healthy eating

Inflammation you can’t see

If your knee or ankle is inflamed it is easy to see and easy to understand.  You put some ice on it, rest and it slowly improves.  Unfortunately, the older you get the slower the improvement.  But when you start talking about gut or systemic inflammation it is much harder to grasp.  Your Woodbridge, Dale City VA chiropractor has some information for you on how to control inflammation you can’t see.

Your immune system attacks anything in your body that it recognizes as foreign—such as an invading microbe, plant pollen, or chemical. The process is called inflammation. Intermittent bouts of inflammation directed at truly threatening invaders protect your health.

However, sometimes inflammation persists, day in and day out, even when you are not threatened by a foreign invader. That’s when inflammation can become your enemy. Many major diseases that plague us—including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, depression, and Alzheimer’s—have been linked to chronic inflammation.

One of the most powerful tools to combat inflammation comes not from the pharmacy, but from the grocery store. “Many experimental studies have shown that components of foods or beverages may have anti-inflammatory effects,” says Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Choose the right foods, and you may be able to reduce your risk of illness. Consistently pick the wrong ones, and you could accelerate the inflammatory disease process.

 

Foods that inflame

Try to avoid or limit these foods as much as possible:

refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and pastries

French fries and other fried foods

soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages

red meat (burgers, steaks) and processed meat (hot dogs, sausage)

margarine, shortening, and lard

 

Inflammation-promoting foods

Not surprisingly, the same foods that contribute to inflammation are generally considered bad for our health, including sodas and refined carbohydrates, as well as red meat and processed meats.

“Some of the foods that have been associated with an increased risk for chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease are also associated with excess inflammation,” Dr. Hu says. “It’s not surprising, since inflammation is an important underlying mechanism for the development of these diseases.”

 

Unhealthy foods also contribute to weight gain, which is itself a risk factor for inflammation. Yet in several studies, even after researchers took obesity into account, the link between foods and inflammation remained, which suggests weight gain isn’t the sole driver. “Some of the food components or ingredients may have independent effects on inflammation over and above increased caloric intake,” Dr. Hu says.

 

Foods that combat inflammation

Include plenty of these anti-inflammatory foods in your diet:

tomatoes

olive oil

green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, and collards

nuts like almonds and walnuts

fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines

fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and oranges

 

Anti-inflammation foods

On the flip side are foods and beverages that have been found to reduce the risk of inflammation, and with it, chronic disease, says Dr. Hu. He notes in particular fruits and vegetables such as blueberries, apples, and leafy greens that are high in natural antioxidants and polyphenols—protective compounds found in plants.

Studies have also associated nuts with reduced markers of inflammation and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Coffee, which contains polyphenols and other anti-inflammatory compounds, may protect against inflammation, as well.

 

Anti-inflammatory eating

To reduce levels of inflammation, aim for an overall healthy diet. If you’re looking for an eating plan that closely follows the tenets of anti-inflammatory eating, consider the Mediterranean diet, which is high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fish, and healthy oils.

In addition to lowering inflammation, a more natural, less processed diet can have noticeable effects on your physical and emotional health. “A healthy diet is beneficial not only for reducing the risk of chronic diseases, but also for improving mood and overall quality of life,” Dr. Hu says.

 

Doroski Chiropractic Neurology

3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102

Woodbridge VA 22192

703 730 9588

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Healthy food choices

I get asked about diets and healthy eating all the time in my Woodbridge, Dale City VA Chiropractic office.  Seems like this time of year everyone is trying to diet or worried about breaking their diet due to the holidays.  Making the right choices with what we eat is tough enough with all our busy schedules.  I try to encourage my patients to make small changes in their diets rather than one huge drastic one.  Lunch seems to be the easy one to change.  It is usually done on the fly so bringing a healthy lunch can help improve your daily food intake.  Here is some pretty good advice on making the correct food choices.

Healthy Dietary Choices

Eat more raw foods. Cooking and canning destroys much of the nutrition in foods. With the exception of canned tomatoes, which have been shown to help prevent prostate cancer, fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables generally have more natural vitamins and minerals.

Select organically grown foods when possible, because they have lower amounts of toxic elements, such as pesticides and heavy metals.

Consume 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day. Whole-grain breads and cereals, beans, nuts and some fruits and vegetables are good sources of fiber. High-fiber diets can help prevent digestive disorders, heart disease and colon cancer.

Eat out more sparingly. Food preparation methods in restaurants often involve high amounts—and the wrong types—of fat and sugar.

Brown-bag your lunch to control your fat and sugar intake while adding nutritious fruits, vegetables and grains.

Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Don’t substitute coffee, tea and soft drinks for water.

Limit your intake of alcohol, and quit smoking. Drinking alcohol excessively and/or smoking hinder your body’s ability to absorb nutrients from food.

Vegetarian Diets

Research shows that a good vegetarian diet as part of a comprehensive health program can help prevent heart disease, cancer and other diseases. However, fried foods, hydrogenated fats and commercial meat substitutes may contain more sugar and fat than a meat-eater would consume. If you are considering a vegetarian diet, keep the following tips in mind:

Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes to consume a wide range of nutrients.

Consume fortified foods or take supplements, such as vitamin B12, to obtain the nutrients you no longer get from animal-based products.

Children, pregnant and breast-feeding women, and people recovering from illness should consult their healthcare practitioners before eliminating animal products from their diet.

Supplements

While dietary supplements are becoming increasingly popular, they are not substitutes for foods, nor can a person sustain good health simply by taking vitamin and mineral supplements. When taken properly, however, supplements can play an important role in achieving maximum health.

Since supplements are just an added source of nutrients, consume dark green vegetables, oils, nuts and seeds, which are sources of magnesium, fatty acids and many other vitamins and minerals.

 

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Doroski Chiropractic Neurology

3122 Golansky Blvd, Ste 102

Woodbridge VA 22192

703 730 9588

Map Link