What is Inflammation?
Inflammation is a chemical reaction occurring in your body when fighting off bacteria and viruses. In most instances, this is a natural and healthy response to protect your body from invaders; however, some diseases (like arthritis) trick your body into thinking that your own tissue is infected which causes your body to fight its own healthy tissue.
While arthritis is one of the most common diseases associated with inflammation, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, asthma, and IBD (inflammatory bowel diseases) are other conditions linked to inflammation.
Symptoms
Common signs of inflammation include swollen joints (that are even slightly warm when you touch them), joint stiffness, or even loss of joint function.
Inflammation is usually diagnosed through a physical exams, x-rays, and blood test results.
Treatment Options
While the pharmaceutical industry offers a wide range of drugs used to treat inflammation symptoms, simply consuming anti-inflammatory foods and making specific lifestyle changes can not only be less costly but can also have better long-term benefits!
In a nutshell, an anti-inflammatory diet get rids of ANY processed foods! Instead such foods are replaced with whole, organic ingredients. Specifically, a Mediterranean diet has found to be most effective when reducing signs of inflammation. Fatty fish (rich in omega-3s), nuts, dark leafy greens, ginger, garlic, and turmeric (so flavorful!), whole grains, tomatoes, peppers, berries, and cherries are all part of this anti-inflammatory food alliance! What you put into your body matters more than you think! Treat your body will respect and fuel it with good, healthy foods.
Recipe Inspirations
Let’s get started today with these three anti-inflammatory recipes:
Chocolate Cherry Nicecream – The perfect treat!
Orange Ginger Boost – Full of Vitamins
One-Pan Toaster Oven Citrus Salmon Salad – Packed with Omega-3s
