Inflammation is an evil little word that doesn’t even sound like anything good comes from it. And no, nothing does!! There are so many forms of this unpleasant little curse. It ranges any where from acute (short lasting like straining a muscle or a viral infection) to chronic (arthritis and heart disease). After a cooking demo on Hearth Disease and the Foods the Fight, I received LOADS of questions and emails about inflammation, so here we go!!

Like most people, I was once a frequent Aleve partaker. We were BFF’s if you will. We met regularly 2 to 3 times a day in a 4-dose take. That’s anywhere from 8 to 12 pills a day!! YIKES!! The bottle says its ok! The side effects of that are another blog all together!! Instead of continuing with this pattern of destruction, I decided to do some research on what I could do and what I could eat instead of popping those blue “magic” pills.

http://justordinaryus.blogspot.com/2012/06/today-im.html

Now the Inflammation Diet is NOT going to shed pounds off of your body. I repeat, LOSING WEIGHT IS NOT THE POINT HERE!!! Each diet has a twist to it. For example, I can’t eat grapefruit or eggplant. It makes my muscles hurt. But that’s the fun part!! Keep a journal and figure out what works for your body! Eating to avoid inflammation is promoting better health for yourself and can in turn, ward off disease!

A majority of people today have a diet that includes too many Omega 6 Fatty’s (found in processed foods and fast food), and not enough of the Omega 3 Fatty’s. Also, the phytochemicals that are naturally found in plants reduce inflammation automatically!! Easy Money!! And don’t forget to exercise!! Get that blood flowing and that heart going!! Cardio 3 times a week for 15 to 20 minutes and you’ll feel great!!

The 7 Simple Guidelines to Roll with:

1- Eat plenty of fruits and veggies! Just when you think you ate enough for the day, have another apple and a stalk of celery!!

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vegetables-and-fruits/

2- Minimize (or eliminate) saturated fats and trans fats.

http://www.nevermindthebuspass.com/health-archive/look-good-feel-great/look-good-feel-great-part-11-the-skinny-on-fat/attachment/trans-fat-law-california/

3- Eat you Omega 3’s!! The easiest way to get that is by adding walnuts, Flax Seeds, Soybeans, tofu and tofu to your diet.

http://www.fitsugar.com/Vegan-Sources-Omega-3s-18458376

The No Flare Diet