Bitterroot Natural Medicine | New West Network

Anti-Inflammatory Eating: Some Basics

Organically grown local foods are the best nutrition for you. Organically grown foods have more available vitamins, minerals and fatty acids than conventionally farmed and processed foods do. Organically grown foods offer only good nutrition; conventionally grown foods add damaging chemistry to your body.

Sweets of any kind, and grains and starchy vegetables like potatoes increase the inflammatory response in your body. The more muscle you have and the more you use it, the more of these foods you can use without having ‘leftover’ in your system to cause inflammation.

Fat cells are factories for inflammatory chemicals. If you have extra fat, reducing starchy foods and eliminating sweets and offending grains is a healthy and effective way to use up the energy you have stored as fat (See Healthy Weight Loss)

Wheat and corn are the starchy foods that are damaging to most people. Rice, millet and quinoa are good choices for most people.

Serving size of even the best grains matters a lot. Over eating causes inflammation. If you are not well muscled and don’t exercise vigorously, about 1/2 cup sized servings of starchy stuff is what you should have. If you are very fit and exercise regularly and vigorously, up to one cup sized servings can be fine. More than that and you better be training for a triathalon!

Animal protein is required for humans to be optimally healthy. Vegetarian diets will eventually lead to malnourishment and health problems. (See How to Live with Meat) Except for the rare true allergies, most people thrive on fish. Eggs and lean, clean poultry is good for most people as well. Organically raised red meat is excellent for people who are blood type O (See Diet and Serotype)

Fruit is great food, and can be over-eaten. Eat more of the less sweet fruit, less of the starchy or densely sweet, and dried fruit. In order of desirability examples of best fruits to eat looks like this:
Best-melons, berries
Pretty Good- apricot, peach, papaya, plum, kiwi
Good, but don’t over-do- apple, cherries, pears, mango, pineapple, pomegranate
Limit- banana, grapes, figs, prunes, any dried (check dried fruit for added sugars as well)
Avoid fruit juice- it is an unnaturally dense source of carbohydrate

Nuts and seeds are great for healthy fats and oils. You can over do in terms of calories if you eat too much. Think in terms of 10 nuts per serving, or about an ounce. Enjoy raw walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews etc. (roasting tends to alter the fats in nuts)

Flax seeds are good medicine. Grind 1 to 2 tablespoons and add to 8 ounces water. Or sprinkle on your salad or in soup. Just be sure to drink that water soon after. Deer-pellet poop means you are not getting enough water with your flax.

Organic butter used in moderation is fine. You can also mix 1 pound of butter with 1cup virgin olive oil, whip together at room temperature and store in the fridge.

Olive oil is you best all around choice for oil. Small amounts of nut oils like sesame, walnut, and coconut can add wonderful flavor to salads and stir-fry.

Drink water! 6 to 8 glasses minimum daily. Use herb teas. Green tea is also great for many people. A little lemon juice or apple cider vinegar in your water makes it more refreshing.

Minimize alcohol, coffee, soy, rice or oat milk. These add extra liver challenging chemistry and carbohydrates that stimulate inflammation.

If dairy foods are appropriate for your blood type, use only products from organically raised cows.

Fried foods, packaged foods and restaurant foods will all have extra additives like preservatives, colorings and stabilizers, be less fresh and more burdensome to your body, Meals made at home from locally grown, organically raised fresh, frozen or dried food will always be better for you.