Diet Coke for breakfast, protein bar for lunch, take out for dinner and some Fro Yo for a healthy dessert. Sound familiar? Sound healthy? Unfortunately what we used to think of as healthy and what we now KNOW are healthy are two totally different things. Are you still counting calories? What about eating low calorie yogurt as a diet food?
Here’s the problem: INFLAMMATION!! Let’s talk about that word. You twist your ankle and you feel pain, swelling, redness, and heat that tell you your ankle is inflamed. We’re all used to the word inflammation as it relates to the body’s natural defense system. This type of inflammation is a good thing (to some extent). It helps your body protect and heal itself.
However, when your immune system shifts out of balance, inflammation can run rampant — causing a chronic, inflammation inside your body that actually causes tissue damage and contributes to disease and weight gain. Sugars (high fructose corn syrup), white flours, wrong oils and fats, processed foods (including sodas & low fat foods) all cause inflammation inside your body. In fact, our SAD (Standard American Diet) is actually hurting us. Eating low calorie, highly processed foods are actually CAUSING you to be fat! No amount of exercise is going to combat all that inflammation you are causing inside your body. Overwhelming evidence suggests that chronic inflammation is created by many lifestyle elements, particularly diet, and is a common pathophysiologic process for many illnesses. Examples include cardiovascular disease, obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, depression, arthritis, asthma, and inflammatory bowel disease (Egger, 2014).
What can you do?
But, you say, I don’t have time for anything much healthier. I’m SO busy! Running the kids around, working to pay the mortgage, taking care of extended family, trying to fit in a workout, hoping to socialize with friends, all while the laundry keeps stacking up. Who has time to eat kale? Let me tell you…YOU DO! It’s time to get educated on how to eat for health to save you time and money down the road.
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet
The anti-inflammatory diet is an eating pattern that is derived from the healthiest component of both traditional Mediterranean and Asian dietary patterns (Willcox, 2014), both of which are associated with good health and longevity. The philosophical basis for an anti-inflammatory diet is to increase the intake of beneficial anti-inflammatory foods while reducing or minimizing foods that trigger inflammation. This builds on evidence that certain dietary components found in certain foods such as fruits, berries, vegetables, nuts, whole grain, and foods of marine origin, can play an important role in attenuating and mitigating chronic pro-inflammatory processes associated with chronic diseases (Wu, 2012).
Next Steps
So check out the Anti-Inflammatory food pyramid, take a trip to the grocery store, get to know the organic produce section a little better. Start with small changes and make informed choices about what you eat.