Inflammation gets a bad rap, while chronic inflammation is a problem in many ways, acute inflammation is needed for repair of damaged tissues. Whether from infection or injury chronic inflammation that is not controlled by the body is a major part of disease. Lifelong uncontrolled inflammation causes accumulated cell damage that results in aging. Chronic inflammation is the cause of many problems including arthritis, autoimmune diseases, and many cancers. Food is essential to our survival our foods can either be inflammatory or add to inflammatory. We need to eat fewer inflammatory foods and increase our anti-inflammatory. Foods such as red meat and refined carbohydrates cause inflammation so eliminating or reducing them in your diet can keep you healthier the body needs its own high levels of anti-inflammatory support molecules called antioxidants milder levels of chronic inflammation can be kept under better control and not allowed to become worse with more antioxidant rich foods, and aging will slow down. Chronic inflammation never sleeps so antioxidant, anti-inflammatory foods need to be consumed daily and preferably multiple times a day.
You are what you eat
You are what you eat. We are all recommended to have at least 5 to 10 servings of antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables every day. Fortunately, most of these foods taste great, so eating foods and nutrients that Nature has provided and are readily available will go a long way to keeping your healthy.
Here are some of the top anti-inflammatory foods you should check out!
Chocolate. No guilt dark chocolate with 70 percent or more cacao. Say no to milk chocolate, which is not healthy, due to the high content of sugar and fat.
Berries. These include especially blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. They are delicious and packed with flavor as well as fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Fatty fish. Seafood high in Omega 3 oils, including mackerel (1.8% omega-3’s), lake trout (1.6%), herring (1.5%), sardines (1.4%), albacore tuna (1.3%), salmon (1.1%), halibut (0.6%), river trout (0.5%), catfish (0.4%), cod (0.3%), snapper (0.2%), or tuna packed in water (0.2%) are preferred. Not everyone loves seafood or it’s too costly, so taking a daily fish oil supplement is an alternative.
Cruciferous vegetables. These include broccoli, cauliflower, kale and brussels sprouts and are high in those all-important antioxidants.
Avocados.This tasty fruit can be used in so many ways and is packed with healthy fat, fiber and antioxidants. Include it in salads, sandwiches and dips, for example, guacamole, served with chips and veggies.
Green tea. You may begin your day with a cup of coffee. Coffee contains some antioxidants, but green tea is a better choice. Green tea provides some of the caffeine you need to quick-start your day, but it has a much higher antioxidant level, and other molecules that help to protect against cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. And it is also available in a decaffeinated form while still preserving the other benefits.
Mushrooms, olive oil and tomatoes. These three foods are frequently used together in many healthy diets. Many Mediterranean diets include these ingredients. The combination has an impressive number of anti-inflammatory compounds. Lycopene in tomatoes reduces inflammation and protects against various cancers. Also, cooking tomatoes in olive oil increases the amount of lycopene that is absorbed. Mushrooms also contain anti-inflammatory compounds. But cooking can reduce the anti-inflammatory benefits. So, nutritionists recommend eating raw mushrooms or only slightly cooked.
Turmeric. Turmeric is not eaten alone. This spice has been used to flavor Indian dishes for hundreds of years. Curcumin is a powerful anti-inflammatory nutrient compound in turmeric. Curcumin is used to reduce the pain of arthritis and may also help prevent cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Turmeric absorption can be greatly increased if eaten with black pepper. Black pepper contains piperine or bioperine, which aid the absorption of curcumin.
