Diet

Reducing inflammation with diet

Take a drive down the main street of any town in the United States and you will see fast food restaurants that serve deep fried foods, pancakes, and pizza. You will find virtually NO anti-inflammatory fruits and vegetables in these restaurants.

Go to any discount club (Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s Warehouse) in the United States and you will see people loading up their sleds with pro-inflammatory desserts, corn oil, chips, dips, frozen dinners, frozen pizza, and NO anti-inflammatory fruits and vegetables. The pro-inflammatory foods are rich in omega-6 fatty acids which directly promote inflammation. These same foods are devoid of anti-inflammatory antioxidants and phytonutrients. In contrast, fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients, and particularly the green vegetables have important anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to be disease-preventing.

Now, go to the beach and you’ll find an endless sea of overweight and deconditioned people; approximately 65% of Americans are overweight or obese. This excess body fat serves as a metabolic factory that produces inflammation and disease. A good way to estimate how close you are to being at an appropriate weight for your height, is to determine your body mass index (BMI).

Inflammation is increasingly being appreciated as the underlying cause of most diseases. Furthermore, it is important to realize that drugs, surgery, orthotics, chiropractic adjustments, massage, physical therapy, psychotherapy, meditation, exercise, and just plain hoping, cannot correct the pro-inflammatory state created by pro-inflammatory foods.

The only way to reduce the inflammation created by diet is to correct the poor diet. Fortunately, this is not complicated. I strongly urge that we do not make eating an anti-inflammatory diet a complicated process. By complicating the dietary process we create unnecessary psychological stress, which is not healthy; in fact, stress is pro-inflammatory. Conversely, eating anti-inflammatory foods is healthy, which should make us feel less stressed out because we know we are making the correct dietary choices.

In short, humans are genetically adapted to eat an anti-inflammatory diet; we are supposed to eat vegetation (fruits and vegetables) and animals that ate omega-3 containing vegetation. It is important to realize that omega-3 animal products are still available as wild game, grass/pasture fed meats, chicken and their omega-3 eggs. Only a small percentage (perhaps 10%) of calories in the current modern diet come from fruits and vegetables and virtually no calories come from omega-3 animal products.

If you wish to purchase grass-fed [omega-3] animal products you have several options. One or more private farms can be found in most states in America, which sell grass-fed meat and or chickens and eggs. Go to www.eatwild.com for a listing in your state. Additionally, certain health food stores and some supermarkets offer grass-fed beef. If you cannot get grass-fed meat, purchase the leanest variety possible, which are available in most grocery stores (even at Super Walmart).

Dr. Loren Cordain is the current authority on the paleolithic diet, which represents and anti-inflammatory dietary approach. Click here to link to his website for a list of recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert/snacks.

 

Why Grains Inflame - The Details From the Experts Refined grains are known to be inflammatory as they have high glycemic indices and loads - which means that they increase blood sugar and insulin levels. Over time this can lead to pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, and other chronic disease like heart disease and cancer. Compared with refined grains and flour, whole grains have fiber and a beneficial effect on blood sugar and bowel function - for this reason whole grains are often classified as being anti-inflammatory. However, as mentioned in the Deflaming Guidelines PDF, whole grains (organic or non-organic) contain gluten, lectins, phytates, a high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3, and promote an acidic pH, all of which are pro-inflammatory. The primary gluten grains are wheat (including spelt, kamut, triticale, and semolina), rye, and barley (including malt). All other grains may not contain gluten but do contain lectins, phytates, a high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3, and an acidic pH. These several pro-inflammatory factors outweigh the fiber benefits of whole grains, and we get significantly more fiber on a caloric basis from fruits and vegetables. Accordingly, we should try to avoid eating grains. If you would like a starchy food, potatoes are our best choice - sweet, red, white, etc., and yams. The pro-inflammatory nature of grains are discussed in more detail in the attached articles: Grain review, 1999 Lectins, 2000 Lectins, heart disease, 2008 Gluten headaches, 2001 Gluten - neuro illness, 2002 Celiac review, 2007