Why follow an anti-inflammatory diet?
We are all inflamed. There is a long list of signs of inflammation including: Overweight, hard to loose weight, lethargy, chronic aches and pains, arthritis, allergies, digestive conditions, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, depression, diabetes, feeling old etc. The list goes on. Although you or I may not have ANY of these symptoms, we are most likely kept from our full functioning potential if we don’t seek out an anti-inflammatory diet. We all experience micro-trauma from our daily activities, as well as the occasional macro-trauma from falls/accidents, and the mechanism of repair is hugely influenced by the inflammatory nature of our diets.
“In short, the human body’s biochemistry is altered when we eat inappropriate foods.” - David Seaman
On a basic level, inflammatory foods contain high ratio of omega-6 fatty acids, while anti-inflammatory foods have a high ratio of omega-3 fatty acids. The fallowing is a simple breakdown of inflammatory vs. anti-inflammatory foods:
Inflammatory
All grains & grain products
Margarine, packaged foods
Most oils
Soda & Dairy
Meat from grain-fed animals
Regular eggs(grain-fed)
Fast food french fries
Peanuts
Legumes and beans
Processed foods
Anti-inflammatory
All fruits & vegetables
Extra virgin olive oil
Coconut oil
Green tea & red wine
Meat from grass-fed animals
Omega-3 eggs (grass-fed/free-range)
Small red potato sautéed in olive oil
Raw almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts
Dark chocolate (high % cocoa)
Individual aspects of this diet will be expanded upon in a later post.
*Much of this information is taken from www.deflame.com. For further information please visit www.deflame.com , and consult your physician.
