Foods to Fight Inflammation

Firstly the boring bit.  Please seek advice from your Doctor before making any significant changes to your diet.  The Strength Temple 121 clients have access to our Doctors and authorised advice, but others should seek advice before embarking on any intensive psychological, nutritional or exercise plan.

Inflammation is an important part of our response to injury and trauma, however when out of control or caused by disease can cause increased pain and stimulate processes in the body which are not desirable. One of The Strength Temple 7Pillars - Nutrition -  advocates a diet that creates an environment for a healthy immune system and inflammatory response.

"Anti Inflammatory" diets are a bit of a buzz word at the moment, and we do not advocate any temporary and extreme diets.  Eating is an amazingly beautiful part of being alive and we encourage you to eat the right foods and enjoy preparing and consuming amazing meals every day.  We encourage you to feel satisfied from eating - life's too short to go hungry!

So firstly let's look at what NOT to eat.  Well you guessed it - foods high in sugar and saturated fat can spur inflammation.  We are talking all the usual suspects from plain old cup cakes to refined carbohydrates such as white bread and white pasta.  These are the foods that we already know we should only eat in moderation - if at all.  Their impact on your inflammatory response is just another reason to avoid them.

The good news is that there are a whole heap of tasty, nutritious and beautiful looking foods that we CAN eat that will help with inflammation.

1.  Fatty Fish

The cornerstone of any diet looking to combat inflammation will contain a suitable dose of OMEGA 3 fatty acids which have been proven to help reduce inflammation.  The only issue is that to get the benefit you would need to eat fish several times a week and it should be cooked in a healthy way such as sous vide, steamed, poached or grilled.  A good addition to make is to take a supplement for Omega 3.  Be careful as a diets too high in Omega 6 can cause inflammation, so look for an Omega 3 only supplement.

2.  Eat your GREENS!

Here's another no brainer.  We just know that green vegetables are good for us.  We know this because of science, but probably more relevant because of the way they make us feel, the effect they have on our skin and our general feelings of wellbeing!  That said leafy greens are a winner in a diet looking to decrease inflammation.  Try steaming some Cavolo Nero or cabbage for a hit of pure goodness.

3.  Nuts

Nuts are full of food fats, calcium, fibre, Vitamin E, selenium and a whole bunch of other great stuff.  Nuts are also part of the Mediterranean diet which is widely endorsed as health promoting.  A handful of almonds in your next smoothie will assist in your quest for a lower inflammatory life!

4.  Fruit

Strawberries, cherries, oranges, blueberries.  Bet you didn't know it could last that good!  Add these to your smoothies or use them to pimp your porridge.  As well as high doses of vitamin C these fruits will deliver valuable additional vitamins and minerals.

More to follow in next week's article.....