It’s true what they say: change how you eat and you’ll change how you feel. According to the CDC about half of us are living with diseases and conditions driven by inflammation. And research has shown that our fork and knife are two of the most powerful tools we have to reduce it.
Signs of inflammation
If you are living with one or more of these, you have inflammation and can get relief just by making some small changes to how you eat:
- Extra belly fat. They now believe that your belly circumference is a better indicator of your risk factor than BMI. For men you want to be 40” or less and women 35” or less. If you are higher, you need to take action.
- Pain – headaches, migraines, joint pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia
- Digestive – IBS, Crohn’s, Colitis, Ulcer, gas, bloating, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea
- Immune/Autoimmune – Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, Chronic Fatigue, MS, Thyroid
- Allergies, Asthma, Eczema, Psoriasis
- Brain – Alzheimer’s, dementia, depression, ADD, Parkinson’s, seizures
- Heart Disease and Stroke – high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides
- Diabetes, metabolic syndrome, high blood sugar
- Cancer
- Food sensitivities
What is an Anti-Inflammatory Diet
The Mediterranean Diet, DASH Diet and Harvard Healthy Eating Plate help you reduce inflammation by focusing on eating more anti-inflammatory foods and excluding or limiting pro-inflammatory ones when done correctly.
The Challenge is that one size does not fit all. And it requires some additional work to figure out how to customize the recommendations to fit your goals and lifestyle. These are the three actions we work with our clients on to help them reduce inflammation and get relief.
- Eat more of the foods that reduce inflammation
- Eat less of the foods that cause inflammation
- Identify what you don’t digest well
Eat MORE of Some Foods and LESS of Others
Healthy eating includes eating more nutrient-rich whole foods, less processed, refined foods and keeping your sugar, salt and saturated fats down.
The Mediterranean Diet and Harvard’s Healthy Eating Plate recommend that you aim to make half of what you eat a day vegetables and fruits. Include proteins like beans, lentils, nuts, poultry and fish. Include healthy grains – replacing white versions with “100 whole grain” and limit them to ¼ of what you eat a day.
Reduce Sugar
- The recommended daily limit in packaged foods for men is 36 grams and for women it is 25 grams. Use this information to help you select lower sugar versions of your favorite foods. Check out this infographic to help you reduce sugar in your packaged foods.
- Mindfully consume grains. Current recommendations are to have 1-3 servings a day. Grains are higher in sugar than other vegetables and fruits, so if you have signs of inflammation you may want to reduce the number of grains you are eating a day to see if that helps bring relief.
Identify your harder to digest foods
If you are eating something that you aren’t digesting well your immune system can get activated which creates inflammation. Seven big offenders for most people are: dairy, gluten, eggs, corn, soy, citrus, and pineapple. We recommend a food trial and work with our clients to systematically evaluate these foods to determine if any are causing their issue and recommend easy substitutions.
Personalization: The Secret to an Anti Inflammatory diet
While the benefits of an anti-inflammatory eating lifestyle are clear, how we each live it can be very different. In fact, one size does not fit all. For example you can be eating a “healthy” food – but if you have trouble digesting it – your immune system can get activated and you will experience inflammation. We have found success in working with our clients to help them not only follow the guidelines recommended from the scientific and medical community but to apply them to their life, and identify the right mix of foods that work best for them.
“What I didn’t know is the healthy foods I was eating were not healthy for me! Now I know what I can and cannot eat and this knowledge is power. For the first time in a LONG time I am in control of my health and my appearance. Best news of all – I am finally free of the nagging migraine headaches I have had for the past 37 years!” – Stefanie T.
Ready to take action and figure it out?
Experience the first session of the Savory Living Anti-Inflammatory Eating Program for FREE. You’ll learn some easy ways to eat to reduce inflammation and start feeling great today. Learn more at www.savoryliving.com
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