Anti-inflammatory diet for dummies (Or busy people who want a brief summary).

 

 

 

“Let food be thy medicine”
Hippocrate.

 

 

 

As I promised, my young Padawan here is a summary I hope simple, concise and accessible for all, on what should be taught at school from an early age:

 

 

 

Anti-inflammatory diet

 

Perhaps if you have ever read a book or two on the subject, seen a naturopath or an advanced nutritionist, you may have already heard that a certain type of food acidifies and attacks the body, creates inflammations, makes your body weaker day after day until the disease starts, while another type of food basifies it, protects it, helps and optimizes its natural functioning, and makes it stronger.

 

So, there is something very important to understand: 80-90% of diseases and/or pain can be avoided. How? By following an anti-inflammatory diet. It has the power to avoid certain diseases, to decrease or stop pain, even to make you feel you are 20 again (Nah I’m kidding, but if you also scroll more and more far from your birth year when you have to fill out a form on the internet, repeat after me: “here I am, from the Dinosaur team, and go scroll yourself!”).

 

I paraphrase in case I have not been clear enough: most diseases develop on an acidic body.
The more acidic your body is, the more it can be prone to cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, diabetes, and of course: cancers of all kinds. I’m not saying that if you’re sick it’s only because you eat badly, what I say is if you are sick or you want to avoid to be as much as you can, here’s the way to help and make a great team with this body of yours which is important to cherish, because it is your only vehicle you have until the end of your life.

 

No need to draw you a picture to understand I suppose: acidifying foods are to be consumed with moderation.

I also guess that you understand naturally what type of food it is: alcohol, processed meats, sweets, cakes (I know you dislike me), pizza (now you hate me!), dairy products in general and cow dairy products in particular, junk food and processed foods in general (don’t hit!, I wear glasses!), animal proteins in general and meat in particular and finally, the last but not least: industrial gluten.

By industrial gluten, I mean the genetically modified grains that represent almost all of what is found in industrial products and bread. Conversely the good sourdough bread made with artisan organic flours and natural leaven you can found, for example, in farmers or organic markets, respects your intestines much more, so it does less damage to your intestinal flora and puts you at a lower risk for colon cancer (yes, colon cancer is not only for meat lovers…).
And of course in the panel of foods to focus on we have everything else, including fruits and vegetables (oh, surprise!), Oilseeds, etc.

 

I found a little diagram on the net to illustrate all this :

 

 

Ok you do not learn much so far for now, but wait, it’s not over, the best is coming.

 

In the Marvel’s, you have superheroes and in nutrition, you have the “super-basifiers”…

 

 

Potatoes

Steamed or boiled potatoes, preferably consumed cold. You can eat them just with a little bit of good quality salt that is loaded with minerals (like pink Himalayan salt), garlic, pepper, fresh parsley, and a dash of rapeseed oil. Do not mash the potatoes, because the starch will create a high glycemic index that is acidifying your body. Yes, I know, the potato is technical. Try this little recipe and you’ll have a culinary orgasm, trust me, otherwise, you can do the classic potato salad.

 

 

Beetroot

It is a super-basifier. No need to find the magic berries from I don’t know where and that cost 300 bucks the bag. The beetroot my boy. Mother Nature is well made, she put everything you need in front of your beautiful eyes.
How to eat it? You can make regularly some beet salad starters with a little vinaigrette and parsley for example, and if you do not like it, you can incorporate it in your juices, they will have a pretty pink/red color. Trust me when you’ll start the beet, your health beat won’t stop #easypun. I know you want me to start a rap career but I can’t I don’t have a glitter thong nor a golden chain.

I hear you: “but slow-juicers are expensive!”. Buying a slow-juicer is a great investment for your health and investing in your health is the smartest thing you can do because there is no hobby, no car, no vacation, no life without a good health. In France, we say “no arms, no chocolate”, if that makes sense in English too lol.

For example my little Padawan, you can try this juice: a beetroot, an orange, three carrots and a piece of ginger, it is so good (you have to peel the orange because the zest is irritating for the human bowels, but just for you to know: lemon is ok you can put the zest in the juicer into small pieces).
And when you are no longer a padawan try like me the juice of a beetroot, an orange, a fennel, ginger. Sexy.

 

 

You can train your taste

An important parenthesis to note: Taste is a muscle. No worries I’m not drunk I promise, it is just a metaphor.
What you have to understand is that the more you train your taste, the more your panel expands. The more you try to taste different flavors, the more you regularly try foods that you do not like and the more your palate will diversify and you will start to like things you did not like before.
Yes, it is not only for children it also works for adults as well, provided that you are open-minded and you re-taste again constantly. For example, a few months ago I did not like mango. I felt it tastes like dishwashing liquid. And guess what, today I love it!
For a while I did not like beet either, besides, I started to incorporate it into the “juice for padawans” above, then I tasted it regularly in the plate of colleagues or friends until the day I enjoyed eating it (I am the one who picks your food in your plate, I know you hate me! But I always ask, and propose mine at least), and now I regularly eat a starter with beets (surprisingly, I always loved the french fries, Ed.).

 

 

Garlic

With it you never get sick! Cardio-protective, anti-bacterial, antioxidant, anti-cancer, excellent for the immune defenses. And if you do not know how to get rid of “Steven the sticky accountant who works at the 2nd floor”, the garlic knows, do trust it, eat a double ration for lunch. You’re welcome.
Use and abuse of this super cheap superfood that can be put in lots of recipes. Goodbye “Steven”, hello optimum health.

 

 

Lemon

Despite its acidic taste, it is basifying for the organism. It contains vitamin C, vitamins of group B, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, fiber. If you want to try for a week: drink every morning on an empty stomach the juice of half a lemon in warm water  (1 whole lemon if you weigh more than 70 kg/ 155 lb), and repeat 4 times a year, it is a real health reflex.
Lemon water reduces uric acid in your joints, which is one of the main causes of inflammation, and pain.

 

 

Parsley

Vitamin C, vitamin A, and minerals, excellent for the liver and intestines, it also has anti-inflammatory skills. Knowing that it is very easy to have a lil’ pot of parsley on the window sill, try to eat it fresh (rather than frozen or dried) in order to preserve all its properties. And of course organic, it goes without saying, but I say it anyway.

 

 

The Turmeric god

It deserves a capital letter. In addition to being really good, it is not too strong for those who are a little sensitive to spices. It has a lot of virtues for health, but two of them are particularly interesting: anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory. Now you know that one does not go without the other.
Turmeric is like “the little black dress” in fashion, it is good with everything! Add it to your juices, your rice, your vegetables, whatever you want, do not hesitate, the Turmeric god is your best friend.
But never forget to add a pinch of pepper, to release the effects, even in your juice (don’t worry you won’t feel it). A ton of turmeric, a pinch of pepper we said. Everywhere.

 

 

The goddess ginger

Aaaah !! Oooooh !! Ginger. Either you love it or you hate it, but even if you do not like it take a bite anyway, it’s excellent for immune defenses.
If you love it as much as I do, you will eat a little too much of it and end your career by blogging lewd comments every two lines. Because in addition to being basifying, strengthen your organism (when you read organism, do you always read orgasm first? no?! Neither do I. #teamginger), it, of course, has a famous virtue: to stimulate the libido. Indeed.
I know you want me to give you the menu of the century for a special evening with your “babe”. Paper, pen and here I am. First, do you know that a party without alcohol is sexier and especially lasts longer, and harder… understood or you need a drawing? great.

Now here’s the menu :
An orange carrot ginger cocktail, a ginger Thai salad for starter, a ginger-flavored roasted tempeh and its ginger-cardamom rice and veggies, followed by a seasoned fruit salad flavored with cinnamon, ginger, star anise, vanilla, and some pear-chocolate-ginger muffins.
Have a good night. Take a nap before dinner, and take a day off to recover.
Even if I’m a woman, I’m not ashamed to be proud to claim that living in a “Pepé Le Pew” mode makes you happy. But one skunk at a time, of course, Pepé with his own Penelope in short, if you follow me.
So you’ll understand that even if you do not like ginger, you should put a pinch in your juices for example to start. If your spouse or husband has joint pains, cook with ginger because (it’s good for the relationship) it is anti-inflammatory, as we said. This is the major subject of the article. I think.

 

 

Omega 3

Two tablespoons a day of good oils rich in omega 3, cold pressed, organic, and consumed raw: an essential for a whole bunch of vital organs, including your buddy, the brain.

 

The oils with the most omega-3 rate are flax, hemp, and camelina, of course, but a good rapeseed or walnut oil will be great for your little body and your taste buds.

 

 

Ensure your vitamin intake, but not only

The famous combo of vitamins A, C, and E, is essential to your body. We easily find these vitamins when we adopt an anti-inflammatory diet. If you want to know a little more, I invite you to look at the articles here, here, here, here, and there.

 

Other allies, such as selenium, algae, or green tea, also have great anti-inflammatory properties and will help your body gently rebalance itself.

 

 

An important parenthesis to note

Taste is a muscle. Don’t worry; that’s an expression, of course.
You have to understand that the more you train it, the more your panel expands. The more you try to taste different flavors, the more you re-try foods you don’t like, and the more your palate will diversify, and you’ll start to like things you didn’t like before.

 

Yes, it’s not just for children; it also works for adults, provided you are open and re-taste constantly. For example, a few months ago, I didn’t like mango. I thought it tasted like dish soap. Well, imagine that today I love it!

 

There was a time I was not too fond of beets either. I started incorporating it into the juice for Padawan you read above. I tasted it regularly on the plates of colleagues or friends, until the day when I enjoyed eating it. Now I regularly make my small plate of beets.

 

 

A real support for health

You had too many drinks the day before or just went to bed too late? Adopt a super basifying diet the next days to help your bowels, and especially to give a good rest to your poor (alcoholic) liver: A nice juice in the morning with 1 apple, 1/2 lemon, 2 fennels and a piece of ginger. If you are hungry you can eventually add a fruit of your choice, then a beetroot salad with some turmeric and pepper for lunch, followed by some steamed or boiled cold potatoes with a ton of parsley, a dash of rapeseed oil, salt and pepper, if you need a snack on the afternoon you can eat an apple, for dinner, a black radish soup (here is my “anti-hangover soup” recipe. Yes I named it thinking of you).

 

Do you have joint pain? you can do a cleanse consisting of half a lemon (or a whole lemon if you weigh more than 70kg/ 155 lb) in a glass of warm water on an empty stomach in the morning, some beetroot-turmeric (don’t forget the pepper) 3 times a day, incorporates them at your meals, in a juice in the morning, a starter for lunch and dinner, during three weeks (reduce gradually on the third week to finish by one beet-turmeric plate every two days the 4th week) and leave a comment under this article, just a feedback for people who would still be skeptical.

 

 

 

 

I hope you will have noticed that I have chosen only cheap food, in order to avoid the bad faith thoughts and false excuses, and of course, it is a non-exhaustive list because there is, for example, the berries (blueberries, blackberries, pomegranate, cranberry, etc.) but they are much more expensive and rare …

 

 

 

And wait, it’s not over, next week will be the intestine’s turn (yes, I know, sexy !). This good friend of yours loves you and you ignore him, even if it’s one of your most essential organs.

 

See you next Friday.

 

XO 🌿