8 Of The Best Anti-inflammatory Foods

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Constant inflammation in the body is one of the leading causes of many illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and in some cases Alzeihmer’s. This list of anti-inflammatory foods are a great way to decrease inflammation and so improve your health.

As you move into perimenopause and menopause you may start to notice more aches and pains than you used to. That’s because estrogen helps to reduce inflammation. As it’s levels decline, inflammation may increase, causing discomfort and ?arthritis.

You can go a long way towards improving levels of inflammation with food.  This list is a good starting point for what you can include in your diet to help diminish inflammation.

Vegetables

For balance, every meal should look like you are about to wolf down a rainbow with a sprinkle of protein but the dark leafy veg is where it’s at if you want anti-inflammatory properties.

Kale, spinach, bok choy, chard, watercress, parsley and broccoli

Try to eat fresh organic but for convenience, items such as frozen spinach cubes are awesome. I chuck that stuff into almost everything.

How easy is it to have a pot of your own parsley growing? It grows like a weed which is good for you as you can chop it up and sprinkle it on almost everything.

Berries

As a rule, the dark purple berries tend to be more nutrient-rich, but the red ones are up there.

We tend to stick to raspberries in our house due to their low fructose and high fibre content.

Acai, blueberries, blackberries, goji berries, strawberries and of course raspberries

These are all good sources of nutrients and are the most readily available.

Omega 3 fats

These are good at fighting inflammation in the body, especially the brain.

Salmon, fish or krill oil supplements

I love a nice piece of salmon, but to get the benefits every day I take a fish oil supplement.

Tea

Maybe consider sipping a couple of cups a day, milk and sugar-free of course. In hot climates just chill and add ice.

White, green and black tea

Generally the darker the tea the more processing it has undergone but they all contain polyphenols. Polyphenols are abundant micronutrients in our diet and there is good evidence emerging that they have a role to play in the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease and more.

If you are partial to green tea you may like to try Matcha which is basically the leaves used for green tea, steamed, dried and ground.

Its concentrations of antioxidants are much higher than green tea. It is also versatile in its uses. Check out @matchmaiden on Instagram for ideas.

Fermented vegetables

Did you know that there are up to three times as many neurons in our gut than our brain? We need to keep that chappie in a good state of health and we can do that by eating fermented vegetables.

Sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, olives, pickles

These will all provide good bacteria to your gut.

Pickling is such a simple process and how cheap is cabbage and some salt. We have no excuse for a sick gut.

Shitake mushrooms

These little beauties contain some great inflammation-fighting properties and as an added benefit also contain copper. Our bodies need copper but cannot produce it, therefore, it all comes from outside sources.

Keep dried shitake on hand for adding to stews and stir-fries

Garlic

This stuff is the superwoman of the veggie world with antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antioxidant properties.

Turmeric, cinnamon, clove and ginger

These four spices deserve a mention they have all been shown to produce good anti-inflammatory properties.

Turmeric – is the yellow spice used in curries. It contains a compound called curcumin. This compound has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. As it is difficult to experinece much benefit from the spice itself you woule need to take a supplement. Curcumin is poorley absorbed into the bloodstream but this is greatly improved by adding black pepper with it.

You can read more on reducing inflammation naturally and the health benefits of turmeric curcumin in this informative article at Lyfe Botanicals

10 Health Benefits and Uses for Turmeric Curcumin Supplements

Cinammon – this delicious warm spice is loaded with antioxidants which go to war on inflammation within your body. We all need inflammation which is the bodies way of fighting infection and repairing tissue but when it chronic such as in allergies, asthma, coeliac disease and rheumatoid arthritis then this gorgeous spice can do some good.

Clove – This aniseedy spice is especially good in treating infammation within the mouth and throat.

Ginger – Another versitile and delicious spice with powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. It is commonly used in anti nausea mediactions but is also effective in helping with indegestion, menopause pain and muscle pain.