Aging has never looked so good! Discover how you can be healthy, active, and strong in your senior years.
Inflammation and Degenerative Diseases
Commonly believed to be a byproduct of aging, many diseases in the elderly are systemic conditions occurring when the body’s immune response produces an excess of inflammatory chemicals. Often, this is related to the foods we eat. Modern diets are imbalanced and overproduce inflammatory chemicals while at the same time blocking the production of necessary anti-inflammatory chemicals.
Arthritis, gastritis, colitis, dermatitis, cystitis, neuritis, bursitis are all common inflammatory conditions related to systemic inflammation. Heart diseases and coronary artery diseases are directly associated with inflammation and are now regarded to be a more important risk factor for heart disease than high cholesterol levels. {dqrr9h63} Cancer is spread by inflammation and obesity, and dementia, migraines, and Alzheimer’s disease all involve inflammation. Infections, hives, allergic reactions, asthma, diabetes, psoriasis and IBS are autoimmune diseases involving inflammation.
Conventional medical treatment includes anti-inflammatory drugs as a main therapy along with surgery. These practices only suppress symptoms, not do not get at the underlying cause of the illness. In addition, long-term use of commonly prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs induces blood loss from the stomach or other areas of the gastrointestinal tract causing additional health complications that can be worse than the disease itself. Drugs or surgery don’t prevent inflammation. A better way to deal with inflammation is to prevent, treat, reduce, and eliminate the root causes of this with lifestyle and dietary nutritional changes.
Foods Affect Inflammation in Complex and Unpredictable Ways!
A number of factors cause inflammation: injury, toxicity, infection, allergy, emotional trauma, and nutritional deficiencies. With over 70% of our immune system cells in the lining of our digestive tract, the foods we eat have an immense impact on our immune system. Many foods either fuel or subdue inflammatory responses. With the increase of food allergies, our immune systems are in a chronically reactive state. The resulting chronic inflammation is a serious condition.
The safest way to prevent this is to avoid problem foods that can trigger allergic responses, including nightshades, and to consume anti-inflammatory foods.
Top Food Allergens: dairy, corn, soy, wheat, gluten, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, eggs
Common Night Shades: tomatoes, potatoes, peppers (sweet and spicy), eggplant
Foods to Enjoy:
Vegetables: rich in vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber!
Dark leafy greens (raw and lightly cooked) including arugula, bok choy, and other Chinese greens, Swiss chard, collards, dandelion, beet greens, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, nettle, radicchio, sorrel, spinach, watercress, purslane leeks, scape, rapini, broccoli, avocados, asparagus, artichoke, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, beetroot, carrots, cabbage, celeriac, jicama, celery, cucumber, cauliflower, radish, parsnip, parsley, parsley root, cilantro, shallots, radishes, squash, onions, shallots, sea vegetables (such as dulse, nori, kelp, wakame, kombu), sweet potatoes or yams, daikon, celery root, cauliflower, and Asian mushrooms (oyster, enoki, king, maitake, wild). Note: mushrooms such as white button crimini, Portobello, and champignon, are grown on manure with pathogen potential that may harm your gut health.
Fruits
Pomegranate, apples, apricots, berries, cherries, dragon fruit, mangosteen, peaches, pears, plums, pineapple, papaya, figs, prunes, lemons, limes,
Healthy Fats
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: natural anti-inflammatory properties!
For our pescetarian friends: cold water fish such as wild Pacific salmon, sardines, and mackerel. For our vegan friends: sea vegetables, krill and algae oil, flax seeds, chia seeds, flax or chia seed oil, walnuts, and green leafy vegetables.
Omega-3 fats prevent the body’s production of prostaglandins, which lead to inflammation.
Proteins
Grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Nuts such as walnuts and almonds. Seeds such as sesame, pumpkin, sunflower. Ancient grains such as amaranth, quinoa, wild rice, kasha, buckwheat, teff. Organic soy products such as miso, tempeh, edamame, tofu Small cold-water fish (for our pescetarian friends) such as fresh anchovy, mackerel, sardines. For everyone, organic raw, vegan whole food protein powder.
Nondairy Plant Milk Alternatives
Almond, hemp, soy, cashew, sesame, rice, quinoa, coconut milk – organic preferably,
Natural Anti-Inflammatory Herbs and Spices
Allspice, anise, asafetida, basil, bay leaf, curry, cardamom, clove, chive, cumin, chive, cilantro, celery seed, coriander seed, cinnamon bark, dill, fenugreek, ginger, oregano, nutmeg, fennel, rosemary, savory, star anise, thyme, and turmeric.
Water: Drink a minimum of six to eight glasses fresh, clean water daily – more as needed.
Additional Support
Remedies to combat a range of inflammation include ginger, turmeric, boswellia, bromelain, glucosamine sulfate, omega-3 essential fats, N-acetyl glucosamine, SAMe, and slippery elm, fenugreek, and devil’s claw root.
Stay tuned for part three of this three-part series where we explore the need for dietary guidance and the essentials of every meal
Part 1–Aging and Nutrition Challenges in Older Adults
Part 2–Inflammation and Degenerative Diseases and Diet Basics
Part 3–Dietary Guidance and Meal Essentials
Suggested Resources:
Dr. Michael Greger: How Not to Die 2015 / http://nutritionfacts.org/
Julie Daniluk – Meals that Heal Inflammation and Monica Reinagel’s www.inflammationfactor.com
Are you seeing weird numbers and letters? Find out why here!
