(303) 472-6743

Chronic inflammation in your body can cause illness and pain. Choosing low-inflammation food is a great way to reduce the inflammation in your body. 

Instead of heading to your pharmacy for a pill to fight chronic inflammation, experts suggest heading to the grocery store. Many foods part of a healthy diet can help you battle excessive inflammation in your body. While inflammation isn’t inherently bad, when it becomes a chronic condition, it is often a factor underlying more severe health complications. 

What should you know about inflammation?

When your body senses anything foreign, it activates your immune system. The heat, redness, pain, and swelling you experience if you’re sick, injured, or encountered an allergen is inflammation. This is your body’s natural protective response and is the good side of inflammation. When inflammation becomes chronic, it often leads to disease. Many people receive counsel from the health community to reduce inflammation. Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions have been linked to inflammation. 

Avoid or limit these foods that increase inflammation

When you adjust your diet to be less inflammatory, it’s important to reduce or avoid eating highly inflammatory foods like the ones listed below.

• Sugar-sweetened beverages including soda
• Sugar (be mindful of sugar lurking in unexpected places such as pasta sauce, condiments, and more)
• Cakes, doughnuts, pastries, cookies, candy
• Fried foods
• Refined carbohydrates 
• Processed and red meat
• Canola oil

Choose anti-inflammatory foods for better health

The people that live around the Mediterranean Sea generally eat a low-inflammation, plant-based diet known as the Mediterranean diet. Nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes are consumed as well as moderate amounts of seafood, dairy, and poultry. Olive oil is the primary source of added fat. When looking to add anti-inflammatory foods to your diet, keep the tenets of the Mediterranean diet in mind.  

The more you incorporate the following foods into your diet the more you will decrease inflammation and support your health. Here are some items to add to your grocery list: 

Fruits

Berries such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries contain antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory effects. Other great anti-inflammatory fruit choices are tomatoes, cherries, oranges, avocadoes, and apples. Be sure to choose organic fruits to avoid pesticides.

Leafy green vegetables

Adding kale, spinach, and collard greens to your diet reduces inflammation because they also have antioxidants and polyphenols known for many good health benefits. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower are associated with a lower risk of heart disease in part due to the antioxidants they contain that also reduce inflammation. 

Fatty fish

When you add salmon, sardines, anchovies, and other fatty fish to your diet, you also get a boost in omega-3 fatty acids, the component responsible for lowering inflammation. 

Nuts

Almonds and walnuts are particularly good for reducing inflammation. 

Coffee and green tea

Thanks to polyphenols and other anti-inflammatory compounds, coffee, and green tea should be part of a diet that aims to reduce inflammation. 

Recipe Inspiration

Now that you’re versed on some of the best anti-inflammatory food to add to your diet, it’s time to discover how to prepare them in new and enticing ways to keep your tastebuds tantalized. 

One of our favorite sources for inspiration is the Easy Vegan Bible, complete with 200 easy-to-prepare plant-based recipes using easy-to-find ingredients. While we’re certain vegans will find some new recipe ideas as the name implies, anyone who wants to add more vegetables to their diet will appreciate it. 

Another great way to reduce inflammation is to move your body. Movement lowers stress and helps you feel well and live well. Please call or text us today at 303-472-6743 to schedule your introductory Pilates or OOV session.