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Articles

05
AUG
2009

Anti-inflammatory diet for wellbeing

Tags : acidity, anti-inflammatory, antiinflammatory, arthritis, cancer, depression, diet for inflammation, fats, gingivitis, gums, heart disease, infection, inflammation, meal plan, naturopathy core beliefs, oils, seeds, skin, teeth, Turhan Canli
Posted By : Gill Stannard
Comments : 10

Inflammation may be the underlying cause of many serious health problems, but the good news is that there are many simple things you can do to change it.

 

Recently on Health Trip we talked about the foundations of naturopathy. Our core belief centres around treating the whole person not the “disease”. Conventional medicine, on the other hand, has always liked to segment the body to different systems and to some extent see them as unrelated to each other.

Slowly this way of classifying health conditions is changing and heading back towards holism. A great example of this is the increasing understanding of how inflammation is triggered in the body and its role in seemingly disparate health issues.

It may seem that conditions migraine, acne, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, endometriosis, auto-immune conditions like arthritis, heart disease, some cancers and premature aging may seem to have little in common. In traditional naturopathy they’re classified as “acidic” conditions (a confusing term at the best of times),  we now refer to the same underlying condition as inflammation. It’s exciting to see that medical research now sheds more light onto one of naturopathy’s central beliefs.

What is inflammation?

When we’re injured, such as when we bang our knee, the site of the trauma gets red, hot, swollen and sore due to inflammation. The body does this to increase the blood flow to the damaged area, so it can heal faster. This also happens when the body fights infections.

But sometimes our immune system gets the wrong trigger and starts attacking its own tissues instead, this is what happens in inflammation due to autoimmune conditions like diabetes, lupus and arthritis. A joint inflammed by rheumatoid arthritis is also red, hot, swollen and sore – just like when we’ve banged our knee. It is the same inflammatory process, only this time the cause triggered by a process within the body, not a traumatic blow to the area.

Another example is gingivitis. If your gums bleed when you brush your teeth, it is likely that you have this inflammatory disease in your gums. While you might think the condition is localized to your mouth, in fact gingivitis has been linked to other more serious problems like heart disease and premature labour in pregnancy.

What causes inflammation?

A physical injury or even an infection can set of an inflammatory reaction in the body. In normal circumstances depending on the severity of the attack, the inflammation should only last as long as we are sick or injured. But this chronic inflammation leading to a range of serious health problems has at least two factors that you can change – stress and diet.

Stress, depression and anxiety can have a major impact on our immune system. For example, we know that the stress caused by being a full time caregiver slows down the body’s ability to repair a wound.

Increasingly research is examining the connection between stress, depression and our immune system, and how it increases inflammation, such as this paper on glucocorticoid resistance (for the geeks out there, who love science as much as I do).

“Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.”
Michael Pollan

 

Food that may reduce inflammation

Most unrefined plant and sea foods prevent inflammation forming. Here are a few of my favourites that are inexpensive and easy to include in our daily diet.

  • Ginger
  • turmeric
  • Celery:
  • Omega-3 rich fish e.g.: sardines
  • Fruits – most deeply coloured fruits like blueberries, cherries and pomegranate seeds
  • Fresh, raw seeds and nuts
  • Most vegetables (not fried)
  • Oils from seeds and nuts  (cold pressed, eaten raw not cooked)

It’s also important to drinking at least two litres of pure water a day.

Foods that may trigger inflammation

As Michael Pollan says “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” If you can’t see the plant in what turns up on your plate, it’s probably going to trigger inflammation. A grain growing in the field looks different once ground into a flour, and a cake bears no resemblance to the original plant.

  • Sugar
  • Refined foods e.g.: flour
  • Alcohol
  • Meat especially beef and pork
  • Caffeine
  • Preservatives
  • Nitrates (e.g.: in cured meats like ham, bacon and salami)
  • Solanine – a specific trigger for joint pain (a plant chemical in tomato*, eggplant, capsicum, chilies, potato and tobacco)
  • Heated oils
  • Animal fats (including dairy products)

* Tomatoes are a clear trigger for arthritis though other research shows they can help protect against prostate cancer. I’d suggest you totally avoid tomatoes and tomato products if you have active arthritis. Otherwise enjoy fresh tomatoes in season.

An anti-inflammatory diet plan

Putting all this advice altogether – you might be booking your yoga or meditation class and are sipping water all day, what can you eat? Here’s an example of what you might like to eat today.

Breakfast: Carrot and celery juice plus fruit salad with berries and LSA (linseed, sunflower and almond meal).

Lunch: Canned salmon and salad, or vegetable soup.

Dinner: Brown rice with a dhal and vegetable curry (with lots of turmeric and ginger). Or steamed fish and vegetables.

Snacks: raw nuts, fresh berries, hommous with raw vegetables.

 

inflammation heart health

 

Articles to help you reduce inflammatory provoking stress

  • Changing our reaction to stress
  • Lifting our spirits
  • Reducing anxiety
  • Practicing meditation
  • Restful sleep

Research update 2015

Some promising research has connected inflammation with depression, according to a recent Guardian article.

Cytokines and bipolar disorder.

Can infection (which triggers inflammation) cause depression?

Don’t forget smoking is a major inflammatory trigger

 

 

Similar Posts:

  • Stress: Part One – the Biology of Stress
  • Arthritis
  • Living with autoimmune conditions
  • lumpy breasts
  • Adrenal burnout

About the Author
Gill Stannard is one of Australia's most experienced naturopaths and mentors, now in her third decade of service to the healing profession. You can work with Gill in person in Sydney (and every couple of months in Melbourne), or from anywhere in the world via Skype. What's stopping you from living a healthier and happier life? Contact coaching@gillstannard.com.au for more details, or book you consultation at http://bookeo.com/gillstannard Gill has written hundreds of articles on this site, just use the search box to find more . Like my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/citynaturaltherapies

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10 Comments

  1. Helen 08/05/2009 at 10:15 pm Reply

    Verrrr-rrry interesting. I’ve just got a tentative diagnosis for an inflammatory type condition, not quite arthritis but treated with prednisolone. BUT… Give up Eggplant, tomato, capsicum, Chillies, potatoes? NOOOOOOOOO! and I think by “dairy products” you mean “yoghurt and cheese”? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO… Also, coffee…Would life be worth living?

    • Gill Stannard 08/06/2009 at 8:52 am Reply

      Or perhaps consider “Would life be worth living” with debilitating pain?

      Try the “once a week” rule with the things you love the most, i.e. eat them one time a week and go for quality rather than quantity. Cortisone has its issues, great to reduce pain and swelling but in the long term impacts on bone strength and adrenals. It’s important to actually have a number of days off the suspect foods at a time, rather than drip feed in smaller quantities every day.

      When contemplating a dariy-free diet you might want to take a look at this article challenging the common assumption that dairy=strong bones http://gillstannard.com.au/2007/10/08/helping-children-build-healthy-bones/

      Good luck 🙂

  2. Pingback: lumpy breasts — Gill Stannard

  3. lilly 03/17/2010 at 4:27 pm Reply

    hi Gil. I’ve recently been diagnosed with Perioral Dermatitis, which has some similarities to acne rosacea. Can I assume your anti-inflammatory recommendations are applicable in this instance 2? Do cod liver oil tabs count as a substitute for flaxseed?? And are sheep’s yoghurt/org milk really that problematic?? Can understand alcohol, chilli, caffeine, even solanines. I thought yoghurt was often prescribed for ulcerative conditions?? Thanks in advance for your advice. L

    • Gill Stannard 03/17/2010 at 4:45 pm Reply

      An anti-inflammatory diet is a good place to start. Perioral dermatitis may fit an eczema picture closer than roseacea but the antiinflammatory guidelines would still be useful.

      As far as dairy go the less problematic is keffir and natural yoghurt – however if you have an intolerance or outright allergy to milk sugar or protein then it will still cause inflammation.

      In my experience perioral dermatitis often has a food allergy involved. Keep a note of what you eat AND DRINK and your symptoms and see if you can find a connection.

  4. Josie 10/05/2010 at 5:05 pm Reply

    Hi Gill,
    firstly, thank you for the fabulous work you do in presenting the program and posting on your webpage. I love listening to you and find your website a valuable source of information. Unfortunately I live in Western Australia, otherwise I would certainly come for a consultation!

    Secondly, I was wondering if you could give me some advice on ordering supplements from America? I have come across a product that is sold by Australian companies online but produced by an American company. The list of ingredients is impressive and contains both nutritional and herbal ingredients for the relief of osteoarthritis. I have been taking glucosamine 1500mg, chondroitin 1200mg, MSM 1200mg and fish oil 3000mg but still have some pains so I would like to try this product (contains these ingredients and much more. I didn’t think I should give the name of the product here?). I have heard that the industry is not as strictly regulated and that ingredients are not always present in the product at the doses stated on the label. Have you heard anything like this? Do you have concerns with ordering supplements from the US? I have been trying to find information online but so far have had no luck. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks,
    Josie

  5. Gill Stannard 10/06/2010 at 7:48 am Reply

    Hi Josie thanks for your lovely comments. Regarding American products, having been to the US and observed the industry there is no comparison to the rigid standards dictated by our Therapeutic Goods Act. Personally I think there is are risks in buying overseas products in particular those made in the US, India or China. Recent studies have illustrated the risk of contamination with heavy metals or the addition of pharmaceutical drugs, particularly in herbal products of this origin.

    Diet change, osteopathy, appropriate exercise and Western herbs could reduce your pain, check ANTA for a naturopath in your area http://www.australiannaturaltherapistsassociation.com.au/

  6. Pingback: How to make the pain go away when you have tendon sheath inflammation or tendinosis | Active Hands Yoga

  7. Pingback: Gill Stannard » Health Q&A Monday – outliving your parent

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