The Diet, Part III
Inflammation
I began this new diet largely because
I've been experiencing some inflammation around the top of my neck,
under my jaw. I've had lymph issues in the past, when I am eating poorly and stressing out. I have been eating poorly and stressing out, so it was a time for a change.
I made a
list of foods that were anti-inflammatory, in an effort to replace
the inflammatory foods I have been consuming, like whole milk, ice
cream, and pizza (ugh).
I found a website called Self Nutrition
Data at http://nutritiondata.self.com/.
It lists the macro- and micro-nutrients for most foods along with
their estimated glycemic load and inflammation factor.
Glycemic load and glycemic index are
two terms I'm familiar with, and an important part of my diet. Simple
carbohydrates (not sugar), once broken down by the stomach, turn into
sugar: glucose. I'm choosing to eat vegetables and fruits (fructose
in its natural state), high-protein foods like fish and chicken, as
well as adding healthy fats like olive oil and coconut oil to
carb-rich foods like oatmeal and sweet potatoes to help reduce their
glycemic load.
Inflammation factor is a term I'm not
familiar with, and I'm still doing research on inflammation and food.
But in the meantime I've used Self Nutrition Data to create a list of
anti-inflammatory foods, along with a list of low glycemic foods.
This is useful because it gives me a
better idea of what I can eat, and what I want to avoid. Not that I
can't have some pizza or ice cream once in a while, but that I want
to limit such foods. A list is a more concrete way of deciding what
to eat than relying on the statement “I want to eat healthier.”
Just saying “I want to eat healthier”
doesn't allow me to picture a healthy diet in the same way writing
such foods down does.
~*~
Inflammation is the body's way of
protecting itself. It's an immune response to illness, injury, and
stress. Our bodies become inflamed when we are injured, or we have a
disease like diabetes or cancer, or experience high-stress states and
lifestyles. Inflammation is linked to disease in this way, and many
say that inflammation may predict serious illnesses like cancer and
heart disease—or that cancer and heart disease are inflammatory
diseases.
Even some fruits and whole grains are
pro-inflammatory. Coconut oil is very pro-inflammatory,
because it contains a high concentration of saturated fat. Knowing
this doesn't mean I'm going to avoid fruits, whole grains, or coconut
oil, because each food offers unique health benefits, but that when I
have these foods I balance them with anti-inflammatory foods like vegetables, olive oil, and spices.
The best way to balance any meal is
to rely on the spice turmeric.
Turmeric is the most anti-inflammatory
food on my list. It packs an anti-inflammatory factor of 1,500 in a single
tablespoon (about what I may put into a bowl of coconut oil-flavored
oatmeal).
The typical bowl of oatmeal I make,
with coconut oil, raisins, and cinnamon has a pro-inflammatory factor
of nearly -750—it's recommended that we have a daily anti-inflammatory factor of 50 (an average of all the foods we eat).
Adding a single tablespoon of turmeric (and some black pepper to
increase turmeric's bioavailability) turns the inflammatory factor
upside down—giving that same bowl of oatmeal an anti-inflammatory
factor of 750.
Adding foods like turmeric, olive oil,
fish, and vegetables to my diet I find it very easy to exceed that
factor each day.
Already in the first week since
starting this new lifestyle I've noticed the inflammation in my neck
has been reduced. I also feel better in other ways, as well, which is
an added bonus.
~*~
The inflammation rating system is not
an absolute. I like it as a guideline to go by, to compare with what
I know about certain foods. It's also a little extra motivation to
stop eating foods I don't want to eat. Milk, for instance, isn't
something I want to depend on in my diet; it's one of the few foods
that upsets my stomach, and let's face it, drinking modern processed
milk is kind of gross, and only tastes good to me if it's whole milk,
which is loaded with saturated fat—fat which contains all of the
nasty chemicals and wastes left over from the cattle industry. Milk
is also pro-inflammatory, so it's easier to say no to if I'm looking
to include anti-inflammatory foods.
Pro-inflammatory foods can be
misleading. Coconut oil contains high amounts of saturated fat, but
unlike processed milk it is more nutrient dense, containing fats that are
actually healthy for me. Quinoa is pro-inflammatory but it's also healthy
in moderation, containing a high amount of protein for a plant food,
rich in fiber, healthy fat, and a host of micro-nutrients.
So far I have discovered that
anti-inflammatory foods are healthy (are plant-based, or contain
large amount of healthy fat: fish), or is a healthier alternative to
an unhealthy food choice (olive oil over vegetable oil). Most pro-inflammatory foods
should be avoided, but there are several that are so nutrient-dense
or contain rare and necessary micro-nutrients or fats that they should be
included in a healthy diet (coconut oil and many fruits are
pro-inflammatory).
Because the long-term average of all
foods matters more than each food's inflammation factor, it's more
important to focus on the general diet rather than excluding every
single pro-inflammatory food. It's convenient that the inflammation
factor mimics closely other factors like the glycemic load, or
whether a food is processed (trends toward pro-inflammatory) or plant
based (trends toward anti-inflamatory).
The inflammation factor doesn't itself
determine whether a food is good for me or not, but it may be a good
indicator. And it's one more tool to help me define a healthy diet.
I plan on researching inflammation more
over the next few weeks and months.
~*~
My list:
Inflammatory index: all servings
100 grams.
Negative values are pro-inflammatory.
Almond Milk: N/A+
Almonds: 200
Mixed Nuts: 175
Cashews: 78
Celery: 14
Peanuts: 69
Avocado: 78
Bananas: -51
Carrots: 163
Chicken: -21
Cinnamon: -55 (-1 for 1 teaspoon)
Coconut Oil: -825 (-111 for 1
tablespoon)
Eggs: -92 (-41 for medium egg)
Flaxseed: 490 (34 for 1 tablespoon)
Garlic: 3,576 (107 for 1 clove)
Ginger: 6,452 (129 for 1 teaspoon)
Lentils: -4
Muskmelon: 43
Muskmelon: 43
Oatmeal: -41
Olive Oil: 526 (71 for 1 tablespoon)
Onions: 234
Peanut Butter: 31
Pepper: 31 (13 sauteed)
Protein Powder: N/A?
Prunes: -210
Quinoa: -222
Raisins: -338
Salmon: 466
Spinach: 259
Sweet Potatoes: 189
Tilapia: 74
Tomato: 9
Tuna: 162
Turmeric: 22,564 (451 for 1 teaspoon)
Yogurt: -78
Water: 0
Obviously this list is far from complete, but it's a good idea of what's out there.
Posts
