory foods and more anti-inflammatory foods. Base your diet on whole, nutrient-dense foods that contains antioxidants and avoid processed products. Antioxidants work by reducing levels of free radicals. These reactive molecules are created as a natural part of your metabolism but can lead to inflammation when they’re not held in check. Your anti-inflammatory diet should provide a healthy balance of protein, carbs, and fat at each meal. Make sure you also meet your body’s needs for vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water. One “diet” considered anti-inflammatory is the Mediterranean diet, which has been shown to reduce inflammatory markers. In addition, vegetarian diets are linked to reduced inflammation.
🔥 Foods to Avoid
Some foods are associated with an increased risk of chronic inflammation.
Consider minimizing or cutting these out completely:
Sugary beverages: like sugar-sweetened drinks and fruit juices
Refined carbs: White bread, white pasta, etc.
Desserts: Cookies, candy, cake, and ice cream
Processed meat: Hot dogs, bologna, sausages, etc.
Processed snack foods: Crackers, chips, and pretzels
Certain oils: Processed seed and vegetable oils like soybean and corn oil
Trans fats: Foods with partially hydrogenated ingredients
Alcohol: Excessive alcohol consumption
🔥 Foods to Eat
Include plenty of these anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense whole foods:
Vegetables: Raw Broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, etc.
Fruit: Especially deeply colored berries like grapes and cherries
High-fat fruits: Avocados and olives
Healthy fats: Olive oil and coconut oil
Fatty fish: Salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, and anchovies
Nuts: Almonds and other whole nuts
Peppers: Bell peppers and chili peppers
Chocolate: dark chocolate
Spices: Turmeric, fenugreek, cinnamon, etc.
Tea: Green tea
Red wine: Up to 5 ounces (140 ml) of red wine per day for women and 10 ounces (280 ml) per day for men
🔥 One-Day Sample Menu
It’s easier to stick to a diet when you have a plan. Here’s a great sample menu to start you out, featuring a day of anti-inflammatory meals made by us for you!:
Breakfast
Sunrise Wrap (100% plantbased!!)
1 cup (225 grams) of mixed berry blend
Green tea and/or water with lemon
Lunch
Arcadia salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and top with our white shrimp.
1 cup (125 grams) of chopped pecans and almonds (ask for a side of these and we can make it happen!)
Water with lemon
Snack
Celery and Carrots with hummus (get it out of our grab and go merchandiser!)
Dinner
Indian Curry Jar from our grab and go merchandiser items and/or salad with raw veggies
Red wine (5–10 ounces or 140–280 ml)
1 ounce (30 grams) of dark chocolate (preferably at least 80% cocoa)
An anti-inflammatory diet plan should be well-balanced, incorporating foods with beneficial effects at every meals.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Chronic inflammation is unhealthy and can lead to disease if not under control. In many cases, your diet and lifestyle drives inflammation or makes it worse. You should aim to choose anti-inflammatory foods for optimal health and wellbeing, lowering your risk of disease, improvement in energy and mood and also amplifying your quality of life.
With Love, Andrea
