Inflammation is right up there with sugar in terms of scary wellness words.
You’ve probably heard the laundry list of ailments it’s tied to: acne, sleeping
problems, gut issues, and even life-threatening conditions, like heart
disease.
The good news is that you can eat your way to better health—as
long as you’re filling up on the right foods. Sure, turmeric gets a lot of the glory when it
comes to fighting inflammation, but how many golden
lattes do you need to sip a day for it to actually make a difference? And is
there anything else you can nibble on that works just as well?
Nutritionist Barbara
Mendez, who’s also trained as chemist and a pharmacist, helped to build an
anti-inflammatory food pyramid—with the most beneficial foods at the bottom and
the not-so great ones at the top. (Cough…gluten…cough.)
It’s kind of like the triangle you memorized in elementary school,
only with way more superfoods (and way fewer cartons of milk).
The base of the
pyramid: Leafy greens and healthy fats
What’s the most
important food for lowering inflammation? Leafy green veggies, Mendez
says. In her opinion, the more spinach, broccoli, romaine, cabbage, collard,
and kale, the better. The reason? Greens are loaded with antioxidants, which
rejuvenate weak cells, she says—sort of like how that mid-afternoon coffee can
bring you back to life.
“Besides leafy
greens, the most powerful inflammation-fighting foods are salmon, walnuts, fermented foods—such as kimchi—garlic, and yes, turmeric,” she says. So how much
is enough? “Ideally, you want a serving of fermented foods and walnuts every
day,” Mendez explains. “Salmon can contain mercury, so because of that it’s
best to keep it to two servings a week.”
As far as turmeric
and garlic, Mendez says just incorporating them into your cooking or juices
should be enough for prevention, but if you want to step things up, you might
want to consider a turmeric
supplement.
The second level:
Produce that pulls double duty
On the second tier of the food pyramid fall pineapple, papaya,
beets, ginger, flax, and blueberries, according to Mendez. Bromelain, an enzyme
in pineapple and papaya, is both an inflammation-fighting agent and digestive
aid, so our expert advises eating one serving of either fruit per day.
She also recommends a cup of blueberries every day. (Quercetin, a
flavonoid in the fruit, is so powerful that it’s been linked to fighting
cancer.) As for beets, Mendez says shoot for incorporating them into your
bowls two to three times a week—like greens, they help repair damaged cells.
And if you’re serious about addressing inflammation, Mendez
recommends drinking two to three cups of ginger tea a day and incorporating
flax oil into a daily salad. It may sound like a lot, but if you’re sipping tea
or hitting up Sweetgreen on the reg, anyway, it’s just a matter of tweaking
what you’re already doing.
The third level: Say no
to nightshades
News flash: Not all vegetables fight inflammation. In fact, Mendez
says it’s best to limit consumption of nightshades (AKA Tom Brady’s arch-nemesis)—think
tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and potatoes. While some people have no problem
with these type of veggies at all, others—like Sophia
Bush—skip them to avoid any potential gut
issues. The best way to know? Cut them out of your diet for a couple weeks and
see if you notice a difference.
The top of the
pyramid: The bad boys of inflammation
At the tip-top of the food pyramid are Mendez’s list of what to
limit: wheat, dairy, sugar, corn, soy, and peanuts. “It’s absolutely essential
to avoid processed and refined foods—AKA junk food,” she says.
And if you’re a meat eater, Mendez says to make sure you’re eating
grass-fed meat. “Meat that is commercially raised with hormones, antibiotics,
and fed with soy and corn, can contribute to inflammation,” she says.
Keep in mind, though, that following the anti-inflammatory food
pyramid should be used as a helpful guide—not something to stress over (hello, cortisol). After all, it mostly comes
down to one thing: eating nutritious whole foods and filling up on lots of
greens.
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