Eating to reduce inflammation that causes pain and disease

Did you know that many foods on your grocer’s shelves create inflammation while others may reduce it? 

And even more important... do you know what inflammation does to your body? Inflammation in the body has been linked to and may play a key role in many disease processes including heart disease, Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes and, arthritis.  Also, it is related to so many things that are making you not feel well on a day-to-day basis - digestive upset, headaches, aches, and pains.

In addition, excess weight can exacerbate inflammation and inflammation can make it more difficult to lose weight... becoming a vicious cycle.

There is a tendency for people not to want to hear that just a small weight loss is a great success towards a healthier body.  Generally, those trying to lose weight want the weight to come off much more quickly than it came on, but there is in fact a real benefit to seeing even a small reduction in body weight.  A recent study of postmenopausal women published in Cancer Research showed that women who were overweight or obese and lost at least 5% of their body weight had a measurable reduction in inflammation. (For a woman who weighs 200 lbs., that would be a 10 lb. weight loss.)  If weight can be reduced, inflammation can be reduced as well.  Sadly, with all the diet programs on the market today, the weight of the U.S. population continues to increase. "Diets" aren't working and individuals don't know where to turn.

Think about the choices you make. 

• Are you choosing foods that will create inflammation or reduce it? 
• Do you read the ingredients on the food label? 
• How much added sugar is in your diet?  
• What are the sources of fat? 

Many foods are anti-inflammatory and will help reduce the inflammation in your body that may cause disease, daily aches and pains and struggles to lose weight.

Foods rich in omega-3 fats like wild-caught salmon, tuna, ground flaxseed, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds are great choices.  How can you add more of these foods to your diet?

Consuming fatty fish two times per week is a great place to start.  Try the two fish recipes here for a way to get started.  When cooking choose avocado oil.  It has a mild flavor, is high in healthy fats.  It has a high flash point so works well when cooking at high temperatures.  Try replacing oil in a recipe with ground flaxseed (for 1 TB oil, use 3 TB ground flaxseed).  This works great in baked goods or breakfast items such as pancakes or waffles.  Also, sprinkle ground flaxseed in yogurt, a smoothie or on top of a casserole.  To snack on pumpkin seeds, add them to your favorite trail mix for a healthy nutrient-rich treat.

In addition, avoiding inflammatory foods can help get your body on track.  Avoid highly processed foods that are high in sugar, added fats, trans fats and saturated fats. Make choices that have less than 5-10 grams of sugar per serving and no partially hydrogenated oils listed in the ingredients.

Inflammatory Foods

1. Deep-fried foods.
2. Added sugars in sweetened drinks, baked goods, cereal bars, desserts, and candy.
3. Refined grains such as white bread, pasta, and cereals.
4. Processed meats such as salami, sausage, and ham.
5. Polyunsaturated oils such as corn, soybean, safflower, and sunflower oils.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

1. Fruits and vegetables.
2. Beans and legumes.
3. Seafood such as wild-caught salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines.
4. Healthy oils and fats such as extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, walnuts, avocadoes, ground flaxseeds, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds.
5. Dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa.

Broiled Salmon (serves 1)

Baste salmon fillet with a mixture of 1 TB Dijon mustard, 1 TB honey, 1 TB balsamic vinegar, and ½ tsp. minced garlic.  Broil on high heat until fish flakes easily and is light pink in color (about 10 minutes per inch of thickness).

Pepper Seared Tuna with Mango Relish (serves 4)

2 mangos

6 TB chopped fresh cilantro or 2 TB ground coriander

Salt to taste

½ tsp black pepper, coarsely ground

4 (6-oz) fresh tuna steaks

Nonstick cooking spray

Peel mangos and dice the flesh into ¼ inch pieces.  Transfer to a small bowl.  Add cilantro or coriander and a pinch of salt, mix well.  Chill mango relish for at least 30 minutes.  Lightly press black pepper into one side of each tuna steak.  Sprinkle with salt.  Place the fish, pepper-side down, in a large skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray.  Cook on both sides over medium-high heat until the fish is seared on the outside but still slightly pink in the center.  Mound mango relish on top of each tuna steak.

This mango salsa can also be used to top different varieties of fish, chicken or a salad.