Foods That Fight Inflammation

Eating Right To Reduce Pain

Helping Your Body

Medical research has shown that inflammation is the common thread connecting chronic diseases. This includes diabetes, heart disease, obesity and even cancer, all driven by inflammatory foods in your diet. But the good news is there are lots of foods to decrease inflammation, too. At My Healing Chef, we help our clients through consultation, education, pantry makeovers, our BeneFIT bowls and weekly meal services to introduce fresh, flavorful anti-inflammatory foods that can help heal their body.

Inflammatory Disease

anti-inflammatory foods What is inflammation?

Chronic inflammation is not so easy to identify, it’s inflammation that you don’t see or feel easily. The whole body is essentially inflamed, particularly the blood vessels.

This inflammation may lead to further biological changes that could be damaging to your overall health. Diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s or depression have been linked to chronic inflammation.

Doctors are learning that one of the best ways to suppress inflammation lies not in the medicine cabinet, but in the refrigerator. The Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health has done studies addressing the foods that help fight inflammation.

Diabetes

Research suggests that inflammation inside the body plays a role in the development of type 2 diabetes. The good news is an anti-inflammatory diet and exercise plan can help prevent and treat type 2 diabetes.

Obesity and type 2 diabetes are strongly associated with increased inflammation. As the inflammation in connective tissue increases, this becomes a strong driving force for the development of increased systemic inflammation that results in metabolic syndrome, eventually followed by the development of overt type 2 diabetes. The potential reversal of both conditions can be achieved by reducing the levels of inflammation through the use of an anti-inflammatory diet.

Cancer

It is well known that adopting an anti-inflammatory diet can reduce cancer growth, boost treatment effectiveness and diminish side effects. Refined flours and sugars and processed food promotes inflammation. Patients who are well fed during treatment enhance their quality of life and improve their chances for recovery. Eating a variety of colorful, delicious, and savory dishes will not only help effectively battle cancer, it will inspire you to improve the quality of your life. Chef Laura teaches and cooks nourishing meals that promotes the healing of your body.

It has been long known that as many as 80 percent of cancer patients were malnourished, and in some cases leaving them too weak to withstand ongoing treatment. By keeping them nourished with healthy foods, the patient stood a much better chance of making the transition from patient to survivor.

Although so many doctors are focused primarily on surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, etc. there is significant research showing that nutrition is a significant factor in the development of cancer. So there should definitely be a sharpened focus on nutrition as part of the treatment and the prevention of the recurrence of cancer.

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a disease that involves inflammation, so it seems logical to pursue treatments that reduce it. In multiple sclerosis, the myelin sheath, which is the fatty protective covering on the nerves, becomes inflamed. Over time, the inflamed nerves lose most or all of their myelin and inflammatory lesions develop. The result is that the once healthy nerves are now damaged and electrical signals are not able to travel as well as they did before.

The authors of a new study published in ASN Neuro discuss the advantages of an anti-inflammatory diet for multiple sclerosis and why it can be so helpful. Researchers explain that “what increases inflammation are hypercaloric Western-style diets, characterized by high salt, animal fat, red meat, sugar-sweetened drinks, fried food, low fiber, and lack of physical exercise.”

However, if you eat fewer or a limited amount of pro-inflammatory foods and more and more anti-inflammatory foods (which help the body produce anti-inflammatory prostaglandins), you can help your body help itself and get symptom relief. An anti-inflammatory diet for multiple sclerosis should do two things: avoid foods that trigger inflammation and include lots of foods that have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Here is a list of foods that includes fruits, vegetables, spices, seeds, grains and proteins that are anti-inflammatory and/or have cancer fighting properties. BeneFIT Bowls are created from custom flavorful recipes promoting these ingredients to help your body reduce inflammation.

FRUIT:

Apples

Cherries

Coconut Milk & Coconut Oil

Cranberries

Lemons

Limes

Pineapple

Raspberries

Strawberries

Tomatoes

VEGGIES:

Avocados

Basil

Broccoli

Beets

Bell Peppers

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Celery

Edamame

Garlic

Ginger

Kale

Mushrooms

Olives/Olive Oil

Onions

Swiss Chard

PROTEIN:

Beans & Lentils

Chickpeas

Salmon

GRAINS:

Barley

Buckwheat

Millet

Quinoa

HERBS/SPICES:

Cardamom

Cayenne & Chili Flakes

Chives

Cilantro

Coriander

Cinnamon

Cloves

Green Tea

Oregano

Parsley

Rosemary

Saffron

Tumeric

NUTS & SEEDS:

Almonds

Brazil nuts

Chia Seeds

Chocolate

Fennel

Flax seeds

Sesame Seeds

Walnuts