The Anti-inflammatory Diet
“The foods that you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”
Anne Wigmore, founder of The Hippocrates Health Institute, Boston
If your head spins from all the conflicting and confusing information about diet, you are not alone.
My goal is to educate and empower you to make positive choices daily to build a resilient and healthy body.
We are literally constructed from what we eat, drink and breathe. Unlike the air we breathe, we have full control of what we choose to eat and drink.
What we do know for sure is that the Standard Western Diet (SWD) filled with processed and refined foods disrupts immune balance and underlies the rapidly climbing incidence of all chronic health conditions.
The SWD is composed primarily of the following nutrient-poor / calorie-dense foods:
Refined white flours
Processed seed oils
Refined and concentrated sugars
Navigating our way through the current global health crisis safely, requires a complete overhaul of dietary habits and embracing new and exciting patterns of eating.
A 2020 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at 5700 patients hospitalised in the New York area for Covid-19. The authors found that 94% of the patients had a chronic health problem, and 89% had two or more. The three most prevalent conditions were hypertension (56.6%), obesity (47.7%), and diabetes (33.8%). These can be classified as chronic lifestyle diseases.
Embracing positive nutritional strategies is the foundation to boost immune resilience and activate your innate healing potential . Immune resilience is your body’s ability to effectively deal with the viruses and bacteria we encounter in our daly lives.
Sometimes the easiest place to start is to discuss what not to eat…
AVOID the following :
Processed seed / vegetable oils
Where they are found:
Canola, sunflower, safflower, corn, soybean, peanut, rapeseed and other hydrogenated oils. These are found in processed foods like chips, muffins, doughnuts, breakfast cereals, energy bars, crackers, ice cream, crisps, mayonnaise, commercial salad dressings, dips, marinades, instant sauces, pies, pastries, biscuits, microwave popcorn, crumbed meats , coffee creamer and most convenience foods. Take note they are even hidden in seemingly healthy deli foods such as pesto and hummus!
How does this contribute towards inflammation:
They contribute to creating an excessive underlying inflammatory response in the body by reacting with oxygen to create free radicals.
To understand free radical activity, think about what happens when we cut an avocado and leave it exposed to the air. It turns brown and this browning effect is due to oxygen reacting with the flesh of the avocado. This can be prevented if we squeeze lemon juice on the avocado directly after cutting. Lemon juice displays protective / antioxidant action.
Regular consumption of these processed oils depletes our antioxidant reserve. It’s like we run out of the protective lemon juice, which then leads to excessive inflammation. This can mean a lowered ability to fight pathogens like viruses and bacteria.
2. Refined white flours and sugars
Where they are found:
Breads, biscuits, baked goods, sweets, chocolates, candy bars, sports drinks, energy bars, dried fruits, fruit juices, alcoholic drinks, iced teas and anything else manufactured with concentrated sugar, high fructose corn syrup and refined flour.
How does this contribute towards inflammation:
These foods create a surge in blood sugar when they are eaten followed by a release of the hormone insulin, often resulting in a dip in blood sugar levels. Repeated blood sugar surges and dips sets you up for a roller coaster of sugar highs and lows which sets the scene for chronic inflammation, weight gain and even pre-diabetes.
*Did you know? 30 min after eating refined sugars your special white blood cells called macrophages that are responsible for ‘eating up’ viruses and bacteria decrease by up to 50% for up to 5 hours.
From the above we can see it’s not the bug alone that makes us sick. A positive outcome is determined by a balanced immune response and antioxidant levels to handle the associated inflammation.
So what CAN we eat to build immune resilience?
Some BASIC principles:
Food is medicine
A newer understanding around food is that it contains information for our genes. Compounds in food can switch on healthy gene signalling OR switch off unhealthy responses in the body.
The opposite is also true. Processed foods can contribute to up-regulating (turning on) unhealthy gene responses.
2. Eat a wide variety of plant based foods
These foods contain compounds to feed the beneficial bacteria in the gut.
A basic premise that I will frequently be referring to, is that a healthy gut microbiome (healthy bugs living in your intestinal tract), is the primary driver of your health and wellbeing.
Higher diversity in the species of beneficial gut bacteria is associated with greater health and resilience. Aim for more than 30 different plant foods in a week to support such bacterial diversity. This includes vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices, legumes and gluten-free whole-grains.
The good bugs then ferment the fibres in these plant foods and produce a very beneficial compound called butyrate which keeps our gut lining happy and our immune system healthy. This has a huge impact on overall health of all our body’s systems.
3. Choose organic options as far as possible.
Use the guidelines provided by the Clean Fifteen and Dirty Dozen food list in determining which foods are most likely to be contaminated with pesticides and herbicides. This list can be found on www.ewg.org.
Fruits and vegetables laden with pesticides and herbicides like glyphosate found in Round-up can alter microbial balance in our body.
4. Eat the rainbow
This is a very easy concept to follow as a guideline when choosing fruits and vegetables.
Selecting a wide variety of colours will enable you to consume a multitude of different powerful phytonutrients ( plant chemicals ). This can powerfully lower risk of a multitude of chronic diseases.
Remember the importance of eating some food from each colour daily.
Red foods :
: antioxidant; anti-inflammatory
Examples: red bell peppers, tomatoes, radishes, beetroot, red onion, strawberries, raspberries, pomegranate
Orange foods:
antioxidant and hormone balancing
Examples: carrots, orange peppers, butternut, turmeric, papaya, mango, orange
Yellow foods: antioxidant; enzymatic activity in the gut
Examples: yellow pepper, yellow onions, gem squash, ginger, lemon, pineapple
Green foods:
Antioxidant; healthy circulation
Examples: avocado, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, celery, green tea, rosemary, watercress
Blue/purple foods
Antioxidant; cognitive and neurological support
Examples: blackberries, blueberries, eggplant, purple cabbage, purple kale
White foods:
Antioxidant; cardiovascular support
Examples: coconut , cauliflower, garlic, mushrooms
Brown foods:
Antioxidant; cognition and mood
Examples: cacao, cocoa, coffee, black sesame seeds
5. There is no one-sized fits all diet
Our ancestors provided us with a template for healthy eating and living but how you actually build your path to resilience depends on your own unique needs. This can depend on your genetics interfaced with any health challenge you may be facing. The key to success is personalising and customising choices.
Different people can require and thrive on differing ratios of the macro nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins for example. Some may need to identify and eliminate certain seemingly foods healthy foods which may be contributing to their chronic inflammatory state.
What should we be drinking?
As explained earlier, many beverages such as cold drinks, sports drinks and alcohol are filled with concentrated sugars and / or High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) which are drivers of inflammation and can impede the activation of immune cells. We need to be properly hydrated to build immune resilience.
Our very delicate intestinal lining is protected by a mucous layer. This mucous is gel-like and composed of 98% water. It acts as a protective barrier and houses immune compounds. It also acts as a lubricator to allow material to be easily transported through the gut. We can ensure a healthy mucous layer by drinking water and keeping hydrated.
When we are dehydrated we are more prone to picking up infections. If dehydrated, general immune signalling and communication is compromised.
Actual blood volume changes which means the lymphatic system is not communicating properly with immune messengers throughout the body.
75% of our brain mass is water so dehydration may also effect cognition, short term memory and attention. By the time we feel thirsty we are most likely already dehydrated!
We must choose good quality clean water - either filtered or spring , and drink regularly through the day. The inclusion of herbal teas and lemon / ginger in water can add to the immune supportive effect.
Caffeine in coffee, tea and alcohol can further dehydrate the body. Take caution too if you are eating a high salt diet.
Avoid drinking water from plastic bottles which contain Bisphenol A ( BPA)…
So how do we decide what aspects of the baseline strategy best work for you?
Some people may figure this out on their own if they are merely wanting to upgrade their eating habits whereas others with challenging / complex health issues would do best to seek the help of a Nutrition Professional schooled in the use of a variety of therapeutic food plans to activate innate healing.
This is not complicated…
In essence eat whole food, mostly plants and some quality animal protein on the side. Enjoy heathy fats and oils, lots of coloured vegetables, some fruit and an abundance of leafy greens . Drink lots of clean water - approximately 30 ml per kilogram of body weight.
The table below offers the foods to follow on a basic Anti-Inflammatory Food Plan. Avoid any foods you know your body doesn't like, and enjoy the rest. Display this list on your fridge and take it shopping to form an essential part of your grocery list.
Insert table :
