Depending on what you eat, your diet may be causing or reducing inflammation.
Inflammation is not always harmful…like we are sometimes led to believe. It has a purpose.
Inflammation is the body’s natural immune response to injury or infection. It protects us from bacteria, toxins or allergens. Without it, we would be defenseless against almost all in pathogens.
The problem arises when our body is chronically inflamed.
Many elements affect inflammation, and diet is one of them. Sometimes, food is the threatening agent that causes your body to respond through inflammation. This inflammation can make existing illnesses worse, like in the case of arthritis or diabetes or raise your risk of several other diseases, such as cancer.
Over time, inflammation can cause cell damage and increase your risk for chronic diseases.
However, a growing body of evidence supports long-held cultural beliefs that some foods can help decrease chronic inflammation. Pile on some stress and a sedentary lifestyle, and you are at significant risk of chronic disease.
For this reason, eating foods that can help reduce inflammation is strongly advised.
The change doesn’t require hard-to-find or expensive ingredients. You can easily find the below ingredients in every grocery store or farmer’s market.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables greatly reduce inflammation in the body for several reasons. They are rich in antioxidants Vitamin C, beta-carotene, and polyphenols, which help to neutralize harmful free radicals and reduce oxidative stress, a significant contributor to inflammation.
They also contain fibre which promotes healthy gut bacteria and improves gut health, reducing systemic inflammation. NutriKane I delivers a huge punch of all these benefits with beetroot, red grape marc, ascorbic acid and queen garnet plum.
It is best to focus on eating a variety of colours and types, rather than focusing on repeating the five same fruits and vegetables in different combinations.
Foods with omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids help to reduce inflammation in the body. They do this by decreasing the harmful signals that cause inflammation and increasing the helpful signals that prevent inflammation. They also change cell membranes’ composition, making cells less responsive to inflammation triggers.
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines. They are also found in flaxseeds, chia seeds, walnuts, olive oil and avocado.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a warm and earthy flavour spice, often used in curries and quickly and easily grown at home. It rightly receives a lot of attention in the media because it contains curcumin which has been proven to be a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound that can reduce inflammation related to chronic conditions such as arthritis and diabetes. These benefits are best achieved when combined with piperine found in black pepper.
Ginger
Ginger is long revered for reducing inflammation. This is because of the presence of compounds such as gingerols and shogaols. These compounds inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes, which play a crucial role in the inflammation process. Additionally, ginger has potent antioxidant properties that reduce oxidative stress, significantly contributing to inflammation.
Green Tea
We all know that green tea is healthy. Many of its benefits are due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which inhibit inflammation by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine production and damage to the fatty acids of your cells.
Prebiotics
These types of foods promote the growth of good bacteria in the gut. They include artichokes, onions, leeks, garlic, whole grains and sweet potatoes. Nutrikane I is an abundant and established source of prebiotics through the ingredients of red sorghum and sugarcane fibre.
Probiotics
Probiotics help restore the balance of bacteria in the gut, improving overall health and reducing the risk of gut-related health problems that exacerbate inflammation. They improve immune function by stimulating the production of antibodies and immune cells. And they directly reduce inflammation by decreasing the levels of inflammatory chemicals in the gut.
Probiotic foods include fermented food such as yogurt kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, and miso.
Avoiding inflammatory foods is an excellent start to getting healthy. But you can double down when choosing foods that help reduce inflammation. There is no magic group of foods that you can add, but eating a plant-focused diet will immensely mitigate your risk.
