Summary of Anti-Inflammatory Diet Seminar

Renewed Health: The Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Summary of the seminar from February 2, 2012 by Dr. Jeffrey Friess of the Golgi Clinic

Biology Basics:

Inflammation is an essential function of our immune system that protects and helps heal the body.

Stress is anything that disrupts the homeostasis of the body – anything from a paper cut to emotional stress, exercise to a poor diet will stress the body.

• Short term (acute) stress lasts less than 2 weeks and is typically self-limiting.  A paper cut, common cold, and going for a 30 minute run are examples of acute stressors. Our bodies rely on an acute inflammatory response to protect and help us heal from these acute stressors, then the inflammatory response turns off when we are back to normal and have achieved homeostasis.
• Long term emotional stress, eating an inflammatory diet, and living near or ingesting environmental toxins are examples of chronic stressors.  Initially, our bodies will use the acute inflammatory response to try to protect itself, however, the stressor never goes away and our bodies can’t achieve homeostasis.  The inflammatory response continues, altering how our immune system and endocrine (hormone) system function. Because the body is no longer in balance, symptoms begin to show up in the form of skin disorders, digestive disorders, joint pain,  genitourinary disorders, weight gain, and changes in mood and brain function.

Known inflammatory foods include:
Dairy (lactose)
Wheat (gluten)
Sugar
Corn
Coffee
Red Wine
Peanuts
Eggs
Red Meat
Soy
Tomato
Shellfish

Often, the foods we eat can be a source of chronic stress for the body. Removing these foods from our diets can lead to less chronic inflammation, improving our overall health and even decreased skin, joint, and digestive symptoms.

Not all people are sensitive to all these foods. If you are curious if a certain food is adversely affecting your system, try removing it for 2 weeks, then re-introduce it without changing anything else in your diet. Monitor how you feel mentally and physically to see how that food affects you.

Good substitutes for inflammatory foods:

Dairy: Try almond or rice milk. Goat cheese also has less lactose than cheese from cow’s milk.

Wheat: Try quinoa, flax, oats, and wild rice

Sugar: Try Stevia, honey, or agave. Stevia can be used in all cooking that contains sugar, just look on the package for substitution ratios.

Coffee: Try Yerba Mate or green tea. Both contain caffeine with the added benefits of antioxidants and flavonoids.

Peanuts: Try other nuts and seeds including: almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds

Soy: Try tempeh

Red Meat: Try open range, grass fed beef or wild game, but limit consumption to 1-2 servings per week. Better options include fish, chicken, and turkey from hormone-free, naturally fed sources.

Other Additions:

• Try to reduce saturated fats and trans fats from your diet as they increase inflammation and are highly caloric. Try using safflower, sunflower, sesame, canola, and olive oils instead.
• Decrease consumption of processed foods. Most processed foods contain large amounts of sugar, salt, partially hydrogenated fats, and corn products.
• Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables.
• If you are going to supplement your diet with fish oil, be sure to buy a high quality supplement so you don’t stress your system with unintended fillers and impurities. Two trusted brands are Nordic Natural and Carlson.

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If you have further questions about anti-inflammatory diets, check out “The Anti-Inflammation Diet” by Jessica Black (available on Amazon.com) or schedule an appointment with Dr. Friess at the Golgi Clinic.  The Golgi Clinic is located at 113 W. Front Street, Suite 201, Missoula, MT or call 406-541-8886.