Healthy eating is the key to a long and disease-free life. It is essential to be mindful of what we are giving to our bodies throughout the day. Consuming a lot of unhealthy and especially greasy and high-fat meals can be very harmful and cause many diseases like inflammation. Here is a list of all the food that you must remove from your plates or avoid them at all costs when aiming to reduce inflammation in the body and keeping those joints and muscles working.
Anti-Inflammatory Diet
It is not unusual if your kid leaves their greens on the side of their plate, or dumps in the trash behind your back. But if you want to live a healthy life, without having to run to the hospital countless times during the week, adding a sizeable portion of fruits and vegetables in your diet is a must.
An anti-inflammatory diet is made up of all those edibles, which are a good source of antioxidants. Antioxidants are very vital when it comes to removing free radicals from the body. These free radicals are a significant contributor to increasing the risk of inflammation and cause other related diseases.
Here is a list of foods which are high in antioxidants,
- Spinach.
- Beets.
- Red Cabbage.
- Kale.
- Artichokes.
- Blueberries.
- Raspberries.
- Goji Berries.
Say No to Sugar
To keep up with the increased inflammation and activating your immune system, you must stay miles away from anything sugary and processed food. It may be hard initially but pays off in the long run.
Some of the foods that we consume daily are a significant cause of inflammation that includes refined carbohydrates, white bread, pastries, soda and artificially sweetened beverages, deep-fried stuff such as french fries, etc. and Margarine.
All of those foods can significantly add to increased inflammation in your body without realizing it in the initial stage even!
Add Good Calories
Once you are on this track, you must consciously make an effort to keep a consistent check on your diet that it must contain food items that are high in nutrients, rich in healthy fats, and provide many antioxidants.
Some of the options with which you can fulfill the daily count of good calories, without adding more to the risk of inflammation are:
- Replacing your red meat with a rich source of protein such as fish, tuna, snapper, cod, halibut, bass, and salmon, more specifically. All of these are rich in omega-3 and fatty acids, which can definitely help reduce inflammation in the body.
- Avoid meat in the form of hotdogs, sausages, and burger patties, which reduce the nourished and nutrient composition of the meat to almost nothing and instead add more to your cholesterol, if anything.
- Whenever you are craving for that high of sugar instead of going for a packet of sugar-loaded cookies or a slice of cake, instead choose to make a smoothie or bowl of fruit salad for yourself.
- Switch to healthier options for oils, such as olive oil, instead of using regular vegetable oil. If you haven’t already made the switch, do it as soon as possible. Not only is olive a great healthier option as compared to the vegetable oil, but it is also a source of omega nine fatty acids, which help minimize the effect of inflammation. Moreover, there are other options such as grape seed, sunflower seed, and avocado oils, if you want a variety of healthy oils.
Healthy Snacking
Its no surprise we always tend to go for a bag of chips or popcorns while watching our favorite TV show on Netflix, and until we realize it, it is too late, and the whole pack has been munched on. This adds to the excessive calories, and the high amount of sodium and carbohydrates that make away in your body through this are really not advisable.
So what you can do when hunger strikes, is to replace the snacks with an assortment of nuts, such as almonds, cashews, hazelnut, pecan nuts, walnuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, etc. and to add a sweet little touch to it, you can also have dried berries and pineapples. It will surely satisfy your cravings and also keep you filled and prevent you from attacking those bags of crisps. And not to forget, nuts are a great source of omega 3 fatty acids and have high nutrient content too!
Adding Herbs To Your Diet
Commonly, with time we lose consistency in what we do and how we do things, especially in this modern day and age. Similarly, the older generation very much used a good number of herbs in their dishes all the time. And because of this, not only did the food taste good, but it also helped keep them healthier.
Herbs and other such spices are being used for centuries because of their healing properties. To reduce inflammation in the body, there is an excellent variety of anti-inflammatory spices that can be used for this purpose, some of which include chili peppers, cloves, turmeric, green tea, rosemary ginger, etc.
Eat High Fiber Food
Research and doctors greatly recommend food with a relatively high amount of fiber in them, to help with metabolism and such bodily functions. However, fiber also helps in reducing the C-reactive protein (CRP). The presence of CRP in the blood is an indication of inflammation. If there is a consistent intake of fiber in the diet, it can significantly help reduce inflammation in the body.
Some of the fiber-rich food items are whole grains such as oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, bulgur, and whole wheat flour. Beans and fruits and vegetables such as orange, beetroot, and papaya are also quite rich in fiber.
However, while consuming high fiber food, you must make sure that you are not allergic to gluten because it may be a triggering symptom and can also cause drastic adverse effects in such a case.
Sources:
Spritzler, F., “6 Foods That Cause Inflammation,” Healthline, November 12, 2019; https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/6-foods-that-cause-inflammation#1, last accessed July 6, 2020.
Fletcher, J., “Anti-inflammatory diet: What to know,” Medical News Today, January 3, 2020; https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320233, last accessed July 7, 2020.
“Foods that fight inflammation,” Harvard Medical School, November 7, 2018; https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation, last accessed July 6, 2020.
