How to Choose Anti-inflammatory Foods

Inflammation in your body feels like an irritation or pain in a localized area that is accompanied sometimes by a loss of use or movement. Arthritis pain is one of the most common inflammations that people experience. Inflammation in the body can also be a part of chronic diseases, such as stroke or heart disease. However, long-term use of medication can lead to other problems such as kidney and stomach irritation. There are other preventative measures that you can take to alleviate your condition.

Instructions

1

Avoid foods that are known to cause inflammation. These include sugar, corn syrup, meat with high fat content, fast foods and junk food with trans fats and saturated fats, processed meats such as hot dogs, lunch meat and sausage that contain nitrites.

2

Choose lean meats, low-fat cheeses, milk and dairy products. The protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals found in these foods are important to maintain good health. However, saturated fats are also found in these foods. The lower fat content means you are ingesting less saturated fats which can cause inflammation.

3

Add oils and fats into your diet that will reduce your body inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acids have been proven to fight inflammation. This fatty acid is found in walnuts, flax seed, pumpkin seeds, cold water fish and canola oil. By adding these foods to your diet you can make a marked improvement, over time, in the amount of inflammation in your body. Olive oil is another beneficial fat for reducing inflammation.

4

Supplement your diet with Omega-3 capsules in the form of fish oil or flax seed oil. If you arent able to add foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids to your diet, supplements are a good choice.

5

Include more fiber in your diet. Studies have shown a high fiber diet reduces inflammation. When you purchase bread, pasta and cereal at the grocery store, look for 100 percent whole grain products. Old-fashioned oatmeal for your breakfast is a good way to add more fiber to your morning meal. Fruits and vegetables add fiber to your diet. Try to get the recommended minimum five servings per day.

6

Drink water. Good beverages such as pure water, fruit juices, vegetable juices, low-fat milk or herbal teas are all good choices to add additional water to your diet. Healthy liquids have been shown to improve body inflammation.