Don’t waste your time dieting this year.  Instead, GET HEALTHY!

Consider this…

Inflammation is a normal, biological response when something harmful or irritating affects a part of your body – this can be both good and bad.   Acute inflammation is a short-term healthy physiological response indicative of wound healing.  However, long-term chronic inflammation can accelerate aging and has been directly implicated in a wide range of degenerative health disorders including autoimmune diseases, obesity, diabetes, and atherosclerosis.

What you can do about it…

One of the most powerful things you can do is adhere to a pattern of eating that is anti-inflammatory.  Although people can and do lose weight when following the principles of this diet, it is not specifically intended for weight loss.  Rather, it is meant to provide adequate energy and ample vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, dietary fiber, and protective phytonutrients to help your body achieve and maintain optimal health.

red onion spices greens-266560_1920 (1)Follow these 12 steps and GET HEALTHY in 2018.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET PLAN

Use the power of real food to reduce inflammation in your body

  1. Cut the processed and junk food – and remember – some seemingly healthy foods are really not. When grocery shopping, be sure to read the ingredient list as well as nutrition facts label.
  2. Eat whole foods as much as possible. This can be tough when you’re crunched for time but there is a huge difference between picking up a couple donuts at the DD drive thru versus preparing some overnight oats topped with fresh berries, nuts, and cinnamon for example.
  3. Eat more fruit including fresh, frozen, or canned (BPA-free) in juice with no sugar added. Include small servings of 100% fruit juice such as Concord grape, pomegranate, prune, and cherry.
  4. Eat more vegetables including fresh, frozen, and canned (BPA-free) – no salt added. If you don’t like vegetables, it’s better to eat some rather than none. Try low-sodium tomato juice, vegetable soup, and juicing.
  5. Eat more intact whole grains. Experiment with some of the less common varieties such as millet, farro, buckwheat, quinoa, Kamut, teff, couscous, and wild rice. Check out this quinoa recipe.
  6. Eat low-mercury oily fish at least twice a week for the omega-3 fats such as sustainably sourced salmon, trout, Atlantic mackerel, and sardines.
  7. Include plant-based sources of omega-3 fats daily such as walnuts, edamame, hemp seeds, ground flax seeds, and chia seeds.
  8. Drink green, white, and rooibos tea and coffee as these are rich sources of anti-oxidants; limit caffeinated beverages to 2 eight ounce cups per day.
  9. Eat whole raw nuts and seeds, olives, extra virgin olive and avocado oil for monounsaturated fat.
  10. Avoid foods with lots of added refined sugars. Rely on the ingredient list for this information not the nutrition facts label which doesn’t distinguish between added and naturally occurring sugar. However, this is changing and will become a requirement by law as of June, 2018.
  11. Limit refined and processed fats and fried foods.
  12. Avoid trans-fats. Look for the words hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredient list of any packaged foods. If you see them, put the food down and walk away.

A few more things you can do…

  • Exercise regularly as this helps the body to produce naturally occurring anti-inflammatory defenses.
  • Be sure to get enough sleep.  Most healthy adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night to function at their best.  Losing sleep for even part of one night can trigger the key cellular pathway that produces tissue-damaging inflammation.
  • Find simple ways to destress throughout the day.  Just closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths can help.  Stress wreaks havoc on the mind and body.  Chronic psychological stress is associated with the body losing its ability to regulate the inflammatory response and this can promote the development and progression of disease.

How to get started with your new anti-inflammatory lifestyle plan

Start slow and gradually make these positive lifestyle changes. You don’t have to adopt all the steps at once.  Rather, choose some that you feel you can implement now and just get started – one step at a time.  Think of it as a journey and keep moving forward. It can take up to 6 months for the anti-inflammatory plan to have its full effect so hang in there and give it time.

Lorraine

PS…
Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss your health needs and talk about a more personalized plan.

 

 

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