Phoenix Naturopathic Doctors Give 5 Anti-Inflammatory Diet Tips

As doctors who practice acupuncture in Phoenix, we talk a great deal about inflammation. Why? Because chronic inflammation is often a root cause of many chronic illnesses and a sign of imbalance in the body. Starting an anti-inflammatory diet is an important step for many patients as they begin their journey back to health. When you reduce inflammation, you benefit from a boosted immune system, pain relief, weight loss, and generalized rejuvenation. Many patients also find that an anti-inflammatory diet clears up irritating skin conditions, such as eczema or psoriasis, and can also alleviate food sensitivities.

An anti-inflammatory diet is not your average calorie-counting affair

 

Don’t be scared of the word “diet” in this case. An anti-inflammatory diet is full of delicious foods with none of the calorie restrictions. This kind of diet includes fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and you can even splurge on red wine and dark chocolate (more on the specifics later). The point of this diet is to reduce discomfort and illnesses out of your life by shifting the body burden of inflammation. This doesn't have to be an all or nothing affair either. You can think of more like a spectrum of choices. The better your daily choices the more you gradually push your body into less inflammation. When you realize that you can change the way you feel by doing something as simple as changing the foods you eat, you will have better pain management, easier time with weight loss, less cardiovascular issues, and more. Once you see the results, you will never look back.

The relationship between food and inflammation

 

Inflammation occurs when the body experiences tissue trauma. The inflammation is an immune response designed as a call for help, and to activate the body’s natural healing mechanisms to repair the damaged areas. Unfortunately, the body can only handle so much inflammation before things go haywire leading to negative effects such as swelling, pain and sluggish healing. For example, inflammation is a cause for many chronic medical conditions such as, cardiovascular disease, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, back pain, and many more. There are different reasons for inflammation in each of these disease states and all are in some way related to diet.

With cardiovascular disease there is an excess of oxidative stress (toxins from external environment) on the artery walls. In fibromyalgia there is an excess of oxidative stressors in the fibrous and muscle tissues. In rheumatoid arthritis there are food sensitivities that lead to hyperactive immune system. In diabetes there are AGE (advanced glycosylated end-products) that destroy organ proteins. Below we will discuss how this causes inflammation. Lastly with back pain (very generally speaking) and other chronic pain, there is an imbalance in omega fatty acids. Now lets look at some of these in more detail with regard to diet.

 

1. Anti-inflammatory Diet Tip #1: More dark fruits, dark greens, and organic. 

• Cardiovascular disease is a complex health process that involves build up of plaque that clogs the artery walls. The reason this plaque forms is from oxidative stress to the artery wall and the cholesterol. Both are important components of plaque build-up and by removing the the oxidative stress we can reduce plaque buildup. Again cholesterol is important to building plaque but without the oxidative stress, there is no plaque. It is impossible to avoid all oxidative stress since it occurs in our bodies as a natural part of producing energy. However, we can eat foods rich in antioxidants which counteract the oxidants. These are food rich in color like fruits and veggies. We can also avoid foods that have more chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides by buying organic. 

Anti-inflammatory Diet Tip #2: Supplement your mitochondria.

• Fibromyalgia is a condition of chronic pain that effects the muscle and connective tissue. The cause is unknown but a common theory is that the energy producing centers in the muscles called mitochondria cannot keep up with the demands of the body, leading to an excess of oxidative stress in the muscles and nearby connective tissues. For this one specific minerals and nutrients are needed in the foods you choose. Spinach and seeds and nuts are high in magnesium which is needed in your cells for energy production. Salmon and cod have good amounts of Co-Q-10 but if you have fibromyalgia or muscle soreness, you might need an extra supplement of this mitochondrial nutrient.

Anti-Inflammatory Diet Tip #3: Remove Food Sensitivities.

• More and more Rheumatoid Arthritis and other auto-immune conditions are thought to be related to food sensitivities and food allergies. The correlation of food sensitivities and autoimmune disease is variable, sometimes there is a very close relationship and other times not so much. However, in most autoimmune conditions eliminating food sensitivities can greatly improve the flare ups, decrease the day to day pain, and increase energy levels.

Anti-Inflammatory Tip #4: Decrease Blood Sugar Spikes.

• With Diabetes, patients have a hard time balancing blood sugar. In particular they tend to have higher than normal blood sugar levels. This elevated blood sugar causes glycosylation or crystallization of proteins they come in contact with. You an think of the end result of AGE's as a process similar to the browning crust of bread when you bake it. When this crystallization takes place, the body can overcome it through anti-oxidants but without the anti-oxidants the proteins are damaged leading to the cascade of inflammation.
• Even those of us with normal blood sugar levels get the crystallization from time to time when we eat foods that spike our blood sugar. To avoid this, you can adapt a low glycemic diet and eat small frequent meals. 

Anti-Inflammatory Tip #5: Balanced Omega Fatty Acids.

• Many chronic pain can be reduced by adapting this simple diet change. Most of our diets are high in omega 6 and low in omega 3's sos much so that we should try to avoid things with omega 6 fatty acids and eat more foods with omega 3 fatty acids. it is estimated that the average American has a ratio of 8:1 - 12:1 omega 6: omega 3. This is not good because omega 6 fatty acids are the pro-inflammatory and the fuel for inflammation, while omega 3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory. So the advise here is try to move closer to a 5:1 or 3:1 ratio of omega 6 to Omega 3. this will require reducing sources of omega 6 fatty acids from grains, farm raised salmon, chicken and beef, while increasing dark leafy greens, and cold water fish.

 

Macronutrient Rules to live by

Carbohydrates

Minimize foods with a high-glycemic index, such as sugars, processed wheat and corn products, etc. Do not consume foods with high-fructose corn syrup. Get the majority of your carbohydrates from:

• Whole grains, especially quinoa, wild rice, and brown rice

• Beans

• Sweet potatoes/yams

• Winter squash

• Switch to whole-grain pasta, breads, and tortillas and eat these in moderation.

Fats

Reduce your intake of saturated fats. This means reducing your consumption of butter, cream cheese, palm-oil, unskinned chicken, and high-fat cheeses. Avoid shortening, margarine, and any hydrogenated oils. Read ingredients to avoid eating products made with these items.

Cook with extra virgin olive oil or organic, or expeller-pressed canola coil. Healthy fat comes from foods like:

• Avocados

• Almonds, cashews and walnuts (or the butters made from these nuts)

• Wild Sockeye Salmon (good source of Omega-3s), frozen, fresh, and canned

• Eggs (if you can buy true free-range, farm-fresh eggs the health benefits are even greater)

• Sardines (packed in water or olive oil)

• Hemp seed and flax seeds
  Good Fish Oil supplements

Fiber

Ideally, you should eat at least 40 g. of fiber per day. This is done by eating fruits and vegetables (berries, beans, and whole-grains have the biggest fiber bang for your buck). Look for high-fiber cereals (4-5 g. or more per serving)  that are lower in carbs and don’t have HFC.

Protein

If you have liver or kidney issues, or suffer from autoimmune diseases or chronic allergies, you should talk to your doctor about lowering your protein intake. Otherwise, your healthiest sources of protein include:

• Fish

• Grass-fed beef (if you eat red meat) in moderation, as well as buffalo. 

• Low-fat, high-quality cheeses and yogurt

• Beans

• Soy products, like soy protein, soy nuts, and tofu. 

Other things to consider

• The majority of your hydration should come from pure, filtered or spring water.

• Give up the soda.

• If it doesn’t go bad within a week of purchase, it probably isn’t that healthy!

• Drink tea instead of coffee, particularly Green, White, and Oolong tea.

• Eat the rainbow of vegetables and fruits, paying particular attention to dark, leafy greens, cabbages, tomatoes, berries, and yellow/orange fruits and veggies.

• Moderate your drinking and switch to red wine if possible.

• Eat plain dark chocolate -preferably chocolates with a cacao content of 70% or higher.

Most of the items on this list is foods that decrease inflammation just make good old-fashioned sense, increase fruits and veggies, for instance. Many times diet changes are more complex. We specialize in guiding patients to better health through practical diet, lifestyle and other health choices. For more information about diet and lifestyle choices that can reduce inflammation, or to get guidance specific to you, contact Southwest Integrative Medicine.

We look forward to bringing your health back in balance.