The Anti-inflammatory Diet: The Key to Vitality for Life
In our previous blog post, we talked all about inflammation and how chronic inflammation negatively affects your health. There’s no function in our body that isn’t affected by chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation causes a host of problems from hormonal imbalances to diabetes, heart failure and immune issues. One of the main causes of inflammation is an inflammatory diet.
If you’re eating a diet high in processed foods (pretty much anything that comes ready in a packet), refined oils, sugar and dairy you’ve definitely got some chronic inflammation going on.
The good news is that chronic inflammation is highly reversible. By eating the right foods and avoiding foods that are known to cause inflammation you can easily cut down on inflammation, start feeling much better and reverse systemic health conditions.
Here are some of the foods you’ll need to avoid:
Sugar- Sugar feeds the bad bacteria in your gut and causes it to grow. This in turn causes gut dysbiosis which slows down digestion and in an inflammatory condition of the gut.
Dairy- Dairy contains problematic proteins ie lactose which can be difficult to digest. Conventional dairy can also contain hormones that were given to the cow that can wreck havoc on our hormones and cause inflammation.
Refined Oils- All refined seed oils like peanut, soybean and sunflower oils are rich in polyunsaturated fat and omega-6 fatty acids. These are scientifically proven to cause inflammation. What should we replace them with? Ghee, coconut oil, avocado oil and olive oil.
Gluten- Gluten is a protein found in wheat, spelt, rye and barley. It can be mistaken in the gut as a nutrient and can therefore cross through the gut into the body causing inflammation.
Alcohol- Alcohol disrupts our hormonal levels in our body and can disrupt your blood sugar, this stresses your body out and causes inflammation. Alcohol has also been known to cause inflammation in the gut.
Foods you should be eating:
Leafy Green Veggies- Get as many of these as possible!
Berries- Packed with antioxidants and low on sugar these are so so good for you!
Seeds and Nuts- Loaded with omega-3 fatty acids (which actually are anti-inflammatory) and important nutrients, it’s very important to eat these regularly.
Cruciferous Veggies- These veggies are packed with vitamins, and fiber making them an excellent choice.
Ginger & Turmeric- Ginger is amazing for calming inflammation in the gut, Turmeric contains curcumin with is a powerful antiinflammatory herb. Check out our immunity tonic which contains both of these ingredients.
Fish or Omega-3 Oils- It's so important to take an omega-3 supplement daily or to consume a fatty fish like salmon a couple of times a week. Omega-3 are a proven way to lower inflammation in your body.
Beans & Legumes- Packed with amazing amounts of fiber beans and legumes are key to lowering inflammation in the gut and keeping you healthy.
Probiotic Foods- Probiotics like kombucha, kefir, yoghurt, pickles, miso and coconut yoghurt are very important for rebalancing your gut bacteria. Having a strong population of good bacteria in your gut will cut down inflammation, speed up your metabolism and leave you feeling lighter and more energetic.
Some of us have lived with chronic inflammation in our lives for so long we don’t even notice it or know it’s happening. That’s why it’s so important to reset your body so that you can remember what it feels like to be in optimum health.
To reset you inflammation levels, cut the foods-to-avoid out of your diet for a period of 3 weeks. Focus on the anti inflammatory foods mentioned above and try to eat as many of these as possible. Inflammation can show up in a hundred different ways from weight gain to headaches to slow recovery from sickness and injury to feeling bloated, tired or lethargic.
