Anti-Inflammatory Diet & Lifestyle: Fight Inflammation Naturally

Dawn (00:00):

Hello and welcome to the Gastric Health Show. My name is Dawn Boxell and this week’s topic is anti-inflammatory Diet and lifestyle Fight Inflammation Naturally, and this is something that honestly everyone should strive for this, there’s so much evidence with inflammation being connected to chronic health problems that we should really all strive for maintaining as best as possible without being obsessive in any way, but really following an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle so that you truly can help lower your risks and reverse disease. Just you are putting yourself in a better place with managing your health better by adopting this type of lifestyle. So in the end, we all want a thriving body full of energy with joints that are not too achy or that move very easily and everything works as it should. So I think this is where adopting this type of lifestyle can be beneficial because chronic inflammation really can shift your motivation in life, your kind of zest for life because you don’t have great energy.

Level of inflammation

(01:41):

So if you think about somebody is truly inflamed, they’re not going to feel so great, and it depends on the level of inflammation, but even just a small amount of inflammation can really help rob you of a thriving life. Let’s start kind of working towards baby steps of implementing just this anti-inflammatory diet, diet and lifestyle process that over the course of maybe a year you could truly have all of these things in place. So I mean, let’s kind of start with the big picture. Inflammation, I mean really does naturally occur in the bi body and it’s not all bad. Inflammation is honestly a good thing. It’s just when it becomes chronic, that’s when we have problems. So that is a process that your body naturally goes through because of injury or an infection or things. So it is not negative and it actually kind of protects and heals damaged tissue.

What is chronic inflammation?

(02:59):

But again, like I’m saying, when it becomes chronic and these things never go away, that’s when it becomes harmful. And there is a lot of evidence between chronic inflammation and things like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and even certain types of cancer. But there are things that we can all do and it can really help you feel your best in all honesty. So we’re going to talk about what is chronic inflammation. And chronic inflammation just really occurs when your inflammatory responses kind of persist over long periods of time, and which is different than an acute inflammation, which is just a short term response to injury or infection. So again, like you know, think of blood work that your physician may be doing and they’re looking at your white count, the WBC on that lab panel that is super inexpensive to draw and can easily give a good kind of overview of what’s happening inside of someone’s body.

Chronic inflammation

(04:16):

And when we see a white count that that’s elevated, then we can think, okay, maybe there’s an inflammation occurring or there’s been maybe some type of injury somewhere. But anytime that white count stays elevated, then that’s when it leads to bigger problems and it just kind of silently damages your tissues, your cells, your organs, without you really even knowing it or sometimes even feeling it. So not everybody has achy joints as a response to chronic inflammation. Some people truly don’t feel inflammation, but you can look, like I said, white count can identify an infection. And if that is elevated, we know that there is some type of an inflammatory response happening. You can also check your CRP or the creactive protein. That’s a really great indicator in how elevated that is, is really telling us the level of inflammation your body is experiencing.

Effects of Chronic Inflammation

(05:26):

But there are several factors that can contribute to chronic inflammation. Things like a poor diet where you’re really not setting yourself up for success and stress, lots of stress, lack of exercise, insufficient sleep, and lots of exposure to environmental toxins in a variety of ways. And again, don’t take this in a negative sense that toxins are just WOOWOO science. No, this is a real thing. And there are in my lifetime, 85,000 more chemicals that have been allowed in our, for all of us to be exposed to in a variety of ways that my ancestors never had to deal with. So again, you can’t think of that as not solid evidence based science because it truly is. And you have to think about these things and you know, throw the genetic piece in it where maybe you don’t detoxify toxins very well. It just sets you up for an accumulation of toxins that lead to an inflammatory response that your body now has to cope with.

Cancer and arthritis are all chronic diseases

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So we know heart disease, cancer and arthritis are all chronic diseases associated with chronic inflammation. It’s just an obesity. All of those are well established in research that inflammation goes with all of them. And so if the inflammation begins first that turns into chronic, that then turns into heart disease. Or for some it could be cancer, for others, it could be obesity. Again, it’s all based on your genetics and what you were given. So that’s where we have to dig deep and look at the root of what’s driving it, but then go upstream and turn some of those genes off or turn some of them on that are more protective and helpful. But what are the effects? So why should you even care about chronic inflammation? I mean, yes, we know that you can have these things, but it’s hard to truly put yourself in that position when you maybe aren’t there yet.

#1 Cardiovascular Health

(08:06):

Maybe you are young and healthy and you’re like, I just had obesity, I just had weight issues, but overall my health was great. So this is where I think it can really help you with understanding the depth of where inflammation can go when it’s left untreated. So number one, cardiovascular health. Chronic inflammation significantly develops cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes, and some recent studies. Inflammatory markers such as the CRP or the creactive protein has been associated with cardiovascular disease. And according to a study, inflammation may promote plaque buildup in the arteries and researchers found that inflammation can damage the lining of the arteries making plaque more likely to form. So the more you can mitigate that inflammation, the least likely you’re going to have issues with heart disease. So when you look at CRP, there’s a wide reference range and this is where you really want it to be less than one.

Inflammatory response low

(09:29):

So conventional healthcare will let you go up significantly more than the functional world. So that’s where truly keeping that inflammatory response low and reacting when it is creeping up to one or getting over one, you should be looking at what can I do differently? If you’ve never had that CRP checked, I would encourage you to just ask your family doctor, can I have this done annually? If it’s abnormal, then get it checked every three months until it’s normal and keep that on annually to double check yourself. And if you kind of rollercoaster in and out of healthy and unhealthy ranges, then have it checked more frequently. It’s not an expensive lab, it is something that’s I would guess that your HE health insurance would likely cover. So if not, again, it shouldn’t be an expensive test to evaluate, but according to another study published in the Lancet, people with high levels of inflammation are more likely to develop heart disease.

#2 Metabolic Disorders

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The study followed over 20,000 people for 10 years and found that those with the highest levels of inflammation were twice as likely to develop heart disease as those with the lowest levels. So CRP, if you are following your trends, you will know when you are at a higher risk for that. And yes, you can look at your lipid panels, but you also need to look at that CRP. Okay, number two, metabolic disorders. Chronic inflammation is closely linked to obesity and type two diabetes fat cells or your adipose tissue produce pro-inflammatory cytokines, which contribute to low grade inflammation. And researchers have found that dietary interventions that reduce inflammation can improve insulin sensitivity and metabolic function. And I’ve talked about insulin sensitivity. You want to have a high level of insulin

Insulin resistance

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Sensitivity. This is a good thing and this helps prevent diabetes, but you can also have a normal weight, have you probably have some health issues, but be insulin resistant and still thin. So your body size has nothing to do or it’s not an indicator or a way to assess if you have insulin resistance. And usually if you have insulin resistance, then you’re going to carry more in your midsection and it is hard to lose from that area. But also remember that midsection is always evidence of elevated cortisol levels as well because that’s where you store your fat when your cortisol is too elevated. So that’s why it’s important to work with someones who that can help you differentiate and know what to test and look at to know, hey, maybe we need to work on stress management more than we need to focus on any diet changes.

#3 Joint Health

(13:00):

It’s more about your stress response or maybe it’s more about your inflammatory response. And that’s what we have to understand. A study published in circulation found that chronic inflammation increases the risk of type two diabetes. The study results show that inflammation damages the pancreatic cells leading to type two diabetes. And then another study published in immunology found that chronic inflammation can promote obesity and researchers found that inflammation can affect how the body burns fat leading to obesity. So again, getting that CRP level tested on a regular basis is your way to monitor that. So don’t monitor it on the outside, monitor it on the inside. Yes, you may feel physical things, but let’s test that number and see where you fall. So remember, you want it less than one. Number three, joint health inflammatory joint conditions like rheumatoid arthritis are characterized by chronic inflammation within the joints and it can cause a lot of joint pain and stiffness.

Immune response leads to joint damage, pain and decreased mobility

(14:15):

And this persistent immune response leads to joint damage, pain and decreased mobility. A study that was published in nature medicine, chronic inflammation can cause joint pain and stiffness. And researchers found that inflammation can damage cartilage in the joints resulting or causing that stiffness and pain. And the results of this study indicate that people with rheumatoid arthritis have higher inflammation levels and researchers found that inflammation plays an important role in rheumatoid arthritis disease activity. So if you have rheumatoid arthritis, let’s be checking that CRP on a regular basis so you truly know where you’re at. And the more we can calm it down, calm down, that flame of inflammation, the better or more likely that you will have less joint pain and stiffness and improved mobility. So if those are issues for you, then the next strategies that I’m going to give you are probably really important for you to adopt.

#4 Mental Health

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As well as with metabolic disorders and cardiac dis disorders, several studies have shown that anti-inflammatory diets can alleviate, alleviate rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and improve quality of life. Number four, mental health. So inflammation has been associate with mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety. Think of your brain is inflamed, the inflammatory cytokines can affect neurotransmitter levels and disrupt the delicate balance in the brain. Researchers have found that chronic inflammation may increase depression risk in one study. And according to this study, the inflammation can actually damage brain cells resulting in depression, not to mention Alzheimer’s disease. I’ve said this before, they are kind of referring now starting to refer to this as type three diabetes. And it’s really just all about inflammation of the brain and really having tools to help lower that inflammation in the brain. But it Alzheimer’s disease is associate with chronic inflammation and a study found that chronic inflammation may contribute to Alzheimer’s, and this is because inflammation damages certain brain cells, which then can lead to Alzheimer’s disease. So another study published in the Jour Journal of Neuron found that people with Alzheimer’s disease have higher levels of inflammation than people without Alzheimer’s disease and has been found that inflammation may play a role in Alzheimer’s disease related cognitive decline. And in a recent research, anti-inflammatory diets are suggested for reducing depression symptoms and improving mental health individual in individuals with depression. Same thing with Alzheimer’s and dementia, following an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle.

Cancer

(17:32):

Dr. Nansen Dale Braden, he is an MD who does Alzheimer’s research and does it from a integrative and functional lens and where they really help lower the inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity, lower that blood sugar because all of them are involved in this disease. Number five, cancer. Chronic inflammation can cause various types of cancer. And a study found that chronic inflammation can increase cancer risk, and researchers found that inflammation can damage D N A and cause cancer. And according to another study published in cancer cell, inflammation can promote can cell growth. The study found that inflammation can make cancer cells more aggressive and more likely to spread. So again, just another reason, if you have a family history of cancers and your risks are elevate, then maintaining a low CRP is pretty vital really for any of these conditions. And keeping that in check would be so beneficial in prevention mode if you are trying to truly prevent the onset of any of these things or even in your, if you’re in the midst of it, maybe you have pre-diabetes, maybe you already take heart medications that you are on for life, or maybe you have some metabolic dysfunction and you really have struggled with your weight or type two diabetes for the majority of your life.

The Anti-Inflammatory Diet & Lifestyle

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Make, adding this to the list of managing that inflammation and monitoring that lab data is a key piece in helping you mitigate the risks, reverse it and main maintain a balance with it. So an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle, what does this look like? How would you accomplish this? And that’s where we’re going to go. We’re going to dig into all your options and truly just give you the resources that you can start implementing today. But I’m going to tell you, do this in baby steps. Do these big changes over the course of time, set yourself up for success by not trying to do everything at once because this truly can help you turn things around. But if you try to do it as like a short term fix and then you go right back to your old diet and lifestyle, you’re not going to maintain it.

Anti-inflammatory diets

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It’s not like it. There’s an end to it. It is truly a journey because you, there’s no, it’s not a race. You can’t finish cross a finish line. This is a lifestyle that you have to adopt and taking time to adopt these types of behaviors and routines and choices take some time to get use to. So anti-inflammatory diets consist of foods that provide essential nutrients. So think of them as just really nourishing foods that will provide optimal health while reducing your inflammatory response. And the primary focus is to consume whole nutritious foods. So whole real foods like I’m always pushing and then avoiding as much as possible the processed foods as well as sugars, not consuming a high sugar diet. And then also some of the unhealthy fats. These are kind of the key principles to follow when adopting an anti-inflammatory diet. And the first one is just really emphasize plant-based foods.

#1 Emphasize Plant-Based Foods

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So think of fruits, vegetables, legumes, so beans and lentils and then whole grains. And they all contain antioxidants, fibers, phytochemicals that truly help phy inflammation. They also contain phenolic acids that have several bioactives such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory antioxidants and cardioprotective features. And in recent studies, plant-based foods, including fermented plant foods, have been shown to lower inflammatory markers. So again, this is all evidence-based and it works if you truly just start transitioning to this type of a lifestyle, the likelihood of regaining weight, the likelihood of your diabetes returning or problems with other health conditions are lower. Doesn’t mean that your genetics might put you keep in a higher category, but if you didn’t do these types of things to support what your doctors are already doing, it would likely be worse. So if your genetics may just be awful and you may really have to make some intentional choices to keep things in check.

Fermented Plant Foods

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So fermented plant foods, many cultures have worldwide have consumed fermented foods for centuries. And we kind of lost this art as we started bringing in more processed foods and we took leaving someone at home to prepare the meals and putting everyone in the workforce. We no longer have the time to truly maintain this art of fermented foods. And I do know that when I was young, I do remember my family having, I would say not my immediate family, not my parents, but my grandparents had crock fermentation crocs in the basement that they would make fermented food. I have a German heritage and sauerkraut was a big piece of a German heritage. And our family did, my grandparents did ferment sauerkraut and different vegetables in the basement. But of course my family were all farmers. This was not a foreign concept for us. So both my parents, grandparents or their parents, both of my grand sets up, my grandparents were farmers.

Gut Health Guardian

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So I grew up in that. That is how our family was. But were my parents doing those fermentation? No practices? No they weren’t. So it kind of got lost in my parents’ generation that we never continue on. Now personally, I occasionally will make some fermented sauerkraut or some yogurts or those types of things. Those are really the only two ferment products I do. But most of the time I’m being honest, I buy it already made. I buy fermented sauerkraut yogurts and I don’t do yogurt a lot, but if I have an opportunity to buy one that has some probiotics in it, I will. But I’m a big into kombucha. I have tried making that myself, but I was not very skilled at it. So again, it was one of those things that I never, once I failed, I just never tried again. So fermentation is really just a natural process that produces acids, probiotics, and bioactive peptides from transforming foods from bacteria, the beneficial bacteria in yeast and it in turn have anti-inflammatory properties.

Anti-Inflammatory Powerhouses

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There’s a journal of nutrients in an article titled Anti-Inflammatory and a modulatory. Properties of Fermented plant foods really shed some light on the benefits of fermented plant foods. And these are some of the findings from this study. And I do have the link in the notes so that you can refer to that article if you would like to, but you can think of it, it really helps support your gut health. These plant foods contain the probiotics or those beneficial bacteria that help support a healthy gut microbiome and providing you a flourishing gut and which is important in modulating kind of your inflammatory response as well as it supports your immune function, which is kind of the next thing that they highlighted in the study through fermentation. Plant foods become more bioavailable, unlocking their full potential, and it means that fermented plant foods contain a higher concentration of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that counteract inflammation and support immune function.

Improving your absorption of nutrients

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So if you want to work on really improving your absorption of nutrients, then start adding in some fermented plant foods. The next one is a gut-brain axis benefit and evidence does suggest that A, there’s a strong connection between the gut and the brain, which I’ve talked about this many, many times. There is a bidirectional communication between your gut and a brain. And for a minute, plant foods stimulate the production of neurotransmitters and reduce inflammation on that gut-brain axis, and there may be a positive impact on your mental health and overall wellbeing. And then next, it’s anti-inflammatory powerhouse. So anti-inflammatory properties can be found in fermented plant foods. So if you are struggling with inflammation, having these fermented plants can truly turn that around in a rapid way. Short chain fatty acids, polyphenols and peptides support the body’s defense against chronic diseases by kind of squelching that inflammation.

Fermented plant foods: delicious suggestions

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So the more that you can find plant foods, so again, that goes to fiber filled carbohydrates, and this is why fiber filled carbohydrates are so important because this is what helps tame the flame. This is what brings down that inflammatory response. So you have to ask yourself when you are building your plate, what is my fiber? Yes, you already understand protein is so important, I got to get my protein, protein, protein. And then I feel like especially in the bariatric community, but in reality in the majority of Americans, we lose the thought of adding fiber. We don’t think about fiber as a priority. So that’s where when you’re building that plate, what is going to be your fiber source? How are you going to get about 10 grams of fiber at this meal? And I’ve talked about this before, we should be having six grams of resistant starch at all meals.

Fermented berries

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And in America, we have less than five grams all day. So we can get easily behind. And I’m telling you, if you want to turn your life around, start adding fiber and resistant starch. If you feel like, Hey, I’m hungry, start adding beans and lentil to every meal and do like a quarter cup every meal, see how that changes your appetite? I promise you, you will notice a difference. And not only will you notice it in your appetite, hunger and cravings, you’ll also notice it with inflammation in your disease states getting in check. So let’s talk about fermented plant foods and what you could do from that. So one is fermented berries and fermented berries are known W from N, numerous health benefits and they’re anti anti-inflammatory. And Im modulatory properties reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes and cancer. And there are many micronutrient and antioxidant compounds in berries including vitamin C, e, selenium, keratinoid, anthocyanins, and tannins.

Beneficial properties and have anti-inflammatory properties

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All of these have beneficial properties and have anti-inflammatory properties. Berry polyphenols and their metabolites increase the number of beneficial bacteria such as the bifidobacterium, lactobacillus, and akkermansia. I’ve talked about akkermansia before that is there is a direct correlation with being overweight and obese when your akkermansia levels are low or not detectable. And this is something that we test on the GI map stool test, and we can tell if you have adequate levels of akkermansia and this gut beneficial bacteria really can help us pivot and restore wherever needed. So this is one thing that including foods that fermentation property, so anything that’s been fermented, and it doesn’t have to be just sauerkraut, I mean you could literally ferment any vegetable. Think of it kind of like pickling, but you don’t use any vinegar at all. It is literally just salt and water that you are putting in these.

Sauerkraut

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And you can add, some people will add a starter, some type of bacteria, they’ll add a bacteria. When I do sauerkraut, I don’t, I just let it sit on the counter and it will naturally have bacteria on the cabbage. All of our plants have natural bacteria in it and sitting on the counter with the salt and the water, it will help bring that bacteria out and it will be flourishing with nice beneficial bacteria. So B, the berry metabolites suppress inflammatory cytokines and mitigate gut inflammation. And although the bioavailability of Berry Polyphenols is low, their functional properties are associated with metabolites produced during colonic fermentation by gut microorganisms. The fermentation actually enhances the positive effects of berries by increasing polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity in the fermented products. So you’re getting more nutrients from a fermented berry than just having a berry. So the fermentation of blueberries and blackberries promotes gut microbiota growth.

Immunity

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Additionally enhances the mucosal immunity is caused by increased activity of the secretory IGA cells facilitated by the elevated TGF beta levels. So number one sauerkraut, we’ve talked about this and it’s just literally from, it’s from cabbage, fermented cabbage. And you don’t buy this, buy the deli in those bags. You don’t buy this just there’s no vinegar. You should not see any vinegar listed on the ingredients. And it’s not on the shelves. It is literally going to say fermented or it’s going to say live or raw. And it’s going to say there’s live bacteria. That’s what you’re looking for. And there are several brands. If you can get a local one, awesome. If not, I know Wild Brine is a favorite of mine. Bubbies is another brand that I love. Those can easily be bought if you don’t want to make it yourself, even just a couple of fork fulls a day can be perfect.

Kimchi

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If you’re nude to fermented foods and you really haven’t ever taken probiotics, I would literally get a spoonful of the juice first and just kind of do a spoonful of the juice and then work your way up to doing a forkful and then maybe two or three fork fulls and then maybe a quarter cup at one meal or two meals a day, at least once a day. Try to get some of that in. The next is kimchi. A lot of people have heard us this. It’s a staple in Korean cuisine and kimchi is kind of a fiery vibrant mix of formative vegetables and spicy. So it does have a little kick, but it’s great. It’s a great option. Now I prefer sauerkraut over kimchi, but I, I’ve gone through phases where I’m like, I just have a mood. I’m in a mood for kimchi. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s something that I’ll grab if I’m in the mood for it.

Kombucha

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The next is kombucha and you’ll see me drink that frequently. That’s my favorite beverage really. And it’s really just a fermented tea. They’ll use green tea, black tea, yba, ma tea, white tea. They use kind of a mix of them and it’s just you do sugar, it’s just real sugar, a blend of whatever teas that you like. And then acobi, which is a symbiotic culture of bacteria in yeast, and it’s kind of this gelatinous type of thing that you put in. It’s like a round thing shaped on the jar or whatever they use to ferment in and it’s just kind of grows. And then that scoby develops this tea to be into kombucha and it consumes that all the yeast that is in there, it consumes up all the sugar. So the labels now have to, and when you look at a nutrition facts label, it has to report all sugar that has been added before or after.

kombucha that does not add sugar after the fermentation process

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You truly want to get a kombucha that does not add sugar after the fermentation process that is going to have too much sugar in it and should be avoided. I really do look for more local brands personally because I feel like they do a better job at not making it a commercial sweet thing. They just taste better to me. So I’m a big ginger lover. I love that spicy kick. And so those are my favorite ginger. Usually there’ll be like a lemon ginger, something with ginger I’m, I’m going to pick always. So even I have a coffee drink at a local restaurant. It’s a gingered pear tonic, which totally has some sugar in it because they make their own pear tonic. So I would guarantee you there is some sugar that is used in making that tonic. So it’s kind of like a sparkling water that they put the Pear with.

Miso

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But then also there’s a ginger syrup in it, which is going to have some type of sugar I’m sure, but it’s espresso has espresso and the Es sparkling paired tonic and then some ginger syrup. It tastes delicious. But again, I just lean towards that ginger taste, which I love. So kombucha is a little bit bubbly. So if you’ve had surgery and you don’t handle carbonation well, you may not do well with kombucha because it can have, although way less bubbles than soft drinks, it does have kind of more of an effervescent, more like a sparkling water in my eyes, it’s not as bubbly compared to a soft drink. And then the last one is miso. And miso is just a traditional Japanese seasoning made from fermented soybeans and it adds some depth and unami to soups, marinades dressings, and also beneficial nutrients. So adding those fermented types of food can really be beneficial to helping your overall health.

Kaempferol 

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Next is Kaempferol fruits, vegetables and herbs contain Kaempferol. And this is a polyphenol and I’ve talked about polyphenols a lot. But according to a recent research published in the Journal of Molecules, Kaempferol can act as an anti-inflammatory agent in the diet and improve human health. Camp fer inhibits the production of pro-inflammatory molecules and signaling pathways in the body, exhibiting significant anti-inflammatory properties, and it plays a key role in reducing chronic inflammation, which is the driver of many diseases. So Kaempferol protects our cells from oxidative stress and damage. So think of the Kaempferol as your protector. It’s like you’re putting on a coat of armor over all of your cells so that they don’t become damaged. Or if you remember, I’ve talked about oxidative stress before, that’s kind of the human equivalent of rusting. So it protects our cells from getting rusty and damaged.

Leafy Greens

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Sounds kind of weird, but internally, you know, can think of all of your cells are just protect with bubble wrap When you consume these types of food properties, camp Farrow may contribute to cardiovascular health by reducing inflammation in the cardiovascular system, reducing your risk of heart disease and stroke. And it can also alleviate joint pain offering relief of conditions like arthritis. So what foods ha are rich in Kaempferol leafy greens. So think of spinach, kale, or even broccoli, but any of those dark leafy greens are going to be a great source of Kaempferol, that polyphenol that will help protect all of your cells. And you can have it in a salad, smoothies or sauteed on the side in your eggs in a soup. There’s so many ways to incorporate these leafy greens I would strive for every day having some type of leafy green.

Berries

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That doesn’t mean you have a salad once a day and you’re done with all your vegetables, every meal you should be striving to get some type of green in. The next is berries, any of the berries. So strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, all of these are antioxidant rich fruits and great way to get a dose of the Kaempferol teas. You guys see me drinking green tea all the time and talking about green tea. This is another way to get this polyphenol of Camp Ferrell is by drinking green tea or black tea. And this compound is present in both types and can provide the anti-inflammatory properties. Several studies support that tea or coffee have anti-inflammatory properties leading to prevent heart disease. Then onions and garlic, aside from adding just flavor to your dishes, onions and garlic actually provide Kaempferol or this polyphenol and incorporating them into your meals to enjoy is also a great way for it to benefit with inflammation.

Tea

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So adding these types of foods on a daily basis is great. Now I’m going to throw this out there. If you have digestive issues, onions and garlic may make you feel worse. Kombucha may make you feel worse. Fermented foods in general may make you feel worse. So that’s where working with a healthcare practitioner like myself who is skill in helping you identify that, but then also helping you work through it and reintroduce them back in. So again, it’s something to keep in mind that if you start ramping these foods up and you’re like, oh my gosh, my stomach hurts all the time, or I’m bloated or I have gas, or now I’m constipated, red flag, reach out. You need to work through some of these and figure out what’s going on so that we can get you back up and running so that you can consume these on a regular basis without any digestive distress.

Include Healthy Fats

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The next thing is healthy fats. So we want Kaempferol, so those polyphenols, but then we also want to include healthy fats. Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation. Salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids as well as things like flax seeds and walnuts. Research has indicated that omega-3 supplementation can reduce inflammation and they have found that these fatty acids can reduce brain, heart and joint inflammation. So food first, and if that doesn’t help add on a fish oil, I do take fish oil regularly, I’m not oppose to that and some, because sometimes I would say I’m great at getting all of these anti-inflammatory things in and other times life hits and I don’t have them on hand and I’m not consuming them as often as possible. So that’s where the fish oils do help. Next is limit process foods. So as we’re working through this diet and lifestyle, you really just have to start putting in more of those whole real foods that pushes out the processed foods.

Limit Processed Foods

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So don’t go to the store looking for boxes, bags, containers of foods that are plant-based. That is not the goal. The goal is you are using whole real foods, you’re spending a lot of time. And resources in the produce area and then you’re loading up on that aisle that has beans, lentils, even rice where you can chill it and have a resistant starch with it. Same with potatoes where you can have a resistant starch with it. So again, limit those processed foods. But I like to add in the good first before you start taking away. And the more you add in the good, you have less time and less belly space for the junk. So add before taking away and then also consuming lean proteins like fish, chicken, even some lean beef is fine, preferably grass fed and grass finished. Those are the ones that are going to have the least amount of inflammatory response because the grains today are different.

Consume Lean protein

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And if that animal is fed grains, then it could be transferred to you because it will get trapped into the muscle of the animal. And that is what we were eating. So again, fish is top of the line for a great protein source. So if you can have that three or four times a week. And especially incorporating those small ones like the trout, sardines and mackerel. And I’ve talked about on social media, I’ve shown many times those really having those are a great way. Then also beans and lentils can provide a little bit of protein as well, and it can really help with lowering inflammation because we’re providing your body what it needs. And the amino acids found in lean pro proteins are essential for building proteins and muscles and to repair damaged tissue. And you need that if inflammation has damage things, you need protein to make sure that it can be rebuilt.

Spice it Up

(47:59):

And then spices just really start loading on the spices, flavor your food. There are several spices that have anti-inflammatory properties like turmeric, ginger, garlic, you can even think of oregano. So including those types will really help. Turmeric does have the active compound curcumin and it has been shown to reduce inflammation and alleviate chronic pain. And you can see that in supplements that are sold that they do offer. Some really good lowering inflammation responses, then consuming more olive oil. Olive oil is capable of reducing inflammation and it contains a monos saturated fatty acid which have anti-inflammatory properties. And the antioxidants in olive oil can also help prevent inflammation by protecting cells from damage. And then also staying high hydrated. You have to make sure you drink enough water. Just good old plain water, but then adding a little bit of maybe like redmond’s real salt or some even just a pinch of salt into your water once a day at least.

Anti-inflammatory lifestyle

(49:14):

And that will help your cells actually the fluid to get into your cells better. So what does an lifestyle an anti-inflammatory lifestyle look like? So we just talked about the diet. What does the lifestyle look like? One is regular exercise. So being active helps reduce inflammation until you cross a line of excessive. And that is when we see in people who do triathlons or ironmans or those marathons, multiple marathons. They can exceed and start causing inflammation. So again, but being active is key and it helps. It will help the big picture of reducing inflammation and modulating those pro-inflammatory cytokines. Things like a 30 minute walk or bike ride a day can reduce inflammation and improve your overall health. Number two, stress management stress triggers the inflammatory response in the body and inflammation can be reduce through stress reduction techniques like meditation, yoga, breathing exercises and getting enough sleep.

Avoid toxins

(50:29):

And then number three, avoid toxins. So environmental toxins like I talked about earlier, this isn’t WOOWOO science, this is for real. We are dealing with so many chemicals today that our ancestors never had to deal with that. It’s sometimes hard to really pinpoint and know that what is driving it. But environmental toxins like air pollution and chemicals. In your household products, in your beauty products, in your laundry, in your cleaning. All of this can contribute to chronic inflammation and minimizing your exposure to these types of toxins. I do like the environmental working group for this. Ewg.org is a great place to look to see if the products you currently use have some non-toxic alternatives. To help kind of lower the burden on your immune system and your inflammatory response. Number four is getting enough sleep. You need sleep in order for your immune system to act naturally and work normally. And sleeping can help reduce inflammation.

Quit smoking

(51:46):

Number five, quit smoking. So no smoking, no vaping, and definitely if you smoke or vape you will have INF higher inflammatory response. And then number six, adopt grounding. So grounding is a practice that has been use for a long time in many, many cultures they utilize grounding. And grounding is really just walking outside barefooted or using the indoor grounding mats is really what it is. But grounding can reduce inflammation and improve your wellbeing through barefoot contact with grass, sand, or soil. So the more that your feet can touch the grass, the sand or soil, those electrons are transfer from the earth to your body. And it neutralizes free radicals reducing oxidative stress and helps support a normal inflammatory response and lowers that inflammation. It can also enhance immune cell activity and regulation positively affecting your immune function and prevents excessive inflammation as well. It can also provide some pain relief when you do grounding.

Inflammation Reduction

(53:13):

So just getting outside regularly without your shoes on. And walking around in your yard is a positive way of improving the blood flow and reducing inflammation. So it can help improve pain or provide some pain relief I should say. And then stress reduction grounding actually reduces your stress levels and it can improve your sleep quality and promote relaxation. And so overall it can help reduce your inflammation and enhance your wellbeing indirectly. So grounding every day by walking barefoot outdoors. Or using the grounding mats indoors for at least 20 to 30 minutes per day is ideal. So let’s wrap this up. Chronic inflammation contributes to several health conditions and negatively affects overall health. Individuals can reduce pain, combat inflammation and improve their health outcomes by adopting and anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle. Recent studies, anti-inflammatory approaches have consistently been shown to be beneficial in preventing and managing chronic disease.

Final words

(54:31):

A nutrient-rich diet, regular exercise, stress management and reducing exposure to toxins can promote long-term wellbeing through an anti-inflammatory lifestyle. But working with a healthcare practitioner on a regular basis can truly help you work. Through these baby steps of changing to more of an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle over the course of time. And that’s where our gastric health membership is truly helpful. Because it can help get you going in the right direction. And we can coach you through these changes. So that you have everything in place to either reverse a disease that is active. Put it in remission, and help you maintain it there. So I hope you guys will take this information to heart. And truly try to incorporate these tactics and principles because I really personally. I try to live an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle and have for decades. I’m not perfect, nor do you have to be perfect, but I’d love to do it with you. I’d love to give you resources. I’d love to give you thoughts and ideas that maybe you haven’t tried. But reach out if you would like to start that process and figure out. What maybe you could do differently that could make your health next year a little bit better. You guys have a great week and we will see you next time. Bye-bye.

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