For many people with chronic inflammatory conditions, the break in heat from the summer is one of the happiest days of the year. I love that nature welcomes the season with pom poms of amber, tangerine, and leather hues.
There really is no shortage of sources of superfoods for those of us following an anti-inflammatory diet.
So even though we’ve passed the seasonal truckloads of summer produce, there are still PLENTY of anti-inflammatory fall foods to help nourish and heal by reducing inflammation in the body as well as providing vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols.
Greens like kale, arugula, collard greens, and swiss chard are packed full of vitamins and antioxidants. And they’re versatile enough that many can be eaten raw, cooked, as a stand-alone side, or even as a soup or casserole component.
Pumpkins
Arguably the most popular fall vegetable, pumpkins provide an amazing source of Vitamin A (the color gives you that hint on beta carotene), balanced polyunsaturated fats, Vitamins C and E, and several other essential minerals.
They’re also packed with fiber and healthy carbs, and can be stored for a long period of time (in a dry pantry or frozen) without going bad.
Butternut Squash
Butternut squash is also packed with Vitamin A, but it’s also an amazing source of Vitamin C as well. Compared to pumpkins, it’s more dense in energy, meaning: per serving it contains more calories, carbs, and fiber.
Sweet potatoes also have a ton of Vitamin A. But aside from that, their nutritional value is nearly the same as white potatoes. And even though white potatoes have more carbs, this occurs as starches versus the sugar content in sweet potatoes, which is something to consider if you’re watching your blood sugar levels.
Either are great options for soups or even just sliced and baked as healthier fries.
Beets
One of the most overlooked vegetables (in my opinion) is the beet. Beets are high in folate and manganese, but also contain betalains, which gives it the bright red color, and is associated with reduced cancer risk.
Not only can you eat the beet itself, but the greens are also a fantastic source of nutrition. Beets can be roasted, sauteed, pickled, or boiled; and the greens can be used in salads or saved for soup broths.
Apples
Ahhh…the quintessential fruit for fall! Apples peak season is September, so take advantage of this amazing time of year to get super fresh apples! The best way to eat them is raw, as fresh as possible, and with the skin on.
Not only do apples give tons of fiber, the skin contains quercetin, which is amazing for those with allergies, and it also reduces inflammation.
Herbs
Herbs are one of the most overlooked nutrition powerhouses in the plant family. They pack so much punch for such a little plant. But they’re also SO EASY to add in to any dish for extra flavor.
Here are my favorite anti-inflammatory herbs for fall.
Sage
Sage not only adds delicious earthy notes to fall and winter dishes, but also can be used in teas and as an essential oil. Sage is high in Vitamin K and vital minerals, but also contains antioxidants.
What’s so amazing about sage is that it’s been shown to relieve or cure illnesses like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression, dementia, and lupus. But it’s also been used for centuries in traditional medicine for inflammation, bacterial, and viral infections, which makes it high on the list for cold and flu season.
Rosemary
Rosemary is full of iron, calcium, and vitamin B-6, and is also native to the Mediterranean—fitting for an anti-inflammatory diet rooted in the Mediterranean diet. It’s been used for a wide range of ailments including digestion, muscle pain, improved circulation and memory, and a boost to the immune system.
Aside from its fragrant and mouthwatering culinary powers, studies have proven its anti inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and neuroprotective properties. This means that even though it can fight free radicals and harmful bacteria, it can also be used in mood disorders, enhanced learning, anxiety, and sleep disorders.
Thyme
Thyme (another herb native to the Mediterranean) can be used as a treatment for anything from acne to GI disturbances to menstrual cramps (and a ton of stuff in between!) But it’s actually an extremely versatile culinary addition. It has an earthy flavor but can waver back and forth between savory or sweet dishes like stocks and stews, roasted vegetables, teas, and desserts.
Fall Spices
Although spices can generally be used year-round, the warmth of the following three are perfect for the cooling weather.
Ginger
Ginger has been touted to help anything from boosting the immune system, lowering blood sugar, and easing inflammation. Probably it’s most famous claims to fame include taming the GI tract and pulling down inflammation. These benefits are made possible due to the over 400 compounds that ginger contains.
Ginger has a fresh, zingy flavor, and although the dried version (teas and spice shakers) have a milder flavor than fresh, they can still have nearly the same health benefits. It’s best to use fresh, and ginger root can be cut up and put in the fridge or frozen to last even longer.
Cinnamon
There can be a lot of confusion over the type of cinnamon that’s best to use. Ceylon (known as ‘true’ cinnamon) and cassia (what you buy in the grocery store) are equally delicious and contain a compound called cinnamaldehyde that’s thought to be responsible for its health and metabolism benefits.
Honestly my favorite spice for fall is a combination of several spices: Pumpkin pie spice. This mixture obviously enhances pumpkin flavor, but can be used in a variety of recipes in fall and winter.
The components of pumpkin pie spice include cinnamon and ginger, which we already covered. The other ingredients are nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and black pepper.
What’s so great about the blend in pumpkin pie spice is that all the ingredients have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds just like the other spices mentioned.
Anti-inflammatory recipes are a great addition to a healthy eating pattern as they can help manage, prevent or reverse the effects of inflammation in the body.
Ingredients like dark leafy greens, beets and cauliflower are packed with anti-inflammatory properties which can help reduce chronic pain and prevent age-related illnesses.
Eating anti-inflammatory foods doesn’t have to be bland or boring either, as there are plenty of fresh and healthy recipes to choose from that cater to different dietary needs. Incorporating these recipes into your meal prep routine can help balance your blood sugar and reduce chronic inflammation.
What is an anti-inflammatory diet?
An anti-inflammatory diet focuses on consuming foods that have anti-inflammatory properties, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
It aims to reduce chronic inflammation in the body, which can help prevent chronic diseases and promote overall health and well-being.
What are the benefits of anti-inflammatory meal prep?
No matter the season, your life is probably super busy. We have 4 kids (3 at home), and regardless of whether school is in or it’s summer or even winter break, things are always sorta chaotic.
So this method has actually been a lifesaver for us so that on weeks where I don’t even have the brainpower to put a meal plan together, this is our lifeline.
We have a backup.
No thinking about it all day, no scrambling at the last minute, and definitely no ultra-processed, inflammatory, and overpriced drive-thru or takeout.
So I’m gonna show you how to meal prep with fall anti-inflammatory foods (meaning: in season for fall in the US).
I’m also linking the example meals that we made for the week with all of the produce that we got.
And if you scroll a bit, you can get the GUIDE that shows you the details for all of this so you can keep it on hand for ANY time you have weeks like this.
And all of this was just random stuff that I know my family will eat and that gave us a pretty good variety for meals this week.
Step 2: Prep your workspace
And after washing all the produce, I pre-heated both ovens for 350 degrees F.
The tools you’ll need for your meal prep session are a large cutting board, good knives, and roasting pans- probably with a lip, and something to line it with so stuff doesn’t stick.
Now I use something I found by accident with is a BBQ grilling mat—I love these because I can cut them to fit perfectly in my pan and NOTHING sticks to them—they come in a pack all rolled up in a box.
(Some links may be affiliate links, meaning if you click on and then purchase, I’ll get a portion of the proceeds, at no additional charge to you.) 🙂
So our base seasoning includes avodado oil to drizzle on, I use this to cook with because it has a high smoke point. Or you can use something like this Misto spray can where you put the oil in, pump air in to build pressure, and spray it on.
Then season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and it’s ready to go in the oven.
Click the image below to grab the free Fall Anti-Inflammatory Meal Prep Guide!👇
Step 4: Prep foods that cook the longest first
So, even though I didn’t have full meals planned out when I got all this produce, I had a loose plan for a few things. So I knew I’d want to do baked potatoes one night, so since they take an hour to bake you’ll want to do these first if you’re doing baked potatoes one night.
And for baked potatoes, you just coat each one individually with oil, salt it, wrap it in foil, and then punch some holes with a fork.
Once I’ve got those all set and into the oven for one hour, I get to work chopping everything else.
Step 5: Prep all other foods that cook the same length of time
Broccoli and cauliflower
I started out with broccoli, and just basically cut all the florets off—and if you don’t like to chop you can always buy the bags where it’s pre-chopped. It does save time, but may cost a little more.
Once these were all cut up, I put them all on the pan on one end, because I put the cauliflower on the other end.
Then I started with the cauliflower and removed that large base then cut those into florets as well, breaking some of them apart. And you can also buy these prechopped if you don’t like cutting them up- it does save a lot of time and mess.
Then I placed all those on the second half of the pan where the broccoli was. I cook these on the same pan because cook at right about the same rate.
And then I wanted a bit more flavor than just our base seasoning, so I chopped an onion into chunks and just spread it out evenly on the pan.
Brussels sprouts
Next I prepped brussels sprouts, and the easiest way to do these is chop off the end piece slice them in half and lay them face down on the pan.
I arranged mine with a hole in the middle for all the loose little leaves because they get extra crispy and are a super yummy snack!
Then drizzle or spray with oil, then season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.—and they’re ready to go!
Mushrooms.
I decided to split the mushrooms and do half chopped pretty small and the other half roasted.
I chopped one half because I like to mix them in with ground meat to give it bulk and really boost the vitamin content-and my kids can never tell! I don’t precook those, so I just put them in a baggie to store in the fridge until the night I needed them.
The other half I just spread out on the pan, and I had a pack of sage I grabbed at the store as well—this is such a fragrant and nutrition-packed herb, and perfect for colder weather.
So I just chopped some of it, sprinkled it on the mushrooms, then added our oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and it’s ready to go.
Sweet potatoes
I roughly chopped the sweet potatoes because I had loosely planned mashed sweet potates with cinnamon- my kids love those- and the rest I planned to use in my lunches during the week.
But that meant that all of them needed to be chopped.
Regular potatoes
Then I started on the rest of the regular potatoes I had. So for the ones I wasn’t using for a whole baked potato, we like to sometimes do homemade fries and this tool makes it super easy.
It’s a fry cutter and has this grid blade inside to cut the potato in perfectly squared fries.
So how it works is that you take the lid off, place the potato wedge on top of that grid, then put the lid on and push it down to force the potato through the grid. And you have perfectly shaped fries.
So I repeated this process until I got all the rest of the potatoes cut, then put them with the sweet potatoes on a pan, because they cook at about the same rate. I got them all seasoned and ready for the oven.
Step 6: Put all prepped veggies into the oven
All of the veggies go into the oven at that 350 degrees F for 30 minutes- just keep an eye out and take out anything that’s cooking a little too much.
Step 7: Any veg that won’t be pre-cooked
And the last thing I prepped was kale. Since this came in a bag, I picked out any bad pieces since it was already chopped, and planned to wilt some one night for dinner, and then would have a massaged kale salad one night as well.
So once all the bad pieces were picked out I just stored it in a Ziploc in the fridge.
Step 8: Remove veggies from oven
And when they’re done, just take all the pans out, and let them cool…
Step 9: Store prepped veggies
Then start putting them into your storage containers.
I do recommend putting them in separate containers because some veggies do have a higher water content and a lot of times they get a little bit mushy in there and you don’t want that water running into the other vegetables.
And then you’ve got all your veggies prepped for the week! You can store all of these AND your baked potatoes in the fridge until the night you need them.
4+ Meals with pre-prepped fall anti-inflammatory vegetables
The meals we cooked with our freestyle meal prep session were:
This is oatmeal👇…………………………………………………. and this is oatmeal👇…
Only one qualifies as anti-inflammatory and insulin-friendly—and today I’m gonna show you how to tell the difference and how to choose oats that will help control blood sugar and chronic inflammation.
In a market overflowing with different types of oats, it’s pretty darn important to know how the heck to choose which type is best for you depending on conditions you may have, the nutritional density of the different types of oats, the insulin response of different types of oats, and the best time of day to eat them—cause this one may surprise you!
So, one of the main goals of an anti-inflammatory diet is managing blood sugar levels no matter what meal you’re eating and what ingredients you’re using—and oats are a big topic for that because they’re very popular, and they’re a carbohydrate.
There are tons of questions about oats and if they can even fit into an anti-inflammatory diet. This is especially true if you need to know how to prepare oats for diabetics or others with insulin resistance. So let’s start with a couple of those, and then other questions I’ll answer in their respective section below.
Are oats anti-inflammatory?
This question largely depends on several things:
What cut of oats they are
If they’re gluten-free
If they’re organic
How you prepare them
What things are or aren’t added in
The best time to eat oats
The bottom line is that YES- oats are anti-inflammatory if they follow certain guidelines.
Oats CAN be inflammatory if you’re eating oats that are finely cut or ground into flour, and/or if they have added sugars and/or inflammatory fats.
So let’s dive into specifics, starting out with the definition of ‘whole grains’.
Whole grains in an anti-inflammatory diet
Truly whole vs. refined:
The first mistake I see when starting an anti-inflammatory diet is thinking that because an ingredient says ‘whole grain‘, it’s acceptable for this dietary style.
Using this logic leads to choosing breads, pastas, or even recipes that use oats (or other grains) and turn them into flour.
Let me be clear when it comes to an anti-inflammatory diet: Balanced blood sugar is key, and flour (even when it’s from whole grains) is its kryptonite.
An anti-inflammatory diet dictates that the grains are intact and whole, or partially cracked.
The more degraded the grain, the faster the blood sugar spike and ensuing inflammatory response.
When it comes to oats, whole is where the heart is – and where the health benefits reside. Choosing truly whole grain oats means you’re getting the full spectrum of nutrients and fiber that nature intended.
This distinction matters because whole grains release their energy more gradually, preventing those unwelcome blood sugar spikes.
And yes, this also means refraining from using ground oats as flour, as the processing alters their structure and impact on blood sugar.
Fiber + resistant starch:
Ah, fiber – our unsung hero in the world of nutrition. Whole grain oats are brimming with this essential nutrient, particularly beta-glucans, which hold the power to regulate blood sugar and promote a sense of lasting fullness.
These friendly fibers not only support digestion but also play a crucial role in curbing inflammation.
And let’s not forget about resistant starch, another star in the oat realm that supports gut health and even aids in weight management.
Gluten-free oats vs non-gluten-free oats
There are a few different conditions that may warrant you NOT eating oats at all.
Some of these would be, obviously, if you’re allergic to oats and if you’ve found that you have a sensitivity to oats.
If you have celiac or an intolerance to gluten, you need be careful with oats because unless the package says “Gluten-free”, it may be cross-contaminated and have traces of gluten because sometimes they’re manufactured and packaged in a facility that also packages gluten-containing foods.
Another condition that may warrant a second thought on oats is any autoimmune condition. Gluten has been shown to cause leaky gut- especially for those more prone to autoimmune conditions, so if you do have an autoimmune condition make sure to buy gluten-free oats if you choose to eat them at all.
But many people find that they need to eliminate grains altogether for a while and then slowly reintroduce them to make sure they’re not reacting to each one.
If you have GI conditions like IBS, IBD, or Chron’s disease, eating any kind of grain could irritate the GI tract or cause bloating if you have a gut bacteria imbalance.
One condition that isn’t talked about a lot is any kind of mood disorder or even ADHD. Studies are showing that a low-carb to keto diet can be very effective in managing mood disorders.
So if you have depression, anxiety, ADHD, or any other type of mood disorder, you might consider nixing the oats (and other grains) altogether for a lower carb or keto diet to see how that affects you first.
And if you have any type of insulin resistance, eating large amounts of oats could make your blood sugar skyrocket, which is counterproductive to your health and any efforts you may be making at reversing that insulin resistance.
It’s ok to have oats with insulin resistance, but you need to take some steps to make sure you’re making that meal as insulin-friendly as possible, which I do talk about in our Anti-Inflammatory Overnight Oats post if you want to catch that.
Organic oats vs non-organic oats
So first and foremost, there is so much research on organic vs non-organic foods, and the science supports going organic if you can.
The chemical glyphosate is just one of several that are heavily sprayed on non-organic crops and all you have to do is a simple Google search to see the numerous lawsuits that have been won, for bodily damage from communities around the world that have been exposed to this chemical.
So bottom line—grains have been sprayed with these if they’re not organic, so choose organic if at all possible.
Decoding types of oats
So let’s dive into the types of oats and the differences between them and which you should choose for your anti-inflammatory oats recipes.
Oat Groats:
Groats are the most unrefined form of oats, as they have the whole kernel intact.
If you’re looking for the closest adherence to an anti-inflammatory diet, oat groats are your best option.
They cook pretty much like steel-cut oats and are very hearty and insulin-friendly as they aren’t broken down, cut, or ground at all.
Steel-Cut Oats:
These oats bring a heartier texture to the table, and their minimal processing ensures they retain more of their natural goodness.
Think of them as the oat connoisseur’s choice – a bit of extra chew and a distinct nuttiness that’s perfect for those who enjoy a more robust breakfast experience.
Old-Fashioned Oats (also known as Rolled Oats):
These trusty rolled oats have been a breakfast favorite for years. They offer a balanced combination of texture and nutrients.
They are, however, getting past that crucial point of being partially cracked.
So even though the majority of ‘healthy’ oat recipes call for rolled (old-fashioned) oats, this is the point of higher blood sugar spikes because of how much more these are refined.
Quick Oats:
While quick oats are pre-cut and slightly processed, people mistakenly choose these because they are so much faster to cook.
Instant oats are, for the most part, the same thing as quick oats. They’re extremely refined and cause that rapid and high blood sugar response. So, again, I’d avoid these.
Cooking and Preparation Tips
Substituting one type of oats for another:
Since there is a difference in density between the types of oats, just know that you may not want to substitute one for the other cup-for-cup in a recipe.
Here’s the calorie and macro difference between each type of oats per ½ cup:
You can see that the density of:
1/2 cup of oat groats has 360 calories, 5 g fat, 68 g carbs, 10 g fiber, and 10 g protein;
½ cup of steel-cut oats has 300 calories, 5 g fat, 54 g carbs, 8 g fiber, and 10 g protein;
½ cup of rolled oats has 190 calories, 4 g fat, 33 g carbs, 5 g fiber, and 6 g protein;
And ½ cup of quick oats has 150 calories, 3 g fat, 27 g carbs, 4 g fiber, and 5 g protein.
What this means is that if you’re watching your weight, you’ll need to do a little math to convert the amount of oats you use in a recipe to keep the same calorie and macro count – if you’re using a different type of oat than is in the recipe.
Again- I recommend oat groats or steel-cut, but if you can’t handle that texture, then rolled is the next best option.
Portion Control:
A little goes a long way when it comes to oats. Optimal portion sizes can prevent those unexpected spikes in blood sugar.
As a rule of thumb, one serving of dry oats is usually around 1/2 cup.
Keep in mind that different types of oats might yield slightly different cooked volumes, so adjust your portions accordingly (revisit the chart above.)
Oats and resistant starches:
And here’s a golden tip – try preparing your oats the night before. By cooking them, letting them cool in the fridge overnight and then reheating them, you’re increasing the formation of resistant starches.
Ingredients to add in or avoid in anti-inflammatory oats
The last key piece of this puzzle is what you either add in or avoid in your anti-inflammatory oats recipes.
These are going to be the major inflammatory things like added sugars (even natural unrefined ones), artificial flavorings or colorings, preservatives, and unhealthy oils.
Add-ins that are great would be fruits, vegetables, nuts, or spices that are known to be anti-inflammatory. This works super well when you pair these with seasonal ingredients to create yummy flavor combinations.
👉 Keep reading for links to recipes–👇
The best time to eat oats
And the last thing I want to cover is WHEN the best time is to eat oats.
This sounds silly, but eating a higher-carb breakfast is actually not the best idea.
Studies have shown that lower carbs in the morning and at lunch are much better for focus and productivity.
Then more carbs at dinner, or possibly an after-dinner snack with oats can actually help you sleep better because they contain tryptophan and melatonin.
Obviously this can be different for each person, but since blood sugar management and reducing inflammation can be drastically affected by sleep, it’s absolutely worth trying out to see how it may improve your sleep.
Oats Recipes
Check out these oats recipes we offer at TRUEWELL:
Whether you need to balance your blood sugar, calm inflammation, are trying to lose weight, or just cut out sugar for your health, finding the best sugar substitute is going to be a really crucial thing to keep you on track.
As a former sugar addict, I can testify that beginning an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle by cutting out sugar and trying to find the best sugar substitute can be super hard when you imagine all the sweets you now CAN’T have.
But the truth is, there are a ton of things you can still enjoy, and sweets you can have when eating an anti-inflammatory diet. The trick is to use the right sweeteners.
Different sugar substitutes and how to choose the best one based on your health goals
One of the first things we do when shifting into an anti-inflammatory diet is cutting out sugar and refined carbs. This is because sugar drives inflammation and blood sugar spikes, and both of those things lead to insulin resistance.
The problem with going sugar-free is that there are so many different alternatives, and marketing by the companies that make them can create a lot of confusion about what the best options might be.
So we’re gonna cover :
Natural sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners
Sugar-free natural sweeteners
Which would be your best option in going sugar-free that will help you reach your health goals
Give recommendations on favorite brands and where to find them
Natural sweeteners
When it comes to sugar substitutes that are considered natural, these options usually come into play when people are looking for unrefined options other than regular sugar.
Natural unrefined sweeteners can include:
honey,
pure maple syrup,
coconut sugar,
and agave.
And, in fact, these can be really popular ingredients used in a Paleo diet, which is based on whole foods.
The problem with these sweeteners is that they’re STILL sugar.
So for someone who needs precise blood sugar management, and for a reduction in chronic inflammation, getting rid of all added sugars—even those that are unrefined—is going to be really important.
Another aspect to this is that there are a lot of people who do emotional eating and are hooked on sweets, and it’s really easy to convince yourself that you can still eat those types of foods and recipes that use natural sugars just because it’s unrefined.
Keeping yourself stuck on those added sugars – even when they’re natural and unrefined—is a critical mistake that’s keeping yourself locked in that emotional eating cycle.
Laura @ TRUEWELL
So my recommendation for these sweeteners is to cut them out, especially when you’re first trying to start a sugar-free diet, so that your body and your brain can reset itself to not have cravings for it.
If you find that you’re in that spot where you feel like you can’t quit eating sugar and refined carbs, CLICK HERE for more resources on breaking free from emotional eating and sugar.
Artificial sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners are created in a lab, and they date back to the 70s and some are more recent.
The problems with these types of sweeteners is that they:
Can disrupt insulin signaling and increase the chances of insulin resistance
Some have been connected with certain types of cancers.
The gut bacteria piece is really important because 70-80% of your immune system is in your gut, and your gut also produces about 95% of the serotonin in your body, which is one of the main neurotransmitters related to anxiety and depression.
Gut bacteria also play a role in insulin resistance and become really important for anyone with conditions like prediabetes, diabetes, and PCOS, just to name a few.
Other conditions like autoimmune conditions and other inflammatory conditions rely on gut health as well, because leaky gut allows proteins, toxins, and bacteria to get through that gut barrier, which worsens those conditions.
Some studies have also shown that eating artificial sweeteners can impair the body’s ability to recognize when it truly needs insulin. So if your body is pumping out insulin when you don’t need it, it pulls down blood sugar levels too low, then the body tries to compensate for that, and not only are you on a blood sugar rollercoaster, but that additional insulin is telling your body to store fat.
You can recognize artificial sweeteners in a couple of different ways.
When you go into a restaurant or coffee shop, they’re the pink, blue, and yellow packets.
The names for artificial sweeteners are:
Sucralose, which goes under the brand name Splenda for the most part-and uses the yellow packet;
Aspartame and/or Acesulfame potassium/ Ace K are under the brand names Nutrisweet or Equal and are in the blue packet;
Saccharine, which goes under the brand name Sweet & Low, and is in the pink packet.
Get familiar with these names because so many sugar-free products use these sweeteners in them, and once you can recognize these names, you’ll know which of those foods and drinks to avoid.
Natural zero-calorie sweeteners
1. Stevia
Stevia, derived from the leaves of the Stevia plant, is a popular natural sweetener known for its zero-calorie and zero-glycemic impact.
It’s from 200-350x sweeter than sugar but it can have a bit of a bitter aftertaste. I personally don’t mind it, but it can taste a lot like the aftertaste that a diet soft drink would have.
You can get stevia in liquid form, which usually has an alcohol or glycerine base, or in powdered form. The powdered form is where this gets a bit tricky because a really common powder base is dextrin, which is a sugar.
So if you opt for powdered stevia, find one that is either mixed with erythritol, or in the pure powdered form (links for my faves are below).
2. Monk Fruit
Monk fruit is another sweetener that comes from a plant—it’s from a fruit that’s native to southern China. Monk fruit is about 100-250 times sweeter than sugar.
Studies are showing that monk fruit has antioxidants that support reduced inflammation and anti-cancer properties. It also is a mild antihistamine.
The flavor of monk fruit is far less bitter than stevia, and monk fruit is great for baking.
It can also be found in liquid and powder form, but the powder form is often a blend with erythritol (links for my faves are below).
3. Allulose
Allulose is a newer sugar substitute that is found in some fruits and corn. It’s only about 70% as sweet as sugar and has around 10% of the calories of the same measurement of table sugar.
Allulose bakes and freezes like sugar, but keep in mind that unless the package says it’s a cup-for-cup equivalent to substitute for sugar, you may have to do some calculations to substitute it.
Allulose does not have an impact on blood sugar and can also be found in liquid, powder, and granulated forms—but remember that it does still have calories (links for my faves are below).
4. Sugar Alcohols
Sugar alcohols don’t actually contain sugar or alcohol. But they are becoming more popular because they don’t have the bitter aftertaste that other sugar substitutes do.
They have only about half the calories of sugar and they don’t absorb well in the intestines, meaning they don’t contribute to the same amount of carbohydrates that sugar would in the same amount.
The most popular types are erythritol and xylitol. (Links for my faves are below).
A) Erythritol
Erythritol has gained attention in the last few years because it’s being mixed with many other natural sugar substitutes. This helps with flavor profile and the ability to measure it cup for cup as you would sugar.
Erythritol has a cooling sensation besides tasting a lot like sugar. But it can cause stomach upset for people with GI issues.
B) Xylitol
Xylitol is another sugar alcohol that occurs naturally in many fruits and vegetables, but is produced commercially from corn cob and birch bark. The sweetness is similar to sugar, but contains 40% less calories than sugar and gives an extremely small blood glucose response.
Xylitol has been shown to have a lot of health benefits, including having anti-inflammatory effects, possibly preventing ear infections, and is an amazing sweetener for gum and foods because it can help prevent tooth decay.
And in recent years is being used in neti pots and nasal spray because it can help break up mucous and has anti-microbial and anti-viral properties.
The downside of xylitol is that it can cause GI disturbances and it’s extremely toxic to dogs.
What’s the best sugar substitute option?
So, overall, before making recommendations, I want to emphasize that there is still a LOT of research to be done on all of these alternatives.
From the studies we have so far, I recommend staying away from the artificial sweeteners altogether. These are your yellow, pink, and blue packets and those names that we talked about associated with them.
For the natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup, I also recommend getting away from those as well because of the blood sugar spikes and inflammation that those can still cause. Those are all STILL SUGAR.
And then in the natural sugar-free options, take these ideas into consideration when choosing…
1-Choosing based on taste:
First, I’d recommend that you try a few and experiment with the taste, and with adding them to different types of things. Like maybe you experiment with adding it into a pitcher of tea, your coffee, maybe a vinaigrette, and then also try baking with it.
Come at it from an experimental frame of mind.
2- Choosing based on conditions:
If you’re dealing with a condition like IBS, IBD, or other GI conditions—including leaky gut or autoimmune issues, the sugar alcohol options may not be the best option for you. You can always try just a little and see how it affects you and then go from there.
If you have allergies, monk fruit may be your best option.
And if you have frequent sinus or ear infections or oral infections, xylitol may be your best option.
3- Choosing based on cost:
Some of these can be much more expensive than others.
One trick I use on this front is if I find something that’s more expensive but that I really like, it gives me more incentive to wean myself back from it. And in the case of weaning off of sugar and sweets, this is a good tactic to help with that.
Check out all the links below for more resources and where to find these, let me know in the comments what other questions you have about going sugar-free!
*These links may be affiliate links, meaning if you click through I may get a small portion of the proceeds, with no extra cost to you.
Best Tasting Stevia
So when we’re talking best stevia brand, specifically for flavor, this is a tough one. This is because everyone’s tastes are so completely different, you really won’t know until you TRY them!
Here’s why–stevia is a liquid from the stevia leaf, so they need to either add it to a liquid carrier, or make it into powdered form. In a liquid carrier, this can be alcohol or glycerine. This is the brand that I use, and it’s a larger bottle, so it lasts a long time and sweetens my coffee every morning, sugar-free and carb-free!: 👇
In powdered form, usually this sometimes means adding raw stevia to a powder or granulated base. Sometimes this is maltodextrin, sometimes it’s erythritol.
This makes it in powdered form in a volume so you can measure it cup for cup when doing low carb baking or keto baking.
Like I mentioned before, you want to stay away from the ones with dextrin or maltodextrin. This is a sugar, even though it’s a small amount. But it’s usually from GMO corn, which is coated in toxic chemicals.
If you want powdered stevia that’s pure with no fillers, I recommend these brands:
One last word about stevia– I love it because it’s also made in little packets (like ones on the restaurant tables) that are super convenient to carry in your purse and use when going out to eat! JUST KNOW—the ones made with erythritol do NOT dissolve very well in cold beverages. So you may have to stir for a bit.
I keep them in my purse at all times and use them instead of the awful artificial sweeteners when I’m out.
Next is monk fruit. It can be hard to find monk fruit on its own. The liquid drops are awesome for sweetening beverages, especially on the go. I don’t recommend the Splenda brand for this because of the preservatives they add. Instead I recommend this brand: 👇
In powdered form, it is usually either mixed with erythritol or maltodextrin. Like mentioned before, the maltodextrin or dextrose is made from GMO corn, and is still a sugar. So I recommend staying away from those.
There are a ton of different brands of powdered monk fruit, so again–your best bet is to maybe look at reviews online and see what resonates with you, in addition to what properties you’re looking for, and then of those find the one that tastes best to you and your family.
Allulose is the newest of all the sweeteners I recommend. It’s about 70% as sweet as sugar, so even though you can find it on its own, it is normally blended with a sweetener that is much sweeter than sugar to be able to get that cup per cup same measurement as sugar for recipes.
One cool thing that food manufacturers have found is that blending some of these sweeteners can cut the unfavorable flavors and make the blend taste way more like regular sugar.
It also helps that the ratio of sweetness is different for those sweeteners as well so that they can mix it to be cup-for-cup measurements of what regular sugar would be in recipes.
If you’re ok with erythritol (you don’t experience any GI effects), try out some of the erythritol and monk fruit or stevia blends. It’s also great to try out the allulose blends as well and find the one that works best for you and your family.
So look, meal planning can be tough enough on its own, but when you add in a dietary style that you’re totally new to, that just makes it that much more complicated.
When doing anti-inflammatory meal planning there are three major mistakes that I see clients making over and over again that are costing you serious time, money, and the ability to get those anti-inflammatory meals cooked and on the table every night so that you can feel amazing every day. So let’s chat about those to make sure you’re not making those same mistakes, and let you in on what to do instead.
Anti Inflammatory Meal Planning Mistake #1: Being overly ambitious
Mistake number one is being overly ambitious and thinking that you need to cook every night of the week.
So I get it–when we get excited about something new (especially if it’s supposed to help us reach our goals like managing a condition, getting your blood sugar under control, or even kick-starting weight loss), we just want to jump all in…But I want you to slow your roll for a minute because when we get overly ambitious and think that we need to cook every single night you’re sorta asking for trouble.
The problem is that when we decide to jump all in and cook every single night, we’re going to get completely overwhelmed. And the usual response to getting overwhelmed is to shut down and do nothing. So I want to prevent that and just kind of take a step back instead.
The reason that we’re going to take a step back on that is that when you stop putting that kind of pressure on yourself and allow yourself to learn in a really more relaxed way where you can learn to enjoy planning, prepping, and cooking and then appreciate what this dietary style can do for your body.
So instead what I want you to do is maybe start out cooking three to four dinners in your first few weeks to get started…And take that time to get used to the types of food that you can be using. There’s a little bit different way of cooking sometimes for anti-inflammatory meals and I want you to really just kind of get the hang of what this whole dietary lifestyle and style is about before getting overwhelmed with the whole meal planning part of it.
One of the really great strategies for this is when you cook those three to four meals go ahead and cook a little bit more so that you can have extra for other meals… which leads us into mistake number two.
Anti Inflammatory Meal Planning Mistake #2: Not cooking enough food
So before you get all up in arms and overwhelmed at that let me just explain. It takes no extra time to cook 4 servings of a recipe versus 8 servings of a recipe. You’re simply using double the ingredients so what I want you to think about is that when you’re only cooking one recipe at a time for whatever meal that is you’re missing out on the opportunity to save so much time later.
The reason why that happens is that whenever you cook more you have extra time, you have a fallback, and you have a backup plan.
I know a lot of families who do one night a week for leftovers for dinner, (we absolutely do that because it saves me cooking one night of the week and it also saves all of the other clean up that happens, and it cleans up whatever is left over in the fridge.)
So instead, think about doing one and a half or even doubling up on your recipes. You do also have the option to take one recipe and cook it for your dinner that night and then make a second one at the same time to freeze for later. So I always recommend doing that and or making double at the recipe so that you can have enough for lunch the next day.
I work out of the house but whenever I did not work out of the house I would get into that hangry situation right before lunch because I’d been really busy working and usually forgot to have a snack. So by the time lunch got there I was just being like in this annoyed, starving state where I really didn’t care what I went to eat, so I would just grab the closest most convenient thing that I could. Which would never work out on this type of dietary style.
So if you make enough for lunch the next day you can be assured that whatever you’re eating for lunch is compliant with the anti-inflammatory diet and that way you’re not even worrying about what you’re eating the next day because you know that it fit in because you made it for your dinner the night before.
Mistake #3: Not setting enough time aside
Mistake number three is not setting enough time aside for meal prep and for actual cooking
So the problem in this is that you’re making things more frantic for yourself if you have kids–and especially smaller ones. This could actually be pushing their bedtime later which we know makes us more stressed out and most of all you’re stressing yourself out trying to frantically cook a whole meal when you don’t really have enough time to cook it.
Here’s why: When you do allow yourself enough time, it just makes your time spent cooking way more relaxing… You just assemble the ingredients cook what needs to be cooked at your own pace, no rush…Instead of frantically running around with your hair on fire just to get dinner ready.
But it also gives you peace of mind during the day because you know that those things are already prepped and ready to go and have the extra time to cook dinner.
I can’t tell you the number of clients that tell me that even though they have meal plans technically done they still have anxiety about getting the meals actually cooked at night because of how long it will take.
What to do instead is to make sure that you schedule in an hour maybe on Sunday (or one other day at the start of the week) to meal prep: chop veggies and even go ahead and make some of the meat even sauces. Sometimes if it’s a casserole a lot of those ingredients are pre-cooked and then you can just assemble them the night of and then just stick them in the oven so that you have as little to do as possible on the day of.
Bonus points!
Add even more bonus points if you go ahead and shop and then prep all of your veggies the minute that you get back inside with the groceries so that you’re saving yourself an extra trip of taking things back out of the fridge just to chop them and then put them back in the fridge.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve been making any of these mistakes (or even others that I didn’t touch on!)
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If you’re looking for an easy way to pack in yummy and healthy seasonal anti-inflammatory meals, this Spring Anti-Inflammatory Meal Prep Plan and Guide is for you!
I really love to eat seasonally, I think mother nature provides us specific nutrients we need for each season, but also—it costs less to buy produce that’s in season.
Now I love to prep ingredients to be able to throw together, but I also know that weeks are CRAZY so it’s also important to have recipes that you’ve prepped for so you have as little as possible to think about during the week.
So this spring meal prep does both of those things –
And I’ve created a PDF with instructions and links to the recipes so you can do this meal prep at home.
Get the (free) Spring Anti-Inflammatory
Meal Prep Guide!
Spring into feeling fabulous with this 1-week gluten-free, sugar-free meal plan and prep guide! Featuring delicious anti-inflammatory recipes from fresh spring produce!
Mix and bake anything that needs to go in the oven,
And then while that’s cooking or baking, put together marinades and dips to store in the fridge until you need them during the week.
So let’s start with chopping everything.
Chopping
For this spring anti inflammatory meal prep session and meal plan, I started out chopping the vegetables – which were broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and onion.
Baking + Cooking
There are more veggies that I need to chop, but we can just go ahead and put that in the oven at 350 F for about 25-30 minutes and work on other stuff while that’s roasting.
While those are cooking, we’re gonna finish chopping fruits so we can get our smoothie packs, salad, and marinades put together, as well as get the muffins ready to go in the oven.
The spring fruits we’re using this week are oranges, strawberries, and lemons.
The orange needs to be zested, sliced in half, and then juiced.
The strawberries just need to be washed and then the leaves cut off the tops and cut in half or quartered—this mostly depends on your preference.
And the lemons just need to be sliced and juiced.
Then I want to go ahead and mix my batter for the strawberry muffins, because as soon as the roasted veggies come out of the oven, the muffins go in.
We start out mixing the dry ingredients: mix in the wet ingredients, and then combine it really well. Then divide the batter evenly into the muffin tins.
By this time the veggies should be done in the oven, so we’ll pull the roasted veggies out of the oven to let them cool, and then the strawberry muffins go in at 325F for 20-25 min.
Once the veggies are cool we’re gonna put them in separate containers to be stored in the fridge for side dishes through the week.
Remaining veggies + herbs
Next, I chopped the potatoes, and then moved on to the herbs. This week I need parsley, chives, and dill.
I also need some chopped almonds. You can buy these in slivers or chopped, I just happened to have whole ones, so I needed to just give them a rough chop.
Now that everything’s chopped and ready, and I’m still waiting on the muffins to finish baking, I can start assembling prep packs and containers for stuff that will go in the fridge until the night or day I need it.
Assembling prepped items for the fridge
Smoothie packs
So let’s start with the orange creamsicle smoothie packs. I’m making 2 of these for the week.
And we just throw all the ingredients into a baggie that’s labeled.
These little handy things I’m using are called Baggie Stands, and I’m telling you—this makes it SO much easier to use baggies for storage when you have anything liquid, because if it tips at all—you’ve got liquid all over the counter.
That does NOT happen with these baggie stands. You can find them online right here (affiliate link):
This recipe also includes a few ice cubes, but we hold off on those until the day we make them. You can write instructions for the ice on the baggie too if you want. And then once those are made, they go in the fridge.
Marinades, dips, and dressings
Next we’ll mix the marinades, dips, and dressing.
This Green goddess dressing is so fresh, you’re gonna absolutely love it! I like to make a really big batch of it so there’s enough for the chicken recipe and dressing for the week- we’ll be using it on our broccoli strawberry salad too.
So for the dressing we’re gonna use a blender cup, and put all the ingredients in. It’s super easy to make, you just throw it in and blend it on high.
Now, we’re gonna use part of it as a marinade for the Green Goddess chicken, part is to drizzle on the chicken once it’s cooked, and the extra is for dressing for salads for the week.
So we put our chicken in a labeled baggie, then pour just enough to coat the chicken, then store the green goddess chicken in the fridge, and for the rest of the dressing, store it in a sealed container or baggie to go in the fridge as well.
Next up is the lemon dill sauce for the salmon burgers.
First we’re gonna dump all the ingredients in a bowl.
Then we stir really well, then get it poured into a sealed container or labeled baggie to go in the fridge.
Next is the Homemade ranch dip. This is for the blanched veggie platter we’ll make in a few minutes.
Again- this recipe is super simple, and using a recipe like this eliminates the artificial junk and MSG that’s normally put into ranch dressing mix and dip mix.
So you start with organic sour cream, and just put all the other ingredients into it and stir really well. If you’re gonna store this for the week, you really can just mix it up right in the container it came in and then store it in the fridge until you need it.
And the last marinade we’ll make is for the Lemon Greek Chicken and Potatoes
And this marinade is actually for the vegetables, not the meat. The recipe has two separate steps for the vegetables, so using our baggie stands again, we’re gonna put potatoes, oil, and onions in one bag, and the asparagus and olives in the other. Then we just seal them up and store them in the fridge until the night they’re needed.
Next I’m gonna go ahead and prep the salmon burgers for the week.
To do that, I chop up the salmon into tiny pieces- do this rather than putting in the food processor, because it makes the whole thing too mushy really fast-
Mix in the rest of the ingredients, then shape into patties.
These are super easy to stack on parchment and store in the fridge until the day you need them. When you cook them you’ll dredge them in arrowroot flour first and then cook them in oil in a skillet.
So, depending on how long your prep is taking, your strawberry muffins should be coming out of the oven, and when they’re cooled you can store them a few days on the counter, or make them last longer in the fridge.
Blanched Vegetables
The very last thing I’ll make is the Blanched Vegetables—Now the reason I love to blanch veggies for a platter is because they taste amazing, and also, it deepens the color of the vegetables to make it that much prettier!
Blanching is actually really easy. You use a large pot and either a steamer basket or a colander basket. You can do without if you don’t have one, but it’s much easier to use a basket.
Then you boil the water, put each vegetable in for 3-5 minutes, then immediately put it into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Make it like an assembly line to be really efficient with this.
Then put each in a bowl to drain the excess water out, and you can store them for the week or go ahead and make a platter and then store it covered in the fridge.
And if you happen to have leftovers from your meal prep at the end of the week, my favorite way to use it is to make a nourish bowl or macro bowl with all the leftovers.
Now, as I mentioned at the start, I’ve created a spring meal prep guide for you that should hopefully make meal prep a little easier, because it has the full prep guide as well as links to the full recipes on the TRUEWELL website.
Get the (free) Spring Anti-Inflammatory
Meal Prep Guide!
Spring into feeling fabulous with this 1-week gluten-free, sugar-free meal plan and prep guide! Featuring delicious anti-inflammatory recipes from fresh spring produce!
For those with chronic inflammatory conditions, the transition to winter can either be a happy prelude to the holidays, or it can harbor an increased need for winter foods that decrease inflammation in the body. Freezing temperatures have a gift for making some inflammation worse.
It also drives most people indoors, which can hamper daily walks and outdoor activity altogether, which is a key component of managing inflammation.
Combine that with rising stress and loads of inflammatory foods around the holidays and you have a perfect storm of chaos in the body for those trying to manage blood sugar and inflammation.
The good news is that there’s still a ton of winter produce that are amazing sources of antioxidants with anti-inflammatory superpowers.
There really is no shortage of sources of winter superfoods to help nourish and heal for those of us following an anti-inflammatory diet.
There are three main categories of anti-inflammatory winter foods that decrease inflammation that I want to highlight:
Veg and Fruits,
Herbs,
and Spices.
Here are my favorites.
Anti-inflammatory Winter Vegetables and Fruits
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Leafy Greens
Even though leafy greens start their appearance in the summer, winter leafy greens follow with even more flavor since many greens are significantly less bitter during cold weather. This means their warm, earthy flavors really shine during the winter.
Greens like kale, collard greens, and swiss chard are packed full of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as folate, other minerals, and antioxidants. And they’re versatile enough that many can be eaten raw (don’t knock a winter salad!), cooked, as a stand-alone side, or even as a casserole or soup component.
Cruciferous Vegetables
Vegetables in the cruciferous family include Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage, and are chock full of vitamins like folate, K, C, and A, as well as phytonutrient compounds that lower inflammation. And they also have the benefit of less bitterness during colder weather, like the leafy greens of winter.
What’s great about cauliflower is that in addition to its vitamins, fiber, and phytonutrients, it’s very low in carbohydrates. This makes it an amazing substitution for anything from rice to pizza dough to mashed potatoes.
Cabbage’s brilliant colors are due to its anthocyanins which help pull down inflammation and are super antioxidants. Not only is it a great way to have a winter version of tacos with slaw, but it goes spectacularly raw in salads or cooked in soups or casseroles. If you’re not sure which color to choose, just know that purple cabbage’s vitamin A content is eleven times higher than green cabbage.
Brussels sprouts are what we call ‘baby cabbage’ at our house. They’re full of fiber, vitamins C, K, and folate, and are super easy to cook. Simply sliced in half and roasted is how we usually cook them. But they can also be shredded and included in salads, soups, or casseroles as well.
Pumpkins
Pumpkins provide an amazing source of Vitamin A (the color gives you that hint on beta carotene), balanced polyunsaturated fats, Vitamins C and E, and several other essential minerals.
They’re also packed with fiber and healthy carbs, and can be stored for a long period of time (in a dry pantry or frozen) without going bad.
Mushrooms
One of the most warming foods during winter, mushrooms should top your list of required eating during the cold weather. Mushrooms are full of B vitamins, potassium, and the only vegetable that contains vitamin D (which is already in demand during winter months.)
Its nutrient-dense properties qualify it as a superfood with antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties that also happens to add that coveted ‘umami’ flavor to any culinary dish.
Beans
Beans are an amazing add-in for winter meals for several reasons. First, they’re bursting with fiber and resistant starches, and they’re full of antioxidants—both of which give them anti-inflammatory superpowers. Although their carb content is higher than other vegetables, they’re considered a ‘slow carb’, which means they absorb at a much slower rate. This helps prevent a blood sugar spike and gives healthy carbohydrate energy over a longer period.
Beans are also super hearty and perfect to add on as a side dish, or in soups, stews, or chilis.
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Colored Potatoes
Although white potatoes are full of fiber, resistant starches, and essential minerals, studies have shown that their colored versions pack way more of a punch when it comes to inflammation and blood sugar levels.
Studies have shown that purple and yellow potatoes contain higher levels of antioxidants including phenols, anthocyanins, and carotenoids that lower inflammatory markers and improve blood sugar and insulin levels.
Purple potatoes were shown to have the greatest benefit, possibly due to the higher levels of polyphenols, which are indicated by the darker color.
What’s great about these is there’s no special preparation aside from how you would prepare regular white potatoes (except don’t fry them!). Baked, roasted, steamed, and added into soups is great. But I wonder how fun it would be to have purple mashed potatoes!
Beets
One of the most overlooked vegetables (in my opinion) is the beet. Beets are high in folate and manganese, but also contain betalains, which gives it the bright red color, and is associated with reduced cancer risk.
Not only can you eat the beet itself, but the greens are also a fantastic source of nutrition. Beets can be roasted, sauteed, pickled, or boiled; and the greens can be used in salads or saved for soup broths.
Cranberries
One of the most popular fruits during the holidays, cranberries owe their deep red color to their huge supply of antioxidants, including vitamin C. Their bioactive compounds have been shown to reduce risk factors of a multitude of chronic diseases, including lowering inflammatory markers.
Although cranberries are pretty tart, they can be cooked into a sauce (using zero-calorie natural sweeteners), added into baked breakfasts and snacks, or even blended into a vinaigrette. If you opt for dried cranberries, just make sure they’re unsweetened.
Citrus
Probably the most well-known sources of vitamin C, citrus fruits are aplenty during winter. Vitamin C is an especially potent antioxidant that fights free radicals and inflammation. They also contain flavonoids and fiber, which also fight inflammation.
Citrus like lemons, limes, organges, and grapefruit are super versatile and can be used in anything from flavoring water and cut up in salads, to being used as a dressing, in a snack, or as dessert. They also do an amazing job complimenting flavors of meats while tenderizing as marinades, as well as pairing beautifully with herbs in dishes and cocktails!
Pears
Pears have always felt like the lesser-valued cousin of apples, but I’ve come love pears just as much. They’re packed full of fiber and are rich in antioxidants that reduce inflammation. The skin of pears contains quercetin, which is amazing for those with allergies, and it also reduces inflammation.
But they also can be much easier to slice, core, and eat as the skin can be much softer than an apple’s. This makes them super easy snacks (like this Winter Pear and Yogurt Bowl), and super yummy desserts.
Pomegranates
These little jewels may be small in size, but they’re big on flavor and nutrition. Their antioxidants have been shown to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress in the gut, brain, and body.
Anti-Inflammatory herbs for winter
Herbs are one of the most overlooked nutrition powerhouses in the plant family. They pack so much punch for such a little plant. But they’re also SO EASY to add into any dish for extra flavor, including throwing fresh sprigs into salads.
Here are my favorite anti-inflammatory herbs for fall.
Tarragon
Although tarragon is more commonly used in French and English cooking, it’s a delicious herb that—like most—contain powerful flavonoids that fight inflammatory cytokines. It also contains B vitamins, folate, and vitamins A and C. As with most fresh herbs, it’s best to wait until a dish is almost completely finished cooking before adding it in for maximum flavor.
Rosemary
Rosemary is full of iron, calcium, and vitamin B-6, and is also native to the Mediterranean—fitting for an anti-inflammatory diet rooted in the Mediterranean diet. It’s been used for a wide range of ailments including digestion, muscle pain, improved circulation and memory, and a boost to the immune system.
Aside from its fragrant and mouthwatering culinary powers, studies have proven its anti inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and neuroprotective properties. This means that even though it can fight free radicals and harmful bacteria, it can also be used in mood disorders, enhanced learning, anxiety, and sleep disorders.
Sage
Sage not only adds delicious earthy notes to fall and winter dishes, but also can be used in teas and as an essential oil. Sage is high in Vitamin K and vital minerals, but also contains antioxidants.
What’s so amazing about sage is that it’s been shown to relieve or cure illnesses like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression, dementia, and lupus. But it’s also been used for centuries in traditional medicine for inflammation, bacterial, and viral infections, which makes it high on the list for cold and flu season.
Thyme
Thyme (another herb native to the Mediterranean) can be used as a treatment for anything from acne to GI disturbances to menstrual cramps (and a ton of stuff in between!) But it’s actually an extremely versatile culinary addition. It has an earthy flavor but can waver back and forth between savory or sweet dishes like stocks and stews, roasted vegetables, teas, and desserts.
Anti-Inflammatory winter spices
Although spices can generally be used year-round, the warmth of the following five are perfect for the freezing weather.
Black Pepper
Being a staple ingredient in most kitchens, black pepper can blend into the background and largely be overlooked. However, studies on the compound piperine in black pepper have shown that it can increase absorption of curcumin (the compound in turmeric) by up to 2,000%!
It’s also been shown to increase absorption of other key minerals and antioxidants, making it an absolute must in literally any savory dish you cook from now on.
This alkaloid compound gives a distinct bite flavor and has been shown to reduce insulin resistance as well as exhibit anti-inflammatory effects.
Ginger
Ginger has been touted to help anything from boosting the immune system, lowering blood sugar, and easing inflammation. Probably it’s most famous claims to fame include taming the GI tract and pulling down inflammation. These benefits are made possible due to the over 400 compounds that ginger contains.
Ginger has a fresh, zingy flavor, and although the dried version (teas and spice shakers) have a milder flavor than fresh, they can still have nearly the same health benefits. It’s best to use fresh, and ginger root can be cut up and put in the fridge or frozen to last even longer.
Turmeric
Turmeric is used traditionally in Asian dishes, but has been widely recognized the last few years because of its media coverage as an amazingly effective nutritional supplement. Turmeric contains curcumin, which is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound.
Studies have shown that the best way to harness the power of turmeric is to combine it with black pepper, which increases its bioavailability up to 2,000%.
Turmeric is obviously fantastic in Asian dishes like curries, but it’s skyrocket in popularity means there are tons of recipes now for drinks, smoothies, and all kinds of dinner dishes.
Cinnamon
There can be a lot of confusion over the type of cinnamon that’s best to use. Ceylon (known as ‘true’ cinnamon) and cassia (what you buy in the grocery store) are equally delicious and contain a compound called cinnamaldehyde that’s thought to be responsible for its health and metabolism benefits.
Honestly my favorite spice for winter is a combination of several spices: Pumpkin pie spice. This mixture obviously enhances pumpkin flavor, but can be used in a variety of recipes in fall and winter (usually around the holidays.)
The components of pumpkin pie spice include cinnamon and ginger, which we already covered. The other ingredients are nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and black pepper.
What’s so great about the blend in pumpkin pie spice is that all the ingredients have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds just like the other spices mentioned.
So as long as you use healthy sweeteners and anti-inflammatory ingredients for whatever pumpkin spice recipe you’re making, you essentially have a superfood recipe with powerhouse ingredients for winter!
Let me know in the comments: What’s YOUR favorite anti-inflammatory winter food or recipe?
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This winter anti-inflammatory meal prep isn’t just packed with nutritious and delicous seasonal winter produce– it’s a pretty darn quick and easy meal plan. I started out doing meal prep sort of on the fly by just shopping seasonal produce, and prepping it ahead of time to just make meals on the fly throughout the week. But I do also need a structured meal plan a lot of times as well.
But doing either way is a great way to make sure you’ve got anti-inflammatory meals through the week (especially when you’ve got those chaotic dumpster fire weeks when you need nourishing meals to keep you calm and collected even when nothing else in your life is.)
Click the image below to grab the free Winter Anti-Inflammatory Meal Prep Guide! 👇
The basic steps of anti-inflammatory meal prep are:
Shop
Chop
Roast
Store
Create meals
Shopping for your anti-inflammatory meal prep session
For this winter meal prep session I grabbed a pumpkin, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, purple cabbage, kale, and collard greens.
We promote eating seasonally at TRUEWELL for a few reasons:
Eating seasonally costs less
You’re not getting produce that came from halfway around the world (in other words–you’re getting produce more local which means much more flavor, less transport and less chance of it getting harvested before it’s ripe), and
Studies have shown produce that’s grown IN SEASON actually has substantially greater values of vitamins and phytonutrients than those out of season.
(And just to be clear on why I didn’t roast the pumpkin in my video… my kids freaked out about me roasting the pumpkin–cause they wanted to decorate it, and I had canned pumpkin in the pantry, so I used that for the meal that week…Long story short, kids ruin everything. 😂 Kidding. sort of)
Chopping veggies for your anti-inflammatory meal prep
So I started out with the spaghetti squash because it needs to be roasted, then needs to cool before you can scrape out the insides.
These used to intimidate the heck out of me but they’re actually pretty cool. For this session I cut the squash in half lengthwise, then cut strips; but I think it’s actually easier to just roast the halves and then scrape the insides out from those large pieces.
I have also learned that even scraping the seeds out is much easier when they’ve been roasted first.
So lay the pieces out evenly on a pan.
I use a BBQ grill mat liner, which I’ve learned is amazing, nothing sticks to it, which you can grab here:
{Some of the links are affiliate links, meaning I earn a small portion of the proceeds if you purchase it, with no additional charge to you.}
Next I started on the butternut squash. Cut the ends off, then cut it in half vertically.
Lay each half on the pan face down.
Then I started on the leeks. I peeled a few of the outside leaves, cut the end of the bulb off, then cut a slit down the center before chopping it. The dark green ends usually get pretty tough, so cut the white part and some of the lighter green part, then put it on the pan to roast as well.
Some of this produce is really best cooked right before eaten, as it’s sauteed or put into soups. But the squash always needs to be cooked anyway, and I also knew I wanted to put the leeks into a soup. So for sure these all needed to be roasted.
Roasting vegetables for anti-inflammatory meal prep
My normal base seasoning is salt, pepper, and garlic powder, which you can add or wait until you make your dish—And then roast it at 350 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes.
(For squash, it may take a bit longer to get it soft enough. You want to be able to scoop and scrape easily or else it will take forever…)
Then I got to work on the kale, and I knew I just wanted it for kale chips. You would think the bags of it already chopped would be more convenient, but I’ve found it takes longer to pick out all the stems than to just buy a bunch of it and trim them off myself.
I do a sort of scraping motion with the knife to get the leaves off, but you can also fold it in half and do just one cut to get the stems out.
Once all the leaves are torn and in a bowl, add oil, and massage it to soften the fibers.
For kale chips, don’t salt it until they’re out! They shrink and can turn out way too salty.
Kale chips go in the oven for about 20 minutes at 300 F.
Storing your anti-inflammatory meal prep vegetables
While that was cooking, I started cutting the greens.
I started on the collard greens. I wanted these to go in a soup, so I just washed them, trimmed them up the same way as kale, then store them in a baggie in the fridge until I need them that night.
👉 A method I’ve found useful is using a large 4-cup measuring cup to hold the baggie in place to put food into during meal prep if you don’t have the baggie stands.
The mustard greens got trimmed up the same way, and I wanted to sauté them later in the week, so I just store them in a baggie in the fridge as well.
Then I started on the cabbage. Peel those tough and usually dirty outer leaves, then chop it into slices, then into smaller pieces. I wanted to sauté it later in the week, so it goes into a baggie as well to store in the fridge.
I also grabbed some pears as a last minute add-on.
These can be peeled, but the skins are usually actually less tough than apples, so eating the skins is pretty yummy. Make sure you get the core out, it does have seeds like apples.
I chunked it up because I wanted to add it as a snack on top of Greek yogurt.
One trick is to cut the bottom off so it sits flat, then the top small part, then use an apple corer and slicer to slice it just like you would apples.
If you’re going to pre-cut them, they do also turn brown like apples, so add a bit of lemon juice to keep that from happening and store them in a container in the fridge.
Lastly we take the roasted veggies out of the oven and let them cool.
I put the leeks into a container to go in the fridge.
Then I started on the butternut squash. I’ve found using a grapefruit spoon with a serrated edge make scooping the seeds and flesh out really easy.
But I also sometimes use an avocado slicer to scoop it out. You can also use a paring knife to slice around the edges before scooping the flesh out.
I put it all in a container and seal it to store in the fridge.
Spaghetti squash can be a bit tricky. It definitely needs to be soft enough. But you can use a fork to scrape the spaghetti parts out into a container. Then store in the fridge.
And lastly, I pulled the kale chips out. Then I season with garlic and salt so it doesn’t get oversalted before because it shrinks. Scoop them into a container and enjoy as a snack.
Create anti-inflammatory dinners for the week
The meals for this winter anti-inflammatory meal prep session were…
Summer is here, and it’s the perfect time to savor the flavors of the season with these 20 foods that reduce inflammation in the body.
Regardless of the season, the foods we choose can have a significant impact on how well our blood sugar is balanced which directly helps in reducing inflammation in our bodies and promoting overall well-being.
Today we’re exploring 20 mouthwatering summer foods that not only refresh your taste buds but also pack a powerful anti-inflammatory punch.
So today we’re gonna cover vegetables, herbs and spices, and everybody’s favorite: fruit.
First, let’s start with summer vegetables:
Anti-inflammatory summer vegetables
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a potent antioxidant that helps neutralize free radicals and reduce inflammation. They also provide vitamins A and C, as well as potassium, all essential for maintaining good health.
Bell peppers come in a rainbow of colors, adding vibrancy and crunch to your summer meals. These colorful gems are abundant in vitamin C, an essential nutrient for reducing inflammation.
Capsaicin, a compound found in bell peppers, may also help alleviate pain and inflammation—double the goodness!
This mighty leafy green is a nutritional powerhouse, packed with vitamins A, C, and K, as well as folate and iron. Spinach also boasts antioxidants that do wonders in combatting inflammation.
Cucumbers
With their high water content and refreshing crunch, cucumbers keep you hydrated during those scorching summer days.
They also provide anti-inflammatory benefits, thanks to their antioxidants and flavonoids.
Zucchini
Zucchini is a versatile summer squash that deserves a special place on your plate. This low-calorie vegetable is rich in fiber, antioxidants, like vitamins A and C, as well as manganese, a mineral with anti-inflammatory properties.
Spiralize it, grill it, or add it to your stir-fries—the possibilities are endless!
Eggplant is a versatile vegetable that contains nasunin, an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. It also provides fiber and essential nutrients like potassium and manganese.
An easy way to use any of the summer anti-inflammatory vegetables is to make colorful salads with tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach, cucumbers, and zucchini.
Add a sprinkle of flaxseeds and a vinaigrette made from avocado or extra virgin olive oil for an extra anti-inflammatory boost.
Another way to get anti-inflammatory, gluten-free, sugar-free meals quick and easy is to grab our Summer Anti-Inflammatory Meal Prep Guide 👇. {Click the image!}
Summer anti inflammatory Herbs + Spices
Now we’ve got several herbs and spices because SO much stuff grows during the summer.
Ginger
Ginger has long been cherished for its soothing properties, and it plays a significant role in reducing inflammation in the body. It contains gingerol, a compound known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
Whether you add it to your stir-fries, brew it into a refreshing iced tea, or grate it into your salad dressings, ginger adds a zing of flavor and inflammation-fighting power.
Basil
The aroma of fresh basil is enough to transport you to a summer garden. This fragrant herb not only enhances the flavor of your dishes but also provides anti-inflammatory benefits.
Basil contains essential oils with antioxidant properties, such as eugenol, linalool, and rosmarinic acid, helping to reduce inflammation in the body.
Cilantro, also known as coriander leaves, is an herb with a distinctive flavor that adds a burst of freshness to your summer recipes.
This herb contains antioxidants that help reduce inflammation, and it may also aid in detoxification by supporting the body’s natural cleansing processes.
Mint leaves are a summer staple known for their cooling and soothing properties. Mint leaves contain menthol, a compound known for its cooling and soothing properties.
They can provide relief from sinus and congestion issues, digestive issues, and help reduce inflammation. Enjoy a refreshing glass of mint-infused water or add it to your salads and summer beverages for a burst of flavor and inflammation-fighting benefits.
Dill
Known for its feathery leaves and distinct taste, dill is often associated with pickles. However, its flavor complements a wide range of dishes, including fish, salads, and sauces.
Dill is an herb with potent anti-inflammatory properties due to its high content of flavonoids and other beneficial compounds. This offers potential benefits for conditions such as arthritis and digestive disorders as well as combatting oxidative stress.
Parsley
Parsley is a versatile herb that comes in two varieties: flat-leaf (Italian) and curly. It adds a fresh and bright flavor to salads, soups, and sauces.
Parsley contains several compounds that contribute to its anti-inflammatory properties. These compounds work synergistically to combat inflammation, neutralize free radicals, and support the body’s natural defense mechanisms.
Chives
Chives have a mild onion-like flavor and are often used as a garnish for their vibrant green color.
Chives contain several compounds that contribute to their anti-inflammatory properties, including allicin, quercetin, and vitamin C. They can be added to salads, dips, and creamy dressings.
Sage
While sage is available year-round, it thrives in the summer months. Sage contains flavonoids and essential oils that exhibit anti-inflammatory effects.
Its earthy and slightly minty flavor pairs well with poultry and roasted summer vegetables.
Oregano
Oregano is a robust herb with a peppery and slightly bitter taste. It contains flavonoids and terpenes which help modulate the immune response and reduce inflammation in the body.
Oregano is a key ingredient in Italian and Greek cuisines, commonly used in pasta sauces, pizzas, and grilled meats.
How to use summer anti-inflammatory herbs
Experiment with fresh herbs like basil, cilantro, and mint in your recipes to enhance the flavor and add anti-inflammatory benefits.
This can be as simple as chopping them up and adding them to your salad or veggies.
Grab the Summer Anti-Inflammatory Meal Prep Guide below! {Click the image}👇
Summer Anti-inflammatory fruit
Blueberries
These little bursts of sweetness are not only delightful to eat but also loaded with antioxidants called anthocyanins which help fight inflammation and protect against oxidative stress.
Plus, blueberries are packed with vitamins C and E and fiber, which promotes a healthy digestive system, making them a fantastic choice for a healthy summer snack.
Besides quenching your thirst, watermelon is a fantastic source of lycopene—an antioxidant that helps combat inflammation and fight off those pesky free radicals.
Also, since it is a high-water-content fruit, it’s a really great option to help stay hydrated during these hot summer months.
Pineapple
Besides being a tropical treat, pineapple contains bromelain, a powerful enzyme with anti-inflammatory properties.
It’s like a natural superhero fighting joint pain, reducing swelling, and even soothe allergenic airways, making it the perfect addition to your summer fruit salad.
Cherries
These delightful little fruits are rich in anthocyanins and other antioxidants, which have been shown to reduce inflammation and ease symptoms of arthritis.
They are also a natural source of melatonin, helping you enjoy better sleep during those warm summer nights.
Oranges are packed with vitamin C—a superstar vitamin that not only supports your immune system but also acts as an antioxidant, fighting off inflammation in the body.
And let’s not forget the flavonoids present in oranges, which provide additional anti-inflammatory benefits.
How to use summer anti-inflammatory fruits
Create refreshing fruit salads or smoothies by combining blueberries, watermelon, pineapple, and cherries for a flavorful and anti-inflammatory treat.
Embrace the flavors of summer and nourish your body with these powerful anti-inflammatory foods.
Remember, small dietary changes can make a big difference in your journey toward better health.
Stay hydrated, savor the season’s abundance, and enjoy the benefits of an anti-inflammatory summer diet.
Take the guesswork out with our 1-week Summer Meal Prep here 👇{Click the image below.}
So if you’re like me, and you feel way more inspired during spring to do new years resolutions like eating healthy for less inflammation and better blood sugar balance, you’re gonna love this list of 20 delicious spring foods that reduce inflammation in the body that you should be filling your plate with every day.
The reason we want to prevent chronic inflammation is that it’s been linked to numerous health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Eating a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods is an effective way to reduce and prevent that chronic inflammation.
So let’s start out with anti-inflammatory vegetables that are in season in spring:
Vegetables
Asparagus
Asparagus contains a unique combination of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that work together to reduce inflammation throughout the body. Asparagus also contains other important nutrients, such as vitamins C and E, which also have anti-inflammatory effects.
If you’ve never tried it before, asparagus can be eaten raw, like on a veggie platter—but it’s also super yummy roasted or even blanched. If you’ve never blanched veggies like this—trust me—you’re gonna wanna try it!
Spring into feeling fabulous with this 1-week gluten-free, sugar-free meal plan and prep guide! Featuring delicious anti-inflammatory recipes from fresh spring produce!
Spring leafy greens, like arugula, watercress, Bibb lettuce, mesclun mix, and spinach, are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which help to reduce inflammation and prevent oxidative stress in the body. Greens are perfect for spring salads, which I also include a recipe for in that Spring Meal Prep video.
Brassicas
Spring brassicas, including broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, are nutrient-dense vegetables that offer a ton of health benefits, including powerful anti-inflammatory properties. These vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that all work together to reduce inflammation throughout the body by inhibiting the activity of pro-inflammatory enzymes.
And just like asparagus, the brassicas are great raw, steamed, or roasted.
Root vegetables
Spring root vegetables like carrots, new potatoes, and radishes are not only delicious but also offer numerous health benefits, including anti-inflammatory properties. These vegetables are high in fiber and resistant starches, which are also known to have anti-inflammatory effects on the body.
Another root vegetable that’s very popular for its anti-inflammatory properties is ginger. It contains numerous bioactive compounds which have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
These compounds have been shown to help reduce nausea, alleviate pain and soreness, improve digestion, and boost immune function. Those compounds can also help to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Ginger can be eaten fresh, dried, or in taken supplement form.
Artichokes
Artichokes are rich in antioxidants that help to protect the liver. They’re also high in fiber, which can help to promote feelings of fullness, regulate blood sugar levels, and support healthy digestion.
Alliums
Allium vegetables, such as green onions and leeks, offer a variety of health benefits due to their unique combination of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. Both green onions and leeks are rich in flavonoids and sulfur-containing compounds, which have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, as well as being good sources of vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate.
Mushrooms
These little fungi contain beta-glucans, which are compounds that have been shown to have powerful immune-boosting effects and can help to reduce inflammation throughout the body.
Additionally, mushrooms are a good source of antioxidants, which can protect the body against cellular damage and inflammation, which can help to reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer. So, next time you’re making a stir-fry or salad, consider adding some mushrooms to reap these anti-inflammatory benefits!
Peas
Spring peas aren’t just a tasty addition to your meals, they also offer a range of health benefits. These sweet little pods are packed with fiber, and are also a good source of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate. Additionally, peas are rich in antioxidants, and are super easy to cook as a stand-alone side dish, add to casseroles, or use blanched or raw on a veggie board.
Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a unique and flavorful vegetable that offers antioxidants, fiber, vitamin K, and calcium.
Rhubarb is pretty unique in that it can be used in sweet or savory dishes like rhubarb crumble or chutney. You can also add it to smoothies or use it to make a tangy sauce for grilled meats or veggies.
Anti-inflammatory spring herbs
My favorite spring herbs are chives, parsley, and dill – all three of which are great sources of vitamin C, K, and flavonoids that help reduce inflammation.
Chives
Chives contain prebiotic fibers that can help to improve gut health;
Parsley
Parsley contains chlorophyll, which has been shown to have detoxifying properties.
Dill
Dill has been shown to have antimicrobial properties, which can help to fight off harmful bacteria and reduce inflammation in the body.
All three of these spring anti-inflammatory herbs are super easy to just chop up and have on hand in the fridge to toss into salads at any meal, as well as throw into other dishes for a flavor boost.
So let’s round this out with the best spring fruits to reduce chronic inflammation:
Spring anti-inflammatory fruits
Strawberries
Strawberries are not only delicious, but they also are rich in antioxidants including vitamin C, which is important for immune function and skin health.
Try slicing them up and adding them to your breakfast yogurt or oatmeal, blending them into a smoothie, or tossing them in a salad with some spinach and almonds. You can also enjoy them as a healthy snack on their own or dipped in a little dark chocolate for an extra treat.
Cherries
Cherries are also rich in antioxidants that protect against cellular damage, and are a good source of fiber, vitamin C, and potassium. Cherries are great for snacking, blending them into a smoothie, or adding them to your morning yogurt or oatmeal. Additionally, tart cherries have been shown to be particularly effective in reducing inflammation associated with conditions like arthritis and gout, and also have studies backing them as being effective in helping you get better sleep.
Kiwi
Kiwi is rich in antioxidants, such as vitamin C and polyphenols, fiber, potassium, and folate. A great way to use these yummy little fruits is by slicing it up and adding it to your yogurt, blending it into a smoothie, or using it as a topping for your favorite dessert. You can also use kiwi to make a yummy spring fruit salsa to serve with grilled chicken or fish. Kiwi has also been shown to have digestive benefits and can help to improve gut health, as well as improve sleep.
Citrus
Citrus fruits that include lemons, limes, grapefruits, and oranges offer a range of health benefits, including anti-inflammatory properties. They are rich in vitamin C, a good source of fiber, folate, and potassium. A super easy way to get citrus every day is by squeezing some lemon or lime juice over your salad or fish, adding slices of grapefruit to your morning yogurt, or enjoying an orange as a healthy snack. You can also use citrus fruits to make a refreshing and nutritious smoothie or juice. Additionally, the flavonoids found in citrus fruits have been shown to have heart-protective benefits and can help to lower cholesterol levels.
Tropical Fruits
Mango and pineapple are -just like pretty much all the foods we’ve already talked about–rich in antioxidants, and are also a good source of fiber, potassium, and other important nutrients. Research that pineapple may have digestive benefits and can help to improve gut health.
Just keep in mind that some of these fruits are little higher on the glycemic index and it is really important to keep blood sugar from spiking, as that’s a prime cause of chronic inflammation.
So when you’re eating fruit, make sure you pair it with healthy fat and some protein.
So now that you have these amazing and yummy ideas for spring anti-inflammatory foods, head on over to my:
When it comes to healthy tricks- knowing how to increase resistant starches in foods should definitely be in your health toolbox.
So, in case you don’t know already– Resistant starches are a type of carbohydrate that can resist digestion in the small intestine and reach the large intestine, where they can feed the good bacteria in your gut.
Benefits of resistant starches
Now both of these two things are really important, especially for those with insulin resistance. This is because resistant starches, since they’re not digested in the small intestine, can help keep blood sugar from spiking.
Short-chain fatty acids
The second reason resistant starches are really important is that they help produce short-chain fatty acids in the large intestine by becoming food for the good gut bacteria through fermentation. They’re really good at this because they’re not absorbed in the small intestine and can reach the colon intact.
Short-chain fatty acids play a crucial role in maintaining gut health and have been linked to various health benefits, such as reducing inflammation, promoting satiety, and improving insulin sensitivity.
Short-chain fatty acids can reduce inflammation in the gut and the body, which can help prevent chronic diseases like inflammatory bowel disease and type 2 diabetes.
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Short-chain fatty acids can also improve insulin sensitivity, which can help regulate blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
Short-chain fatty acids are believed to support the immune system and protect against certain types of cancer.
And, as a bonus, Short chain fatty acids also play a role in regulating hunger and satiety, which can help with weight loss or maintenance.
Overall, Short chain fatty acids are an important component of a healthy gut and a healthy body.
Foods that Contain Resistant Starches
One way to increase your intake of resistant starches is to add foods that naturally contain them to your diet.
There are many foods that contain high amounts of resistant starches. Some examples include:
Green bananas: Unripe bananas are a great source of resistant starch. Just remember that as the banana ripens, the starch is converted into simple sugars.
Beans and legumes: Foods like lentils, chickpeas, black beans, and navy beans are all great sources of resistant starches.
Oats: Oats are not only high in fiber, but they also contain resistant starches.
Whole grains: Whole grains like barley, rye, and quinoa contain high amounts of resistant starches.
Nuts and seeds: Some nuts and seeds, such as almonds and pumpkin seeds, contain resistant starches.
How to Increase Resistant Starches
One thing we’ve learned in the last couple of decades is that foods made with refined flour like pasta are really bad for blood sugar levels because they cause spikes. This is something even those without insulin resistance want to avoid for metabolic health but truly needs to be avoided for those with insulin resistance conditions like prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, and PCOS, among others.
A few years ago, some researchers from the University of Surrey were curious about what happens to pasta when you cook it and cool it in terms of resistant starches. What they found is that the starches actually increase when the pasta was cooked and then cooled, which helped blunt the blood sugar response.
Then they went a step further and cooked it, cooled it, then reheated it—and what they found is that this next step reduced blood sugar spikes by 50%!
This study cites that other reviews also showed the same results with rice, potatoes, and maize porridge.
This is important, not only because of the difference in blood sugar response but also because increasing the resistant starches decreases the number of calories absorbed. This matters for weight loss, gain, or maintenance.
Just know that this isn’t permission to go crazy with pasta and rice if you’re insulin resistant—you still need to manage the total amount of carbohydrates. But it does give a few more options in terms of better carbohydrates.
Guidelines for increasing resistant starches in foods:
One thing to note about anything with nutrition is that results from studies and trials give an average—meaning that things don’t react the exact same way for every single person. So just know that you could have a different response in some way than even someone you’re related to.
That being said, the only way to know is just to Test it!
You can do this using a manual blood glucose monitor or a continuous glucose monitor.
How to test your blood sugar levels to determine the effects of food:
Check blood sugar immediately before eating;
Check @ 1 hour and 2 hours after, which is called the postprandial blood glucose level;
Test it against the food when you didn’t cook and then cool to truly see the difference.
Now when you’re doing this—think of it as a science experiment- (make sure to use as few variables and same conditions—same recipe, same time of day, same meal, same order of macros, etc) to get as accurate a result as possible.
If you’re ready to start feeling amazing with an anti-inflammatory diet, grab the free Anti-Inflammatory Quick-Start Guide below! 👇
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When it comes to carbohydrates for an Anti-Inflammatory diet, confusion abounds–so I’m here to answer the question: What is a resistant starch, is it anti-inflammatory, and is resistant starch good for me?
I think this is a really important topic to cover in this dietary style because there’s a lot of confusion over whole grains and carbs in general when it comes to reducing inflammation in the body.
A lot of this is because of the constant battle regarding carbs in the last two decades. People have a hard time distinguishing between sugars and complex carbohydrates and what they should or shouldn’t be eating. This becomes especially complicated when you’re trying to manage a condition that really relies on an anti-inflammatory diet as a basis for controlling the symptoms and pain of that condition.
So let’s start out with answering what a resistant starch is first.
What is the difference between starch and resistant starch?
The three forms of carbohydrates that we consume are (1) sugar, (2) starches, and (3) resistant starch.
Sugar is pretty obvious, besides the limitless disguises it’s given on food labels. But let’s take a look at the difference between starch and resistant starch.
Starch
Starches are long chains of sugar molecules, and come from those plant foods that we consider refined carbohydrates that are not straight sugar. Those would be refined flours that are used to made breads, crackers, pasta, and bakery items.
Even though these foods aren’t straight sugar, they’ve been broken down and have so much starch degradation that they are absorbed extremely fast into the bloodstream to have the same effect of straight sugar.
The foods that contain these non-resistant starches usually contain no fiber and are frequently paired with sugar and unhealthy fats to create a trifecta of inflammatory triggers in the body.
Most starchy foods in this category are ones that should be avoided for a variety of negative effects on human health. Alongside sugar, they’ve been shown to induce insulin resistance, inflammatory conditions, and contribute to heart disease.
Resistant starch
Resistant starches are still considered starches and carbohydrates, but they are slowly digested starch and also act as a prebiotic. Instead of breaking down into sugar for energy, they resist digestion and pass through the small intestine and into the large intestine.
Once they’re in the large intestine bacterial fermentation occurs and assists the colon in producing short-chain fatty acids, including butyrate.
Short-chain fatty acids matter because they help blood flow and absorption of minerals while blocking the growth of harmful bacteria and toxins. And butyrate suppresses colonic inflammation.
This nifty job is what helps generate a posh home for our good gut bacteria, which is why we should promote an increase in resistant starch intakes while eliminating regular starch and sugars.
Various varieties of resistant starch is found within many foods, and the addition of these into the diet is beneficial to digestive health.
Resistant starches also contain less calories than normal starchy food: we extract approximately 2 calories per gram of resistant starch, while regular starch is absorbed at approximately 4 calories per gram. That’s DOUBLE!
This means that the higher resistant starch is in food the less calories it contains. This helps tremendously if trying to lose weight or maintain it but have problems with appetite and feeling full.
These types of resistant starch do, however, still contain vitamins and minerals that are available for absorption.
(Note that this is not permission to go crazy with pasta. It’s still a good idea to reduce calories from these types of foods and increase your vegetable intake when your goal is weight loss or increasing insulin resistance.)
Is resistant starch good for you?
The resistant starch is also known as soluble starch and is considered an insoluble dietary fiber. These varieties of resistant starch offer many health benefits and have lower calories than non-resistant starch.
Several human studies show resistant starch can improve insulin sensitivity and blood pressure, decrease hunger and can help support a healthy digestive system, which has many health benefits in and of itself, including:
Prevention or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases
All of these factors, individually and cumulatively, add up to anti-inflammatory effects in the body.
Is resistant starch good for diabetics?
Although those with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, and PCOS (and other conditions with poor insulin sensitivity) are generally told to shift into a low-carb or even ketogenic diet which severely limit all starch including resistant starch, studies have shown numerous health benefits of resistant starch intake for these conditions by following and Anti-Inflammatory Diet in the form of the Mediterranean Diet.
Since resistant starch (especially when fiber is paired) helps blunt a blood sugar spike, improves gut health, and triggers short chain fatty acids, it can be especially helpful at improving overall health, including increasing insulin sensitivity.
Since many people with metabolic issues like type 2 diabetes are also overweight, including more resistant starch in their diet will also help with feeling full and satisfied to assist in weight loss (which is what many doctors recommend to those who are diagnosed with these conditions.)
What are types of resistant starch?
There are five types of resistant starch (a fifth category was added to include those produced by food manufacturers), aptly named, “Type 1”, “Type 2”, “Type 3”, and “Type 4”, and “Type 5”. Let’s discuss where you can find each one and what their pros and cons are.
Resistant Starch Type 1:
This refers to starchy food that has a seed or germ as its outer coating.
Can be found in grains, seeds and legumes. Type 1 resistant starch is unable to broken down by our digestive enzymes. This means our digestive system does not absorb its nutrients due to them being attached to fibrous tissue walls, as long as it is intact or just cracked (ie, not ground down into flour.)
Resistant Starch Type 2:
This type of resistant starch is naturally found within the starches of certain foods. The more raw these foods are, the more resistant the starches are. Once they are heated, the starch is more easily digested. These include:
raw fruits
potato starch from raw potatoes
corn
some legumes
hi-maize resistant starch products
green (unripe) bananas
plantains
Resistant Starch Type 3
Type 3 resistant starch is referred to as retrograded starch. This is starchy food that is cooked, then cooled. This heat and cooling application increases the resistant starch content.
These would include foods like sushi rice, and pasta or potatoes that are cooked and then cooled for a salad (for example.)
Resistant Starch Type 4
This type of resistant starch is chemically modified starch created by food manufacturers from starchy foods. The end products are resistant to digestion, but start out as rice, raw potatoes, or corn. These are created so that food companies can increase thickness or improve texture by adding resistant starch.
Resistant Starch Type 5
This is a new category that was recently added. This is another type of resistant starch that manufacturers also produce, but they heat and cool the starchy foods with fatty acids, waxes, or other lipids.
What is the best source of resistant starch?
Although types 2 and 4 have been shown to increase levels of good bacteria in the gut, the types of bacteria are different. This, along with the fact that each person is so different, makes it difficult to determine which would be better from a gut health perspective.
Aside from that, the most feasible options we have come from types 1-3. These include the resistant starches we can cook whole intact (or cracked) grains like:
rice,
farro,
oats,
amaranth,
barley,
quinoa,
teff, and
wheat berries
Also lentils; soybeans; and legumes.
And lastly, this includes raw fruit, green bananas, and plantains.
How do you increase resistant starch in food?
A great way to increase resistant starches if you’re not able to find whole or cracked grains (like the ones listed above), but must make do with whole grain pastas or even potatoes in a recipe is to plan ahead.
If you start out with whole grains (or even lentil pasta), you can create dietary resistant starch in those foods if it’s cooked and cooled.
Further research done on resistant starch at the University of Surrey showed that blood sugar levels can be even further controlled when those foods are then reheated again.
Their study showed that it reduced blood sugar spikes by a whopping 50% when food was then reheated again! This has been confirmed with a study published by researchers in 2019 in the journal Foods.
All in all, resistant starches and the fiber that’s present in these types of foods have been shown to be immensely beneficial to gut health, prevention of certain diseases, blood sugar control, and assist in weight loss. Based on the data we have, resistant starches’ ability to do all these things has mega anti-inflammatory benefits.
That being said, as long as there are no food allergies or sensitivities to any of the foods listed as resistant starches or those where resistant starch could be made or increased, these are definitely foods that are recommended on the Anti-Inflammatory Diet.
Enter your name and email below to get:
What foods to avoid in an anti-inflammatory diet
What foods to include (and load up on!)
How to personalize your anti-inflammatory diet to make it work BEST for YOU!
I’m SOOOO ready to be inflamed, in pain, and on a blood sugar and energy rollercoaster for weeks because of all the holiday foods that cause inflammation that I’m ’bout to stuff my face with!!! … said no one ever.
Honestly, the holidays can be so chaotic and stressful, I don’t understand the loads of inflammatory foods being added into the mix.
I get that there’s a lot of ‘give yourself a break and enjoy the holidays without feeling guilty’ mantras and advice floating around this time of year. But to be honest, those people don’t usually have (or acknowledge) inflammatory, blood sugar, or metabolic issues that wreak havoc when we binge on inflammatory foods.
So it isn’t really about the guilt. It’s about an entire month (or three) of our bodies and brains being completely out of balance just for the sake of a couple of meals.
On the other hand, it’s nice to feel some semblance of tradition during the holidays (and avoid irritating questions from Aunt Edna about why we’re not eating).
So here are the top 5 inflammatory holiday foods to avoid this year, with swap suggestions. {Click the image below to grab it!}
(1) Vegetable and seed oils
Not only are these types of oils extremely inflammatory due to the refining process, but they also contain omega-6 fats which are inflammatory.
To make matters worse, some holiday foods are fried. When oils– especially ones that are already inflammatory– are heated to super high temps and reheated, you’re adding a hefty amount of inflammatory free radicals to the mix.
It can be really difficult to avoid these when you’re using already processed foods in recipes. And you can guarantee these types of oils are used in pre-made foods and recipes.
👉 Instead, make recipes from scratch and opt for oils like avocado, extra virgin olive oil (only for non-heated foods), or coconut oil (organic, unrefined).
(2) Trans fats
These fats are in nearly any ultra-processed food you can find. They’ve been shown to contribute to heart disease and LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol). And although the US is in the process of banning trans fats (like other countries have), labeling laws still dictate that foods can have 0.5 grams or less per serving.
For now, all this means is that companies are using this loophole to make their serving size small enough that the trans fat amount is 0.5 or less.
👉 So check the ingredients list to make sure there are no trans fats. You’ll know if they are present because the ingredients will include ‘hydrogenated’ or ‘partially hydrogenated’ oil. If it says this, find a different option.
(3) Refined carbohydrates
Refined carbs seem to be a staple in holiday cuisine. From fried things to bread to desserts, they’re in a ton of sweet and savory recipes.
The biggest culprits of refined carbohydrate savory dishes at holiday meals are bread, rolls, breading, pasta, and corn-based foods.
👉 Instead, focus on proteins and veggies that aren’t covered in glazes, gravies, and dressings.
👉 In desserts, since these go hand in hand with sugar, unless you can guarantee they’re sugar-free, it’s best to steer clear of the dessert table, unless fresh fruit that’s not covered in sugar is available.
👉 A good tip is to plan ahead and bring your own sugar-free, refined-flour-free dessert.
(4) Sugar
Sugar is extremely inflammatory, and has about a thousand different names and forms these days. It’s being added more and more to savory dishes to balance flavors and sometimes make it more addicting.
What’s even worse is high fructose corn syrup. Both are added to nearly all ultra-processed foods these days. And you can guarantee all the desserts are loaded with some kind of sugar.
👉 Check ingredient labels! Ingredients have to be listed in order from most to least, so you can tell the general amount of sugar in a package– the best bet is to avoid any with sugar altogether. This may mean foregoing sweet potato souffle and the pink salad (or jello salad) and the dessert table.
Another source of sugar at holiday meals is also beverages. Sweet tea (mostly in the South), sodas, hydration drinks, and alcoholic drinks are huge culprits of sugar during the holidays.
👉 Opt for water or unsweetened tea, and create your own cocktail with the suggestions below.
(5) Alcoholic beverages
Alcohol seems to be a staple at the holidays for most. The problem is, being off work – and especially if you’re not the designated driver- tend to make many feel like they have a free pass to indulge to the max during the holidays.
Beer can drive up uric acid levels, which creates inflammation, wines can have sugars in them, and mixed drinks are normally loaded with sugar and preservatives from the mixer base.
👉 To enjoy alcohol and still find a balance, alternate each drink with water. Hydration is extremely helpful in flushing inflammatory foods from the body.
👉 Choose dry red wines instead of beer or white wine.
👉 Mix liquor with sparkling water and a couple of drops of liquid stevia.
Tips for creating a more balanced holiday meal:
💎If you’re the one cooking the meal or contributing, it can be a lot easier to have control over what’s being served.
What we’ve learned through the years is that my husband’s and I’s families have only like two staple holiday recipes that are the same. The rest are recipes with super-inflammatory processed ingredients that the kids don’t even like.
That makes it much easier to eliminate inflammatory recipes and replace them with something much better for us.
💎We focus first on the protein and choose quality meats, and then prepare them with healthier options (ie- NOT frying an entire turkey).
💎Our second focus is on vegetables. We decide what dishes we can convert into healthier options from the old-school versions, and how we can make them taste amazing.
💎 If you’re not confident in altering recipes, search up options with the words, ‘Paleo’, ‘low-carb’, or ‘keto’ at the front, and make sure they’re sugar-free and refined-flour-free.
💎One thing my husband and I have discovered over the years is that when you experience nice restaurants- not chains- but ones with true chefs, is that they take a lot of pride in the flavor profiles and combinations of ingredients.
They also use very fresh ingredients and cook from scratch (for the most part). The result of that is incredibly delicious meals that aren’t processed, and – if the correct ingredients are used- aren’t inflammatory. The same holds true for the holidays.
Consider revamping some of your old-school recipes that use processed junk and challenge yourself to see how you can improve the health profile while maximizing the flavor profile.
Then save those in a binder for the next holiday season!
An amazing resource for doing this is a book called The Flavor Bible. We use this all the time to create new recipes or even add more pizzazz to existing ones.
{This is an affiliate link, which means if you click through and purchase, I’ll receive a small portion of the proceeds, at no extra charge to you.}
And as promised… Grab our free Healthy Holiday Swap-out Planning Sheet! 👇👇👇{Click the image below to grab it!}
I’m SOOOO ready to be inflamed, in pain, and on a blood sugar and energy rollercoaster for weeks because of all the Thanksgiving foods that cause inflammation that I’m ’bout to stuff my face with!!! … said no one ever.
Honestly, the holidays can be so chaotic and stressful, I don’t understand the loads of inflammatory foods being added into the mix.
I get that there’s a lot of ‘give yourself a break and enjoy the holidays without feeling guilty’ mantras and advice floating around this time of year. But to be honest, those people don’t usually have (or acknowledge) inflammatory, blood sugar, or metabolic issues that wreak havoc when we binge on inflammatory foods.
So it isn’t really about the guilt. It’s about an entire month (or three) of our bodies and brains being completely out of balance just for the sake of a couple of meals.
On the other hand, it’s nice to feel some semblance of tradition during the holidays (and avoid irritating questions from Aunt Edna about why we’re not eating) as well.
So here are the top 5 inflammatory Thanksgiving foods to avoid this year, with swap suggestions.
Feel GOOD this holiday! Grab our Healthy Holiday Swap-Out Planner!
Not only are these types of oils extremely inflammatory due to the refining process, but they also contain omega-6 fats which are inflammatory.
To make matters worse, some Thanksgiving foods are fried. When oils– especially ones that are already inflammatory– are heated to super high temps and reheated, you’re adding a hefty amount of inflammatory free radicals to the mix.
It can be really difficult to avoid these when you’re using already processed foods in recipes. And you can guarantee these types of oils are used in pre-made foods and recipes.
👉 Instead, make recipes from scratch and opt for oils like avocado, extra virgin olive oil (only for non-heated foods), or coconut oil (organic, unrefined).
(2) Trans fats
These fats are in nearly any ultra-processed food you can find. They’ve been shown to contribute to heart disease and LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol). And although the US is in the process of banning trans fats (like other countries have), labeling laws still dictate that foods can have 0.5 grams or less per serving.
For now, all this means is that companies are using this loophole to make their serving size small enough that the trans fat amount is 0.5 or less.
👉 So check the ingredients list to make sure there are no trans fats. You’ll know if they are present because the ingredients will include ‘hydrogenated’ or ‘partially hydrogenated’ oil. If it says this, find a different option.
(3) Refined carbohydrates
Refined carbs seem to be a staple in holiday cuisine. From fried things to bread to desserts, they’re in a ton of sweet and savory recipes.
The biggest culprits of refined carbohydrate savory dishes at Thanksgiving are bread, rolls, breading, pasta, and corn-based foods.
👉 Instead, focus on proteins and veggies that aren’t covered in glazes, gravies, and dressings.
👉 In desserts, since these go hand in hand with sugar, unless you can guarantee they’re sugar-free, it’s best to steer clear of the dessert table, unless fresh fruit that’s not covered in sugar is available.
👉 A good tip is to plan ahead and bring your own sugar-free, refined-flour-free dessert.
(4) Sugar
Sugar is extremely inflammatory, and has about a thousand different names and forms these days. It’s being added more and more to savory dishes to balance flavors and sometimes make it more addicting.
What’s even worse is high fructose corn syrup. Both are added to nearly all ultra-processed foods these days. And you can guarantee all the desserts are loaded with some kind of sugar.
👉 Check ingredient labels! Ingredients have to be listed in order from most to least, so you can tell the general amount of sugar in a package– the best bet is to avoid any with sugar altogether. This may mean foregoing sweet potato souffle and the pink salad (or jello salad) and the dessert table.
Another source of sugar is also beverages. Sweet tea (mostly in the South), sodas, hydration drinks, and alcoholic drinks are huge culprits of sugar during the holidays.
👉 Opt for water or unsweetened tea, and create your own cocktail with the suggestions below.
(5) Alcoholic beverages
Alcohol seems to be a staple at the holidays for most. The problem is, being off work – and especially if you’re not the designated driver- tend to make many feel like they have a free pass to indulge to the max during the holidays.
Beer can drive up uric acid levels, which creates inflammation, wines can have sugars in them, and mixed drinks are normally loaded with sugar from the mixer base.
👉 To enjoy alcohol and still find a balance, alternate one drink with water. Hydration is extremely helpful in flushing inflammatory foods from the body.
👉 Choose dry red wines instead of beer or white wine.
👉 Mix liquor with sparkling water and a couple of drops of liquid stevia.
Tips for creating a more balanced Thanksgiving meal:
💎If you’re the one cooking the meal or contributing, it can be a lot easier to have control over what’s being served.
What we’ve learned through the years is that my husband’s and I’s families have only like two staple holiday recipes that are the same. The rest are recipes with super-inflammatory processed ingredients that the kids don’t even like.
That makes it much easier to eliminate inflammatory recipes and replace them with something much better for us.
💎We focus first on the protein and choose quality meats, and then prepare them with healthier options (ie- NOT frying an entire turkey).
💎Our second focus is on vegetables. We decide what dishes we can convert into healthier options from the old-school versions, and how we can make them taste amazing.
💎 If you’re not confident in altering recipes, search up options with the words, ‘Paleo’, ‘low-carb’, or ‘keto’ at the front, and make sure they’re sugar-free and refined-flour-free.
💎One thing my husband and I have discovered over the years is that when you experience nice restaurants- not chains- but ones with true chefs, is that they take a lot of pride in the flavor profiles and combinations of ingredients.
They also use very fresh ingredients and cook from scratch (for the most part). The result of that is incredibly delicious meals that aren’t processed, and – if the correct ingredients are used- aren’t inflammatory. The same holds true for the holidays.
Consider revamping some of your old-school recipes that use processed junk and challenge yourself to see how you can improve the health profile while maximizing the flavor profile.
Then save those in a binder for the next holiday season!
An amazing resource for doing this is a book called The Flavor Bible. We use this all the time to create new recipes or even add more pizzazz to existing ones.
{This is an affiliate link, which means if you click through and purchase, I’ll receive a small portion of the proceeds, at no extra charge to you.}
And as promised… Grab our free Healthy Holiday Swap-out Planning Sheet! 👇👇👇 {click the image}
When I decided to embark on an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle, I had just had my youngest kid (as of writing this she is nine years old). And I’d spent a lot of time dealing with the stress of being a mom in general, but also shifting back and forth between operating as a single mom and then flipping back into wife mode because my husband traveled so much for work.
And at the time was just trying to lose the baby weight so that I would fit into my clothes again. But I really and truly needed more energy, I needed my hormones balanced, my blood sugar stable, and then (of course) your mood just ties all in with all of those things (read: I was constantly in Momzilla-mode.)
So what I thought was the right thing to do was to eat low carb or keto because at the time it was all the rage and everybody was having such good results with it.
I had just barely started my nutrition journey (formal education-wise.) But even in that capacity, there are a ton of differing opinions on how we should eat.
So I decided to start with trying to lose the baby weight and keep my blood sugar in check, and to do that I would go low-carb and just sort of put that on autopilot in the back of my head because I had so much going on in my life right then, as we all do.
And I knew that it really wasn’t working out in my favor because my hormones were super up and down, my cycles were not regular, (I’d had endometriosis when we were trying to get pregnant the first time) and my energy levels were the same: up and down all day long. I also couldn’t even concentrate for really long amounts of time. I also had allergic symptoms that were getting worse–I’ve always had environmental allergies.
It was really frustrating because I thought that I had figured out that this diet was the most important thing and that I knew doing low carb or keto would be the best thing for me because of my family’s blood sugar history. I have family members who’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and also with prediabetes, and so I’m very conscientious of it because I also had gestational diabetes with two of my pregnancies, which puts me at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes down the road.
But the thing was, I literally did not have time to do tons of research on what would be the best for me, or spend thousands of dollars on a specialist or even the wellness centers you go into that do all the testing for you and then sell you a bazillion supplements. I didn’t have the time or money to do any of that so I really was just at a loss and just completely frustrated because I did not know what to do.
Lesson learned: feeling lost and frustrated = overwhelmed + ready to give up.
So the thing that happened that made me just stop and really understand that I had to figure myself out was that I was sitting in the pharmacy drive-through one day picking up a prescription for my daughter, she had strep throat and of course my husband was out of town as it always happens.
And a lot was going on and I was just super stressed out that day and I just happened to kind of put my hand on my leg while we were sitting in the drive-thru and I felt all these bumps all over my legs and I looked down and saw that my legs were covered in welts.
And I freaked out because I’ve never had a reaction like this before and all I could imagine was that maybe I was going into anaphylactic shock, and my husband was out of town and we had no friends or family members anywhere near that could actually help out.
The wake-up call
So the really big wake-up call was that I called the doctor’s office got in as soon as possible. And they checked everything out and said, “Hey… you don’t really have any discernible symptoms that would give us answers to what’s happening here. You don’t have a history of food allergies and you haven’t changed anything else like shampoo, body wash, or laundry detergent…”
So the best answer that they could give me is to talk about lifestyle and being stressed and that maybe I had too much on my plate. And that’s when I kind of had to take a step back and thought, “I know that is a good part of it but that’s not the only thing.”
A new plan
So when I decided to really start honing in on what was going on I had three major shifts that make me really understand that did putting in the effort and time into an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle–first and foremost–would be the thing that would help me out the most.
Major breakthrough #1:
So the first thing is that I noticed that when my blood sugar was on that roller coaster situation with the super highs and then the crashes, I could always tell immediately because of my energy levels and mood. And what I put together is that when those things would happen the inflammation always felt worse.
So I would have brain fog, my joints would ache, all the classic symptomatic chronic inflammation symptoms that happened that are your body trying to tell you something… If you would just stop and listen.
And those were the things that were happening and really just took me taking that step back just to kind of start noticing those things and putting them together with that pattern of my blood sugar levels.
Lesson 1: Blood sugar is a big deal even if you aren’t diabetic
Major breakthrough #2:
So the second thing is that I started seeing patterns in specific foods that I ate.
I already have asthma and I have always had environmental allergies, but when I would eat certain foods I would get a bit of a runny nose, throat congestion, brain fog, and then just this severe drop in energy.
And again–I’ve never had food allergies, but I did notice that I was having these specific reactions to certain foods.
Lesson 2: Even without food allergies food intolerance is real
Major breakthrough #3:
And in the third shift was really taking a step back and understanding that lifestyle factors were making things exponentially worse.
My husband traveled, at the time, for work non-stop so I’d stay up really late either trying to catch up on work or binge watching Netflix, and I wasn’t getting enough sleep. So that was making me even more stress to the gills that I already was everyday.
And kind of in these weekly patterns I was shifting back and forth between single mom mode doing you know all the things, and then back into being a wife and having the normal struggles with communication and expectations and everything else in marriage. Not to mention trying to run a business and taking care of the kids and the house and everything that goes with that.
I filled my day so full that I rationalized to myself that I had no time to even think about stress management, practices, or working out, or getting in any type of daily movement.
And what I realized is that every single lifestyle choice was adding up and then either working for me or against me…and at this point in time they were all working against me.
Lesson 3: Lifestyle factors stack up to either work for you or against you
I thought I knew what was best for me and doing low carb or the keto just kind of whenever it suited me, but the truth was that I never stuck to one way of eating and then just totally disregarded all of the other factors that were playing into me feeling like garbage everyday.
Putting the new plan into action
New plan step 1
So the first thing that I did was take a step back and look at exactly what I was eating everyday. I thought that I was doing good on low-carb but I had to get brutally honest with myself. When I did that, I noticed I was eating mostly meat and cheese and very little vegetables all day long.
This is a huge mistake when you have inflammation in the body because you need those vegetables for fiber and healthy complex carbs and then the phytochemicals.
New plan step 2
The next thing I did was make one change at a time.
So obviously my whole lifestyle situation had to get better but it really had to start with my diet. So I started out just finding, like, 4 really good recipes for breakfast… and I would bulk prep them and rotate them.
So I can usually do the same breakfast every day for a week, maybe two weeks, before I start to get bored.
There are a lot of people like that there are some people who could eat the same breakfast every day for the rest of their life. And that would be fine. I’m not one of those people.
But this is where I made compromises with myself so that it would what I needed but it wasn’t too overwhelming. So I had 4 recipes and I figured out how to get really good at prepping them really fast.
And they were all really good and they all were extremely healthy. And following the anti-inflammatory guidelines was the simplest place to start.
The next thing that I did was start improving my lunches. And to me this was like the next logical thing to do… so I knew that I would save mega time if I would just have leftovers from the night before.
So what I decided to actually do is shift my attention over into dinners instead of worrying about lunches. I know that we all have so many of these recipes on Pinterest and everywhere else and I even have some on the website of these really cute mason jar salads and nourishing bowls and things like that. And those are absolutely great!
But if you’re shifting over into a new dietary style…to make that transition for the types of foods you can eat, and how to cook it, and how you have to prep it, how you have to store it, there’s a lot of things that go into this and you don’t want to overwhelm yourself.
So what I started thinking about was just making it as simple as possible so that even if I thought all of these salads and nourishing bowls were really cute and looked yummy…it made things a lot more stressful for me when instead I could just simply make more dinner the night before and then have that for leftovers the next day for lunch.
New plan step 3
So I also made one change at a timein those lifestyle factors and confirmed later with a lot of research that all of these things actually can work together for you or against you.
I was seeing it myself, but people say that it’s anecdotal; It could be true… it could not be true, but once I started seeing these things myself and the pieces started falling together I thought, “ There has to be research backing this up.”
So I really dove into that research, and this is the basis of what comprises the CORE 4 at TRUEWELL and in the CHEAT codes method: the lifestyle factors and diet all working together.
Takeaways
Takeaway #1:
Take a step back and get real with yourself about your current diet and lifestyle.
Takeaway #2:
Change 1 daily meal at a time to prevent overwhelm.
Takeaway #3:
Make lifestyle changes one at a time to prevent overwhelm.
By far the best thing that I started with was getting in tune with myself in an anti-inflammatory diet
What changed my life?
A personalized anti-inflammatory diet integrated with anti-inflammatory lifestyle choices.
Smart, efficient, gradual ways to make putting together those true anti-inflammatory components for myself is the thing that actually helped me put all these pieces together into a unique blueprint for how to eatand live that brought me back into balance.
And this is why TRUEWELL is devoted to helping others just like you get real information about what an anti-inflammatory diet is, and then refine exactly what foods you should cut out to help pull your inflammation down.
And the first place to start is your food.
I can’t wait for an AI Diet to make you feel just as amazing as I do now so you can take on the world.
If you’re ready to get real with yourself and make that change as well, grab the free Anti-Inflammatory Quick-Start Guide. 👇
Enter your name and email below to get:
What foods to avoid in an anti-inflammatory diet
What foods to include (and load up on!)
How to personalize your anti-inflammatory diet to make it work BEST for YOU!
Starting an anti-inflammatory diet can be really confusing! Conflicting food lists online, quitting sugar, and annoying requirements for cutting out wheat is enough to make anyone take pause. But I promise the benefits of the anti-inflammatory diet far outweigh the learning curve!
In case you don’t know me, I’m Laura, and I’m a nutrition specialist, certified health coach and founder of TRUEWELL.
And I’ve spent pretty much the last decade figuring out how to overcome sugar addiction and find the perfect dietary start to alleviate my anxiety and depression, my crazy hormone issues, erratic blood sugar levels, calm inflammation in my body, and lose the weight after having babies…which is why I am a die-hard fan and teacher of the anti-inflammatory diet.
But it wasn’t easy for me to get here, and countless other women make a few of the same mistakes when trying to go anti-inflammatory as well which is what I’m about to share with you, and how to avoid all that so you can really get started. So let’s get into the top most common mistakes when starting an anti inflammatory diet and what to do instead.
Mistake #1: not knowing how to read food labels
Mistake number one is blindly trusting food labels. The bottom line is that to go anti-inflammatory you must know what’s in packaged foods. When you don’t know what’s actually in your foods you can’t stick to an anti-inflammatory diet very well because this dietary style doesn’t really rely on counting anything.
It’s all about the specific foods and the quality of them… so when you have no clue how to read a food label and don’t know what any of the information means on it, it gets really tricky to pick out correct ingredients and to pick out anything that fall within the guidelines.
The problem is that food companies are really good at trying to trick us with labeling. Things are getting a little bit better, but for the most part those companies really rely on us just blindly trusting whatever they tell us on those food labels.
So what we want to look at is the ingredients list and then we also want to look at the top box that is the nutrition information. Really for the anti-inflammatory diet the things that you’re looking for are indicators that there are no added sugars and you want fiber to be in there; that’s going to indicate that there are more complex carbs in it versus simple carbs, refined flours, things like that.
Know your sugars
But you still just need to make double sure and still be able to understand the ingredients on the food label underneath. I always recommend becoming familiar with the different names of sugars because food companies know that we’re starting to get smarter and they start using different words to disguise what sugars are.
Grains can be super tricky because food companies list a ridiculous number of ingredients, and they also are very good at finding loopholes in laws regarding labeling.
So for example, if you see a packaged food that says, “Made with 100% whole grains” on the front label, that could very well mean that they used SOME whole grains, and then the rest are refined.
You can verify this by checking the ingredients list on the side or back of the package.
Tip: The ingredients are ordered by largest quantity to smallest quantity.
So just start to become very familiar with how to read food labels and understand what’s actually in those foods because I promise you this: Food companies do not have your best interest in mind, and they’re going to do their very best all they care about is their bottom line.
Mistake # 2:Not knowing what grains and forms of those are okay to include
So when it comes to carbohydrates, we do need carbohydrates to have energy.
But what happens is when grains are ground up and the bran part removed, they’re also taking out all of the fiber that’s in it. Now we need fiber because it helps our digestive systems move but it also binds to simple carbs so that they don’t make our blood sugar spike.
When we have spikes, it’s going to crash and this roller coaster that happens is really bad for inflammation. What you want is steady blood sugar all day long but it’s never going to be a flat line. Rather, you need within a good range versus the dramatic up and down roller coaster.
So what we’re looking at is whole grains but what we need to understand too, is that even if you’re looking at say refined flour like all-purpose baking flour vs. whole wheat flour, the difference between those two is that the whole wheat is going to have some fiber…but what’s happened is that since it’s ground up into that fine flour it’s still giving you a blood sugar spike very similar to what the refined flour does.
So if you really look at the basics of a Mediterranean diet, the true Mediterranean diet does not include flours like that.
What you are able to include are whole actual grains like rice, quinoa, and couscous. Grains in this form have the entire piece intact or partially cracked so that it really slows down the digestion of those carbohydrates and their absorption.
That way you have a kind of lengthened version of energy coming in for a while after you eat versus getting that blood sugar hit then all absorbing at the same time with this spike because then it’s going to crash later.
I do personally recommend also taking gluten out because it has been shown to be inflammatory even in people that don’t have Celiac or sensitivities to gluten. But it still can induce that inflammation and so if you have other issues (even if you don’t have like IBS or IBD or other inflammatory issues) you can be affected by gluten.
Grains that have gluten include:
Wheat
Wheat derivatives (like the ones used for pasta)
Barley
Rye
Malts
And think about replacing it with a different type of grain that’s going to be really beneficial for your body to get those complex carbs while keeping your blood sugar under control .
Mistake #3: Not cooking enough
When you cook more you have better control over what you’re eating and you learn to enjoy just learning about different foods and cooking and that really ends up tying back into the number one mistake–when you cook more you can rely much less on food labels.
The exception of that would probably be unless you use sauces, that sort of thing, within your recipes. For example, spaghetti sauce is already mixed together with ingredients so you still need to be able to read that food label to make sure that the spaghetti sauce is made without sugar.
So number one still applies because you need to know what ingredients you’re adding into your recipe as a whole.
Take away #1:
Learn to read food labels and learn the terms, especially for sugars and grains.
Takeaway #2:
Kick flours to the curb and replace with truly whole (or cracked) grains.
Take away #3:
Learn to cook and learn to love it.
Let me know in the comments below which of these problems you have had yourself and what you’ve done to fix them!
If you’re ready to dive in on an anti-inflammatory diet, get started NOW with the free Anti-Inflammatory Diet Quick-Start Guide! 👇
Enter your name and email below to get:
What foods to avoid in an anti-inflammatory diet
What foods to include (and load up on!)
How to personalize your anti-inflammatory diet to make it work BEST for YOU!
After a long day at work (which is pretty much most days), many people aren’t too keen on hearing they can’t have a drink when trying to stick to an Anti-Inflammatory Diet. After all, stress triggers inflammation, but a drink after work should help alleviate that.
A little contradictory, no? This begs the question: does alcohol cause inflammation or does alcohol use help stress, which thereby reduces inflammation?
This is a fantastic question since most people are drinking alcohol to ‘take the edge off’ on a regular basis. But also because the Mediterranean guidelines (which are the basic blueprint of an Anti-Inflammatory Diet) stipulate that moderate alcohol consumption is ok.
So let’s break these down to understand the relationship between inflammation and alcohol consumption, and if it’s possible to reduce inflammation while drinking alcohol, or if you should stop drinking alcohol altogether.
What is the cause of inflammation?
Your immune response is activated when your body is exposed to harmful agents such as viruses, bacteria, poisonous substances, or when you are injured.
Inflammatory cells and cytokines are sent out by your immune system as first responses, stimulating additional inflammatory cells called c reactive protein (crp), which is acute inflammation.
These cells initiate an inflammatory response to trap microbes and other harmful substances or start recovering the wounded tissue. Pain, swelling, bruising, and redness may happen due to this.
Chronic inflammation
However, inflammation has an impact on physiological systems that are not visible when poor lifestyle habits turn into low-grade and chronic inflammation.
During chronic inflammation, the immune system keeps an alert state. Under these pressures arterial walls and organs could collapse, creating diseases. This is an extremely broad occurrence that can include asthma, inflammatory arthritis, ulcers, periodontitis, inflammatory arthritis.
The gut inflammation that occurs during prolonged alcohol consumption may also cause inflammation throughout the person’s system.
Prolonged chronic inflammation has been shown to increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and even autoimmune conditions.
How does drinking alcohol contribute to chronic inflammation?
The increase of gut microflora-derived lipopolysaccharide is just one way that drinking alcohol can cause inflammation.
This is because excessive alcohol consumption triggers the release of LPS, which are normally kept in check by a feedback loop in the central nervous system in conjunction with other organs in the body. Alcohol can thereby throw all of these systems out of whack, leading to systemic inflammatory effects.
However, it has also been shown that alcohol reduces other inflammatory markers in the body, including c-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and TNF-alpha receptor 2.
What health conditions can develop from alcohol inflammation or be exacerbated?
Alcohol inflammation in certain people is associated with numerous health concerns. These can manifest as symptoms made worse when a condition is present, or can actually develop due to chronic alcohol use. Alcohol-related medical conditions include:
Alcohol-induced fatty liver disease occurs most frequently with long-term alcohol misuse. Since alcohol is processed in the liver, it’s recommended that anyone with liver disease abstain from alcohol consumption.
Gout is a condition more frequently found in those with other chronic conditions, but can be significantly worsened with alochol use. Excessive alcohol consumption is thought to be a prime contributor of symptoms of gout attacks because of the increase in uric acid from alcohol. This can cause increased joint inflammation and pain.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS) have been shown to significantly increase the occurrence of stomach bleeding and breeching the intestinal barrier due to alcohol consumption. Intestinal inflammation in these two conditions are the primary cause of pain and triggering flare-ups of symptoms.
Is alcohol bad for your health overall?
Obviously, alcohol abuse is one of these health factors that could tip either way depending on whether there is excessive alcohol consumption or not. But studies have shown specific effects alcohol consumption can have on systems in the body.
Alcohol and the brain
Alcohol can be an addictive chemical depending on several factors for each person.
In the brain, it blocks the neurons and blocks the body’s essential behavior to maintain the regular and healthy status, which alcohol interferes by blocking the neurons and leaving the person vulnerable. The interplay of all these factors in addition to genetic components is what makes certain people more prone to alcohol addiction.
Alcohol leads to intoxication, nausea, slurred speech, slower reflexes, and poor performance, with terrible memory blocking the myriad nerves controlling different body functions.
It also affects how decisions are made. So if someone is trying to stay away from certain foods (for example, to stay on an Anti-Inflammatory Diet), alcohol can affect decisions in refraining from certain foods that could make inflammation worse.
How alcohol affects the liver
The liver plays the most important role in removing alcohol from the body. The prolonged use of alcohol affects the liver regeneration ability and can leave scarring in the liver by disturbing the scar tissue removal enzymes from prolonged usage.
The first signs of liver damage through alcohol usage are abdominal pain and mouth dryness. Other accompanying symptoms include fatigue, jaundice, increased thirst, loss of appetite, and nausea.
Alcohol and blood sugar
Although alcohol intake has been shown to reduce blood sugar levels, this can actually be rebounded with alcohol use. This can be dangerous for those with insulin resistance or other metabolic disorders (especially when taking medications that affect blood sugar levels.)
When there are issues with blood sugar regulation, adding alcohol to the mix can cause spikes or drops in blood sugar that can become an immediate health threat.
Alcohol and lipid markers
Although many people don’t connect alcohol use with lipids, it actually has a big connection. Especially if alcohol use is heavy.
Alcohol can elevate triglycerides and have a negative effect on the HDL to LDL cholesterol in the blood.
How much alcohol is bad for you?
This is where alcohol and inflammation get tricky. Studies have been done in terms of amount consumed and the amount of inflammatory markers in the body.
What was found was interesting, considering the physiologic cascade of inflammatory events that can happen with alcohol intake.
On the contrary, what was found is called a bell curve effect (or J-curve effect).
The bell curve effect in studies
The bell curve effect in studies refers to data showing that no-to-limited consumption of alcohol can be inflammatory, and excessive drinking can also be inflammatory, but moderate alcohol consumption actually has anti-inflammatory effects.
The data shows these to be healthy ranges for alcohol intake daily in regard to inflammation:
1-2 glasses on a day or around seven drinks per week for women or those above 65,
2-3 glasses per day or more than fourteen glasses a week until of age 65 of men is considered to be within the safe limits
Guidelines when consuming alcohol
Aside from the number of drinks per day, here is more information you should consider when deciding on alcohol consumption for your body, situation, and long term health:
Enjoying alcohol with friends and family
Although the ‘bell curve effect’ seems to be a paradox for some in the scientific community, one suggestion is that it actually doesn’t have anything to do with the physical effects of alcohol.
It has been suggested that alcohol intake with friends and family and in social situations having a positive effect on health has more to do with the actual socialization factor. Being around people you love and care about is a really effective way to reduce stress, which could be the primary factor in moderate alcohol consumption having anti-inflammatory benefits.
Relieve stress
Alcohol in a limited and controlled dose has been shown to trigger dopamine release and lift the mood. Although this tends to be the number one reason people generally partake in alcohol consumption, this can be a slippery slope leading to alcohol abuse, so it’s advised to take precautions when using alcohol for this purpose.
Healthiest Types of alcohol
Although there are particular guidelines available for specific conditions regarding alcohol use, these tend to be the least benign choices for alcohol:
Red wine
Champagne
Tequila
Rum
Gin
Vodka
Whiskey
I would like to point out that for the liquor options, drinking straight, on the rocks, or with unsweetened sparkling water (or club soda) is always the best option since cocktails frequently have high sugar content, which is highly inflammatory.
Counteracting the effects of alcohol
Even while drinking alcohol within Anti-Inflammatory Diet guidelines, you may want to do what you can otherwise to counteract the effects of alcohol.
Stay hydrated
As alcohol dehydrates, it is imperative to drink lots of water while consuming alcohol. The day after drinking alcohol it’s important, but it’s also imperative to keep hydrated while drinking alcohol as well.
One reason more people pay attention to this now is that dehydration plays a major part in the hangover feeling the next day.
A good rule of thumb to avoid this is to have one glass of water per alcoholic beverages.
Exercise (at least 20 minutes)
Although working out has been shown to reduce inflammation anyway, studies are also showing exercise has the ability to cancel out the effects of alcohol on the system.
Working out even for 20 minutes can increase metabolism by the liver of the compounds that can otherwise be oxidative.
Make healthy food choices
Make sure to eat healthy even during drinking alcohol or when you are going through a hangover. It’s all too easy to fall back into unhealthy habits from alcohol-induced poor choices in the moment.
This includes getting enough and quality protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
Drink soy milk to counteract a hangover
Interestingly, soy milk has been shown in studies to counteract a hangover. This is due to compounds called asparagines that bind to oxides formed from alcohol metabolism.
Options other than alcohol
Many people who have determined that alcohol has enough of an inflammatory effect on their bodies commonly begin to seek different alternatives to help ‘take the edge off’ after a long day, or even when socializing.
A wide range of more flexible and relatively healthy options can help you opt for a healthy lifestyle and excellent mental health, like:
Supplements like valerian root, ashwaganda, or schizandra
CBD oil
Mocktails (sugar-free)
Takeaway
Although many forms and quantities of alcohol have been shown to have negative effects on the body, studies have also shown the bell curve paradox. This information allows for a few drinks per day (moderate alcohol consumption) as a benefit to healthy individuals, as long as no conditions are present in which the risk outweighs the benefit.
With that, I say, “Be responsible, know your body, and Cheers!”
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Any given Google search can give you a thousand and one list of anti-inflammatory foods. Specific foods here, herbs and teas there, and the occasional supplement thrown in for good measure.
As the Anti-Inflammatory Diet is my jam and I walk the walk, this tends to be frustrating for me, because committing to this type of diet isn’t just for kicks. If it’s not for the general good health benefits and disease prevention, it’s because you’re trying to control or decrease inflammation in the body. That comes with a condition that you could pay big time for if you don’t manage it, or chronic pain. Neither are fun.
Which is why the half-ass efforts on the parts of those lists give me endless grief.
Instead, let’s delve into the science-backed most anti-inflammatory foods list.
What causes inflammation?
Let’s start out with what actually causes inflammation.
Your immune response is activated when your body is exposed to harmful agents such as viruses, bacteria, poisonous substances, or when you are injured. Inflammatory cells and cytokines are sent out by your immune system as first responses, stimulating additional inflammatory cells, which is acute inflammation.
These cells initiate an inflammatory response to trap microbes and other harmful substances or start recovering the wounded tissue. Pain, swelling, bruising, and redness may happen due to this.
However, inflammation has an impact on physiological systems that are not visible when poor lifestyle habits turn into low-grade inflammation that leads to chronic inflammation.
If left untreated, chronic inflammation can cause your immune response to attack your body’s surrounding cells and organs, causing an increased risk of diseases including autoimmune conditions, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis.
How to protect yourself from chronic inflammation
Although we’re still hopeful in this day and age that there’s a magic pill to solve any health woe, the truth is that most health issues, and maintaining good health come down to a myriad of factors. The same is true for managing chronic inflammation.
In my practice, I promote what I call the CORE 4. These are the four factors of promoting a healthy lifestyle that help protect yourself from chronic inflammation and promote phenomenal health.
These are:
Calm: stress management
Oscillation: daily movement
Rest: your sleep, and
Eat: consume healthy foods
As a nutrition specialist, I primarily focus on what we eat, but the other 3 are extremely important factors as well since they all work synergistically.
That being said, since you gotta eat to live, and you eat 3+ times a day, I advise making healthy changes in this arena as a first step.
This includes dietary interventions like cutting pro inflammatory foods. These are highly processed foods, (which include processed meats, partially hydrogenated oils–also known as trans fats, and refined carbohydrates) and replacing those with a diet rich in nutrients like whole grains, lean protein, a ton of fruits and vegetables.
Also, since blood sugar regulation affects so many other systems in the body (including energy levels), I truly feel a diet comprised of anti inflammatory foods is the first and best place to start in protecting yourself from, or managing, inflammation.
Foods that fight inflammation
As an Anti-Inflammatory Diet at it’s core is based on the Mediterranean Diet, you may notice that this is the first place to start. It’s become one of the most studied diets of the last two decades and has, by far, gained favor by the medical community for its ability to reduce inflammation and manage blood sugar levels, not to mention the plethora of other conditions it can either manage or help prevent.
These include managing rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune disorders, high blood pressure, preventing cardiovascular disease and heart disease and even alzheimer’s disease.
So let’s get into the list of foods that contain the most anti-inflammatory compounds by category.
(*Note that this is not an all-inclusive list of foods on the Anti-Inflammatory Diet. It is a list of the MOST anti-inflammatory foods from each food category.)
Healthy fats
Monounsaturated fats
The typical Mediterranean foodstuff is made from extra-virgin olive oil that has anti-inflammatory effects in some areas. High monounsaturated fat (74% fat total) does not cause plaque in the arteries like saturated fat and contains anti-inflammatory chemicals.
Avocado oil (like olive oil) is also mono-rich and packed with nutrients and vitamins. Avocados also give the added benefit of fiber, which can also help control inflammation.
*In choosing olive oil and avocado oil, look for expeller-pressed. Extra virgin olive oil is a great choice, and its recommended that you find a brand that is sourced from California.
Polyunsaturated fats
Polyunsaturated fats have also been shown to reduce inflammation at a therapeutic level. These are your omega 3 fatty acids that have become such a popular topic, as they balance inflammatory omega 6 when in the correct ratio in our diets. Omega 3 fatty acids can be found in:
fatty fish like mackerel, tuna, sardines, and salmon
walnuts and many other nuts
flax seeds
chia seeds
Healthy proteins
Proteins that are anti-inflammatory can come from one of two sources: animal-based or plant-based.
Cold-water, fatty fish: anchovies, tuna, salmon, mackerel (wild-caught, not farmed)
Eggs (organic)
Soy (organic): Non-organic soy is heavily sprayed with glyphosate which has been shown to be toxic and inflammatory.
Healthy carbohydrates
There are many sources of carbohydrates that fight inflammation. Listed in the general Anti inflammatory diet you’ll find that whole grains and many other vegetables are included. Although whole grains do have anti inflammatory benefits, the science is still a bit conflicting of their ability in fighting inflammation. (This is not to say that they promote inflammation.)
Non-starchy vegetables
As blood sugar levels can affect inflammation in the body, I always advise choosing loads of non-starchy vegetables first when planning meals. These vegetables are whole foods that have nutrient-rich polyphenols and phytochemicals that are potent antioxidants and fight inflammation.
It’s always recommended to ‘eat the rainbow’ because each color in plants is indicative of different groups of polyphenols. Getting a variety of these helps your body get the different types that it needs to keep your systems healthy.
Here are the top-recommended non-starchy vegetables:
Dark leafy greens: kale, spinach, arugula, collard greens, mustard greens
Red vegetables: tomato, red bell pepper, beet, radish
Cruciferous: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, bok choy
Starchy Plants
Starchy vegetables are ones that contain resistant starches. These food are packed with nutrients and fiber. The fiber combined with resistant starch is what creates this magical environment in the gut that reduces inflammation.
Caution should be given in overdoing it with fruits, though: They do still contain natural sugars that can cause a rise in blood sugar levels. Higher blood sugar is inflammatory, so it’s important to find a balance of satisfaction while being prudent.
Colorful fresh berries
The antioxidants found in berries help maintain a healthy immune system, and the resistant starches and fiber in fresh berries give an even bigger boost of anti-inflammatory power. The best choices are fresh, as the resistant starches break down as soon as they are cooked:
blueberries
strawberries
raspberries
blackberries
tart cherries
pomegranate seeds (not technically a berry, but a fruit with really powerful anti-inflammatory compounds)
Nuts and seeds
Nuts contain a great deal of nutrition including vitamins and ellagitan (a kind of tannin). They also contain a combination of monounsaturated polyunsaturated fats that decrease inflammation. The best options include:
Walnuts
Almonds
Hazelnuts
Pecans
Pistachios
Seeds like chia and flax (already mentioned)
Mushrooms
Mushrooms have antiseptic properties, are full of fiber, and are one of the few dietary sources of Vitamin D. Although chaga mushrooms are thought to be the most anti-inflammatory, they can be difficult to find in the grocery store. If you’re adding mushrooms to a dish, any type at the grocery store will be beneficial.
Herbs and spices
Some herbs and spices have anti-inflammatory properties and can block inflammatory cytokine activity. The most anti-inflammatory options are:
Turmeric
Probably the most well-known anti-inflammatory spice, this ingredient contains curcumin, along with over 300 other active compounds, that acts as an anti-inflammatory nutrient.
Holy Basil
Also known as a delicious and fresh herb to cook with, holy basil also has potent anti-inflammatory properties. It has a slightly bitter and spicy flavor, so if that puts you off, it’s also available in supplement or tea form.
Ginseng
Typically considered a more Asian supplement, ginseng has been used for thousands of years for a myriad of health issues, including the reduction of inflammatory markers.
The thing to know about ginseng is that there are two main types: Asian (Panax ginseng) and American (Panax quinquefolius). If you need more energy, Asian ginseng is more beneficial, while the need for relaxation would call for American ginseng.
Garlic
Not only is garlic delicious, but its compounds are also highly effective at boosting antioxidants as well as pulling inflammatory markers down.
Cardamom
Cardamom has been shown to be highly antioxidant and anti-inflammatory in multiple studies. Although cardamom is traditionally used in Asian-flavored dishes, it can also be found in supplement form.
Black pepper
Although black pepper is a staple seasoning in most households, it actually holds powers beyond flavor. Its main compound is called piperine, which reduces inflammation in the body. As an added bonus, black pepper also increases the bioavailability of other beneficial supplements, making it a must for every meal.
Rosemary
Delectable fragrance aside, rosemary contains a dense combination of polyphenols shown to be beneficial for many inflammatory conditions (including joint pain and stiffness, asthma, arthritis, and skin conditions) due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
Cinnamon
Although there are two most well-known types of cinnamon (Ceylon and Cassia), only Cassia (the kind you can find in the grocery store) was found to reduce both inflammatory markers CRP and MDA.
Ginger
Last but not least in herbs and supplements is ginger. This spicy but sweet ingredient contains over 100 active compounds that squash inflammation in the body. It’s prevalent in Asian dishes, but can be taken in supplement form as well.
Dark chocolate
Dark Chocolate contains antioxidants compounds. Flavonols are a tasty ingredient that helps to reduce inflammation and can also be useful for brain health. Choose 70% cacao to get the best benefits while avoiding added sugars.
Beverages
Coffee and tea contain many agents known for lowering inflammation, including EGCG (green tea) and chlorophyll.
Here are some things to remember about beverages:
Note that adding milk (dairy) will erase those benefits as the proteins bind to those antioxidants rendering them ineffective.
When consuming coffee or teas, be wary of turning a beverage with anti inflammatory agents into pro inflammatory compounds by creating sugary beverages. If you need these sweetened, add natural calorie-free sweeteners like stevia, monk fruit, or erythritol.
Some insight on how an Anti-Inflammatory Diet Works
As previously mentioned, an Anti-Inflammatory Diet is based on the Mediterranean Diet at its core but goes a few steps further to refine it based on your unique needs that may include losing weight, preventing weight gain, managing a specific condition, as well as any intolerances, sensitivities, or allergies you may have.
The first best general recommendations to reduce inflammation in the body in order to prevent chronic diseases are to cut out sugarand processed foods, then move on to refine your dietary style further. For some this may mean an elimination diet.
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Many people trying to manage inflammatory conditions read food list after food list to avoid on the Anti-Inflammatory Dietary style, and come to wonder… Does dairy cause inflammation? And believe me–their confusion is completely warranted.
Years of marketing from the dairy industry have undoubtedly ensured that you’re taught that milk consumption is incredibly healthy for your bones and yogurt for your gut. Milk is rich in calcium and vitamin D, which are beneficial to bone health, while the probiotics in yogurt keep your digestive system strong.
The problem is that there are conflicting recommendations based on conflicting scientific evidence. So let’s dive into what the science says and how you can determine if dairy is inflammatory for your unique needs.
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What is inflammation?
Your immune response is activated when your body is exposed to harmful agents such as viruses, bacteria, poisonous substances, or when you are injured. Inflammatory cells and cytokines are sent out by your immune system as first responses, stimulating additional inflammatory cells, which is acute inflammation.
These cells initiate an inflammatory response to trap microbes and other harmful substances or start recovering the wounded tissue. Pain, swelling, bruising, and redness may happen due to this.
However, inflammation has an impact on physiological systems that are not visible when poor lifestyle habits turn into low-grade inflammation that leads to chronic inflammation.
If left untreated, chronic inflammation can cause your immune response to attack your body’s surrounding cells and organs, causing an increased risk of diseases including autoimmune conditions, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Do we need dairy?
As mentioned, we’ve been fed the line that we need dairy for specific vitamins and minerals in our diet for decades. Consuming milk or other dairy foods can, in fact, provide some health benefits in the way of important nutrients that we may be missing elsewhere.
However, this is just marketing that’s been given to us by the national dairy council and association. We don’t need to eat dairy-containing foods for our survival. In fact, no adult mammal needs milk by the time it’s reached adulthood.
We can absolutely get calcium and Vitamin D from other sources than dairy. For example, an 8 oz glass of milk has 300 mg of calcium in it. You can get the same amount in a glass of soy milk, 3/4 cup of almonds, 1 1/2 cups dried figs, 2 cups of cooked kale, 2 cups of bok choy, or 6 oz of tofu. There are also many other options for a slightly smaller amount of calcium, but when they’re added up, you can obviously go without dairy to get your RDA of calcium.
As far as Vitamin D sources, from late March to September, you can get your daily dose by spending about 10 minutes a day outdoors. Year-round good sources of Vitamin D include:
Oily fish
Egg yolks
Red meat (that is organic and grass-fed)
Anti-inflammatory foods that are fortified
A Vitamin D3 supplement
A Vitamin D supplement (if you choose not to consume dairy) may be a really good decision since it’s estimated between 59% to 77% of the population is Vitamin D deficient.
So, no, we don’t need dairy, but it has become a staple ingredient across the globe. The surge in dairy-free diets, however, has prompted food companies to step up and start producing many other dairy substitutes that rival taste and texture of traditional dairy products.
The link between dairy and inflammation
The connection between dairy and inflammation has been established by some clinical evidence in the past. However, many studies have also shown decreases in inflammation with dairy intake as well.
Also, many of these studies don’t take into account that multiple variables may contribute to the possible inflammatory effects of dairy products. Some factors exacerbate it, while some may help combat inflammation. The primary components of dairy products are given below.
Saturated fats and sugar content
When it comes to dairy, the main 2 initial factors in inflammation are the sugar (lactose) and saturated fat in cow’s milk. According to research, saturated fats can promote inflammation in the body (although it’s been shown in newer research that this largely depends on the quality of the source, ie, organic grass-fed vs feed-lot cows.)
Sugar has been found to be inflammatory in and of itself, but it also causes a dramatic spike in blood sugar levels, which also increases inflammatory markers.
Even though saturated fat may not be as inflammatory as previously assumed (again, depending on the quality), certain conditions can be exacerbated by consuming dairy because of the saturated fat.
Milk proteins: casein and whey
Dairy-containing foods have two proteins present from the milk it was derived from: casein and whey. Whey is a very popular type of protein powder in the fitness world because of its ability to induce protein synthesis after workouts.
However, both proteins have been vilified in the past as pro-inflammatory due to some studies showing they increased inflammatory markers.
A very recent systematic review of these studies says these beliefs are simply not true. That the literature reviewed indicates that dairy has either a neutral effect or beneficial.
Another factor brought up in the last several years is that different cow breeds produce milk with different types of protein: A1 or A2. Studies have shown that A2 milk does not promote inflammation in the ways that A1 was shown.
What are dairy inflammation symptoms?
Certain types of dairy products may trigger inflammation.
Signs and symptoms of a possible dairy sensitivity include:
bloating
changes in bowel motions, or
any other form of digestive distress after consuming dairy
changes in your skin, such as an increase in acne or skin rashes such as eczema and psoriasis
joint pain or inflammation
Dairy intolerance or sensitivity
A dairy sensitivity does trigger an immune response, but it’s usually a delayed reaction. Dairy intolerance is when allergen markers are not present for milk allergy but there is still an inflammatory response in the body with dairy consumption.
Dairy allergy
Milk and milk-containing foods provoke an inflammatory, immunological response in those with a milk allergy, even if the reaction is moderate.
People who are allergic to milk are sensitive to either casein or whey, the proteins found in dairy products. According to prior studies, more than half of the individuals with celiac disease also have a casein sensitivity because casein has a similar molecular structure to gluten.
So if you have an adverse reaction to gluten, you are more likely to have the same with milk and dairy products because milk proteins frequently cross-react with gluten in the gut.
Milk drinking or intake of milk-based products causes a direct inflammatory reaction from the immune system in people with a true dairy allergy, with symptoms that vary from minor to life-threatening.
Lactose intolerance
Lactose intolerance, on the other hand, is not life-threatening. Lactose intolerance is caused by an inadequacy of the enzyme (lactase) needed to digest lactose. As a result, when lactose intolerant individuals consume milk, they experience mild gastrointestinal issues such as gas, bloating, and diarrhea. (These problems are caused by undigested lactose, not by a dairy allergy.
What dairy foods can I have on the Anti-Inflammatory Diet?
Here are your best options for dairy intake:
Yogurt
Yogurt can be a good choice for dairy as long as it’s purchased in plain, unflavored form, and also organic. Yogurt is thought to reduce inflammation by enhancing the impartiality of the intestinal lining via probiotics and also has nearly all the lactose (sugar) removed naturally via the fermentation process.
Probiotics provide several health advantages, including improved immune function and a robust and less porous intestinal gut lining. Consequently, it would reduce the odds of inflammation owing to the entrance of toxins and chemicals into the body through the stomach lining.
Fermented dairy products like yogurt and kefir are the primary sources of probiotics. Studies reported that consuming them frequently may prevent or limit inflammation by strengthening gut health.
Cottage cheese and ricotta cheese
Cottage and ricotta cheese are good choices in their most natural form (these frequently have thickeners added). And the best choice is from organic grass fed cows.
Other cheeses
As with all other dairy choices, cheeses that are organic and from grass fed cows are the best option due to the balanced ratios of omega 3:6. Cheeses also have considerably less lactose than other dairy products, and some that are lactose sensitive have found they can consume some cheeses and not have symptoms.
Goat cheese and feta
Although goat cheese (which includes feta) isn’t from cows, and therefore doesn’t contain the same proteins, it is a good choice to substitute in on recipes when cow’s dairy foods aren’t an option.
Feta doesn’t typically have the same strong flavor that other goat cheeses do, and it’s a staple in Mediterranean fare.
How do I choose dairy products?
Dairy has long been a contentious issue in nutrition, and whether it is beneficial or causes inflammation could largely depend on the sources of dairy and the quality consumed.
Full fat, grass-fed, raw dairy is the best choice in nutrients, digestibility, and bioavailability, whereas pasteurized fat-free milk is heavily processed and has very little nutritional value.
The lactase enzyme is one of the vital enzymes lost when raw dairy is cooked and pasteurized. It results in the symptoms of lactose intolerance because of the inability to digest the dairy sugar lactose without it.
Many people believe that raw dairy products are better tolerated than pasteurized dairy products, with many experiencing improved skin and immunological function and relief from dietary intolerances.
I will also add that per the Mediterranean Diet guidelines (which are like the basic blueprint to an Anti-Inflammatory Diet), dairy is allowed, but in moderation.
Bottom line: Should I have dairy?
Although dairy may have anti-inflammatory advantages in certain people, type and quality are essential factors to consider when evaluating dairy’s involvement in inflammation.
So to determine if you should include it in an anti-inflammatory diet, answer these questions:
Are you lactose intolerant? (If yes, exclude it.)
Do you have a milk allergy? (If yes, exclude it.)
Do you have celiac or skin conditions like rashes and eczema? (If yes, exclude it.)
Do you have IBS or IBD, or even stomach or digestive issues? (If yes, I recommend an elimination diet to know if you should exclude it for sure.)
As always when it comes to questions about allergies, intolerances, or sensitivities to food, the best place to start is with your doctor.
And the combination of anti-inflammatory lifestyle choices and an elimination diet with the guidance of a nutritionist is the best way to get answers for your specific needs when it comes to building your personal Anti-Inflammatory Diet.
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Go to any restaurant these days and you’ll find that most menus now have ‘gluten-free’ as an option, testifying to the surge in popularity of going gluten-free. When it comes to an Anti-Inflammatory Diet and Lifestyle, however, gluten consumption can be an even more controversial topic, prompting the question: “Does gluten cause inflammation?”
What is gluten?
Gluten is a protein that is present in certain grains, most notably wheat. Each molecule is comprised of two components: glutenin and gliadin (more on those later.)
Gluten has been shown to be a key ingredient for breads as well as bakery goods because it helps to maintain stability as it has a certain ‘stretchy’ quality to it.
Grains that contain gluten
Gluten is not present in all grains. The grains that contain gluten are:
Cross-contamination is when a food doesn’t inherently contain gluten (like wheat, barley, and rye), but the manufacturing company where it is packaged or processed could also process gluten-containing foods.
For this reason, people that must strictly avoid gluten must read the food label to confirm that the facility it was processed at does not also process gluten-containing foods.
Foods that frequently have cross-contamination or cross-contact possibilities are:
Oats
Pizza (even if they are gluten-free pizzas)
Bulk bin foods at the grocery store
Any food that is fried in oil that other foods containing gluten are fried in (ex: french fries)
Foods from bakeries that are not strictly gluten-free (wheat flour can float in the air for hours and land on other surfaces)
Other products that regularly contain gluten
Many packaged products contain gluten, and it takes a lot of investigating to find this out.
Typical (not-so-obvious) products that contain gluten are:
Malt
Brewer’s Yeast
Starch (from any of the above listed grains)
Beer
Seitan
Soy sauce
Many other processed foods not labeled as ‘gluten-free’.
Is gluten inflammatory?
When you look at how gluten affects people who suffer with celiac disease and are gluten sensitive you can see if this also impacts other people. Studies have shown that gluten triggers zonulin (a protein found in the small intestine that acts as a gateway to the intestinal barrier lining), whether in people who have celiac, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, or neither of these conditions.
When the intestinal lining is breached, it lets in harmful bacteria and food proteins, triggering the immune system.
What this means is that gluten is causing an inflammatory response in everyone, but there may be no visible or tangible symptoms.
For those with undiagnosed celiac disease, as well as a gluten sensitivity, eating gluten causes chronic inflammation and has been shown to be involved in chronic inflammatory diseases.
Why is gluten bad now but not in the past?
Many people think this is non plausible because ‘we’ve been eating gluten for hundreds of years and this has never been a problem.’ That’s true. But back then, the grains that were grown were from traditional varieties. This is why many people who have issues on grains and gluten in the States can go to Europe and have no symptoms. The grain is different.
In the past I dove into this research, and according to Dr. William Davis, in his book Wheat Belly, this is due to the process the food industry has taken in creating a genetically modified wheat stalk that resists buckling from wind. What you see in the grocery store is a hybrid-of a hybrid-of a hybrid that has essentially altered the glutenin to gliadin ratio inside the gluten protein.
Does gluten cause leaky gut?
Leaky gut is a fairly new term that refers to the intestinal wall cells being breached because of increased permeability. When this happens, immune cells are triggered and food sensitivities and food allergies can develop. It is well known that a leaky gut can cause intestinal inflammation for those with celiac disease.
But for those that aren’t diagnosed, increased intestinal permeability and damage can still be caused in the gut. This means gluten can be problematic for everyone, potentially.
This is usually caused by a molecule called zonulin, and science shows us that zonulin is the culprit in triggering that intestinal permeability.
Leaky gut is, in and of itself, problematic because it’s been shown to be the precursor to food allergies and sensitivities (which cause inflammation) as well as autoimmune disease.
Celiac disease
Celiac disease is a severe autoimmune condition in which your small intestine and villi are damaged, which doesn’t allow you to absorb nutrients from food due to your immune system’s reaction to gluten.
Gluten causes inflammation damage to the small intestine in those with celiac disease. Celiac disease can also be triggered by rye, barley, and some oats in certain people (the oats can be contaminated by gluten-containing grains in the manufacturing process.)
The only treatment for celiac disease is a lifelong gluten-free diet. Even if someone eats gluten in a modest quantity severe intestinal damage can occur if you have celiac disease.
How celiac disease is diagnosed
Celiac disease is usually suspected when certain markers come back in blood tests. Many GI specialists are now also including a DNA blood test that show the gene responsible for celiac probability.
It is widely believed that if the gene is positive, celiac is suspected and a GI scope is recommended to obtain a biopsy of the intestinal tract to confirm celiac.
If the gene is negative, celiac disease is probably not present, but it does not rule out non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
Skin rash or other issues (eczema or even allergic-feeling reactions)
Depression and anxiety
Iron-deficiency anemia
Joint pain and muscle pain
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) or intolerance
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is when celiac disease is not present, but gluten inflammation is still occurring, causing symptoms.
The resulting chronic inflammation can still interrupt the body’s ability to absorb essential nutrients, even when celiac disease is not diagnosed.
How gluten sensitivity or gluten intolerance is diagnosed
When your physician orders blood tests, they will be looking for a certain marker for celiac. If this comes back negative, (and especially if the DNA marker is negative) they can also look for antibodies to gliadin. If those are present, it usually indicates non-celiac gluten sensitivity, sometimes referred to as gluten intolerance.
The best way to confirm this for yourself, however, is an elimination diet.
Common signs of gluten intolerance
You may notice similar symptoms to celiac disease, like:
Stomach pain
Other stomach issues (diarrhea, constipation)
Headache
Fatigue
Bloating
Brain fog
Depression/anxiety
Pain
Skin rash or other issues
Joint pain
Gluten allergy
There is no such thing as a gluten allergy, but you can have antibodies to gliadin, which is present in gluten. Many people do find themselves allergic to specific grains– whether they contain gluten or not.
Allergy testing
Testing for specific grains can be done at an allergist’s office. There are two types of tests normally done: blood tests (which would show a reaction from the immune system) and/or skin prick tests.
Depending on who you ask, there are many opinions on which of the two tests are accurate. Some believe that neither are totally accurate. (I can attest to this personally as we’ve been through the gamut of these for myself and two of my daughters.)
Symptoms and signs of allergic reaction to grains
Anaphylaxis (obviously)
Sinus issues and nasal congestion
Skin rashes or eczema
Stomach symptoms and digestive issues, including vomiting
Should I eliminate gluten in an anti-inflammatory diet?
I personally think that if you have no underlying conditions, don’t need to lose weight, and are simply on an anti-inflammatory diet for good health and disease prevention, then you may be ok with gluten in your diet. Just keep in mind that the Anti-Inflammatory Diet only allows whole grains in their whole or cracked forms.
If you have certain conditions, I recommend a gluten-free diet.
Conditions that would warrant eliminating gluten
Thyroid,
Adrenal fatigue (or other adrenal issues),
Autoimmune diseases,
IBS, IBD,
Arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis for sure, possibly osteoarthritis)
*The Arthritis Foundation has a stance currently that whole grains are part of a healthy diet, even for those with arthritis. However, these standards may soon change based on new recommendations of what’s called the ITIS Diet, which eliminates gluten and dairy.
Try an elimination diet
If you don’t know, but suspect an allergy or sensitivity, an elimination diet is always the best way to be sure. My best advice for that is to be VIGILANT and DETAILED and use a food journal.
An elimination diet is when you eliminate certain food groups for approximately 21 days then add foods back systematically one at a time to see if you react to them.
How to start a gluten-free lifestyle
Eliminating gluten-containing foods
Obviously, the first step is to eliminate gluten-containing foods. Start with the list at the start of this article.
Determine if you need to eliminate ALL grains
Not to be Captain Obvious, but a gluten-free diet can be really hard. That being said, I recommend testing (through an elimination diet preferably) to see if you react to ALL grains, or just a few.
Whole grains can be a really key part of reducing inflammation because of the fiber and resistant starches. So if you can include some that are gluten-free, that would be ideal.
For example, if you are determined to have a wheat allergy or intolerance, you can eliminate wheat but possibly still have other whole grains listed above.
Be vigilant depending on the severity of conditions and symptoms
One thing many doctors recommend is varying your vigilance on your severity of symptoms. Obviously, we want to eliminate them altogether, but ultimately you’ll have to be the judge of what you can tolerate. I say this because it can be exhausting being the food police.
If you have been diagnosed with celiac disease, for the love of Pete– don’t cheat! Stay away from gluten because it’s damaging your body every time you eat it.
Consider eliminating dairy to help alleviate symptoms
Studies have shown that those with conditions that warrant a gluten-free diet are more likely to react to dairy products as well, whether from lactose intolerance, an allergy or just a sensitivity.
For this reason, many people diagnosed with celiac disease, digestive symptoms and conditions, autoimmune disease should also eliminate dairy from their diets as well. People diagnosed with these conditions have been shown to have a sensitive digestive system.
HEALTHY options for going gluten-free
Avoid refined grains. Food companies just substitute gluen-containing grains for refined grains and potato starch the majority of the time. This goes against guidelines on the Anti-Inflammatory Diet, so be wary of packaged gluten-free foods that replicate the gluten-containing version (like pasta, breads, bagels, pastries, etc).
Avoid corn. Corn is inflammatory and is usually loaded with glyphosate (the chemical in Roundup) which is toxic and very inflammatory as well.
Consider veering towards Paleo or Whole 30 options because they emphasize more vegetable replacements and lower carbs that are more healthy. You don’t have to be actually following these dietary styles, but take advantage of the hard work bloggers or nutrition pros do that specialize in those diets. They always tag their recipes for which ones they follow guidelines for, making it super easy to search up.
Learn to cook whole, gluten free grains. If you’re ok with other grains that don’t contain gluten, learn to cook those to replace pasta and bread.
All in all, I believe gluten-containing grains could be ok in an Anti-Inflammatory Diet if there are no underlying health concerns and you’ve proven with an elimination diet that you don’t have reactions to gluten. However, seeing the data on gluten and the effect it has on the gut lining of people even without celiac or intolerance has personally veered me away from gluten.
A good read on the subject (of specifically wheat and how modern-day gluten reacts in the body) is the book Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis. It explains the process of hybridization and how it’s affected the gluten protein in modern wheat, and the effect it has on the human gut.
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