Many people consider inflammation as a bad thing. They are unaware of the fact that acute inflammation is not bad because it is a natural defense mechanism of your body that shows itself when your body and health is threatened by dangers like bacteria, viruses, cuts, and splinters. After inflammation, if you have symptoms like swelling, redness, pain or heat, it signifies that your body has triggered not only white blood cells but several disease-fighting chemicals as well.
In contrast, chronic inflammation is a bad thing because in some cases, your body attacks healthy cells as it is unable to distinguish between healthy cells and unhealthy ones. This is the reason people are looking at methods to reduce inflammation.
Diet and Inflammation
The number one method of fighting inflammation is to eat certain foods that help in reducing it and it’s the healthiest, and economical method of doing so. Though some of you might be thinking of going for the trending diets like anti-inflammatory diet, experts warn against such trends. Rather than following a diet trend, you should include foods that beat inflammation in your regular diet.
Foods to Try
According to experts at Harvard, some of the foods that are known to reduce inflammation thanks to their anti-inflammatory properties are nuts, green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, healthy oils, fatty fish, etc. Turmeric and its main active ingredient curcumin are also known anti-inflammatory foods that control bad inflammation and make you feel healthier than ever before. This is the reason why more and more people are turning towards a curcumin supplement.
Foods to Avoid
Just as there are foods that control inflammation, there are also some foods that escalate inflammation. These include but are not limited to fried foods, pastries, bread, sugar-laden beverages, red meat, margarine, etc.
If you are haven’t found some of the foods you have regularly as a part of either of these lists, then you should be smart to talk to a dietician or a nutrition expert who will offer proper guidance.
How Some Foods Fight Inflammation?
You probably know by now which foods are anti-inflammatory. But if you are not willing to take our word for it, you should read how every food we mentioned can help with inflammation.
- Fish Oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids that are known to help reduce inflammation. If you don’t like to eat fish, you can also opt for fish oil supplements that are easily available online or offline.
- Leafy greens are a good source of vitamin E that can protect your body from cytokines, which are well-known pro-inflammatory molecules.
- Nuts have a lot of inflammation-fighting healthy fats. It doesn’t which type of nuts you prefer to munch on as all of them are loaded with antioxidants that help your body not only to fight inflammation but also fix the damage caused by it.
- Tomatoes have lycopene, a carotene and carotenoid pigment and phytochemical that is known to help reduce inflammation in the lungs and the rest of your body. As lycopene is present in cooked tomatoes too, you have another excuse to make tomato sauce at home.
- Healthy oils like olive oil promote heart health and hence are great for inflammation as well.
- Turmeric is a common spice used in preparing foods and give them a yellow color. It’s key active ingredient, curcumin is known to have anti-inflammatory effects equivalent to common pain relievers like Advil, Aleve, Motrin, etc.
Is Curcumin the Most Vital Addition to Your Diet?
Yes, no matter whether you have it raw or you take curcumin supplements, you are doing yourself a great favor as curcumin not only helps fight inflammation, it also provides these marvelous benefits:
ü Science has proven that plant compounds available in curcumin can help provide relief in some of the most crucial osteoarthritis symptoms.
ü According to science, curcumin is also known to help fight bad cholesterol which reduces your chances of being a victim of some heart disease.
ü Curcumin can also help keep the body fat in check and hence can help you stay fit, lose weight and fight obesity.
ü A study on rats discovered that curcumin could help in reducing harmful oxidative stress and hence protect you from chronic liver damage.
ü Curcumin not only helps in controlling the blood sugar, but it may also help in reducing the harmful effects of diabetes on your body.
ü Curcumin can be used in conjunction with antifungal medications to reduce fungal infections attracting your body.
ü Some early research has proven that curcumin can reduce the activity of many cancer cells like colon and hence help people fighting this deadly disease.
ü Curcumin can also curb the growth of several disease-causing bacteria.
If you need more help in deciding the foods you ought to have, you can also try following a food guide like this.
