What are Anti-inflammatory Foods?
There are certain conditions that can cause inflammation that includes rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and psoriasis. Inflammation is our body’s way to fight illness. While medication is readily available on the market, experts say that changing your diet would be beneficial in dealing with these kinds of conditions.
Anti-inflammatory foods are rich in antioxidants that help remove free radicals in the body. Free radicals are the natural byproduct of some of the body’s processes, including metabolism and there are some external factors too like stress, smoking, and an unhealthy lifestyle.
These can damage the cells in the body and can increase the risk of inflammation. It can also contribute to developing a range of diseases. Thus antioxidants help remove these toxic substances.
Anti-inflammatory foods help the body reduce the risk of inflammation by producing antioxidants and polyphenols. These compounds are mostly found in plants.
Studies have shown that Anti-inflammatory foods can also help in lowering the risk of having cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
What to eat?
Here is a list of food that fight inflammation:
- Tomatoes
- Green Leafy Vegetables – kale, spinach, collards, broccoli, cabbage
- Olive oil and avocados
- Nuts – Walnuts, almond
- Fruits – blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and cherries
- Plant-based protein like beans
- Fresh herbs and spices – turmeric, curry and cumin
- Fatty fish – salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines that are all rich in
- Omega-3 fatty acids that can fight inflammation
- Raw or moderately cooked vegetables
- Ginger
- Tea
- Probiotics and Prebiotics
- Legume – Lentils
What to avoid?
Foods rich in sugar, highly processed and overly greasy as they can increase the risk of developing inflammation.
Who can it help?
In today’s world, Anti-inflammatory diet is being included as a complementary therapy for various conditions such as:
- Crohn’s disease
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Eosinophilic Esophagitis
- Asthma
- Colitis
- Psoriasis
- Lupus
- Metabolic Syndrome (Obesity, High blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes)
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Hashimoto’s Disease
Anti-inflammatory foods will not only help the body decrease the inflammation it also helps reduce the risk of certain cancers.
It is important to have a variety of foods that have high antioxidants and it is also important to know how to process each of them before intake as some processes can alter the nutritional content of the food.
Having a supplement that is high in antioxidants like Mistify can also help in boosting your immune system.
Always remember a colourful plate that contains fruits and vegetables is not just pleasing to the eyes but it is also beneficial to the body.