Health Tips | Apr 03 |

Most disease processes occur due to chronic or prolonged inflammation at the cellular level (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic musculoskeletal pain).

Our cells/tissues (muscle,joints,disc material,organs,etc) release pro-inflammatory(E2/A2/B4/TNF) and anti-inflammatory chemicals(E3/A3/B5) to facilitate the the normal healing process when they are injured.

An excess of pro-inflammatory chemistry leads to chronic inflammation, disease and neural overactivity and decreased thresholds for firing.

Humans are genetically adapted to eat a diet that consists largely of vegetation (fruits, vegetables, and nuts) and animals that ate vegetation = a Paleolithic Diet (hunter-gather).

Our modern diet is based largely on grains, animals that ate grains, refined starches, soda and engineered foods.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FOODS:

FRUITS
VEGETABLES
NUTS
POTATOES
FRESH FISH
WILD GAME
GRASS/PASTURE-FED MEAT
OMEGA-3 EGGS
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
COCONUT OIL
BUTTER
DARK CHOCOLATE
STOUT BEER
RED WINE
BALSAMIC VINEGAR
SPICES:GINGER/TUMERIC

PRO-INFLAMMATORY FOODS:

REFINED GRAINS
WHOLE GRAINS
GRAIN/FLOUR PRODUCTS
GRAIN-FED MEATS AND EGGS
MOST PACKAGED FOODS
MOST PROCESSED FOODS
DEEP FRIED FOOD
TRANS FATS (MARGARINE)
CORN, SAFFLOWER, SUNFLOWER, SOYBEAN OILS
MOST COMMERCIAL SALAD DRESSINGS

OMEGA-6 FATTY ACIDS & INFLAMMATION:

MODERN WESTERN DIETS HAVE A RATIO OF 20-30 : 1 OF OMEGA -6’S TO 3’S!
IDEALLY WE SHOULD CONSUME FATS AT A RATIO OF 1 : 1
STUDIES SHOW CONSUMPTION AT A 4 : 1 RATIO PROMOTES INFLAMMATION

N-6 TO N-3 RATIOS OF COMMON FOODS (WORST TO BEST):

GRAPESEED OIL= 696:1
COTTONSEED OIL= 258:1
SUNFLOWER OIL= 216:1
SESAME OIL= 137.7:1
PEANUT OIL= 130:1
SEED OILS (CORN-SAFFLOWER)= 70:1 OR WORSE
POTATO CHIPS & SIMILAR SNACKS= 60:1 OR HIGHER
GRAINS= 20:1
CHICKEN= 15:1
OLIVE OIL = 11.7:1
SOYBEAN OIL= 7:1
BUTTER= 6.9:1
GRAIN FED MEAT= 5:1
GRASS FED MEAT= 2.5:1
NUTS= 5:1
WALNUT OIL= 5.1:1
FRUITS= 3:1
OMEGA-3 ENRICHED EGGS= 2.5:1
WILD GAME= 2.5:1
CANOLA OIL= 2:1
RAPESEED OIL= 2.1:1
FRESH FISH= 1:1
VEGETABLES= 1:1
Udos’s Oil(Multi-Plant Based Oil)= 2:1

SUPPLEMENTATION TO IMPROVE N-6 TO N-3 RATIOS:

IN RECENT YEARS FISH OILS(EPA-DHA) ARE BEING UTILIZED AS AN EFFECTIVE WAY OF INCREASING OUR OMEGA-3 INTAKE (ANTI-INFLAMMATORY). TAKING A SINGLE INTERVENTION (FISH OIL OR IBUPROFEN ETC.) DOES NOT ADDRESS THE WHOLE BODY IMBALANCE IF ONE LIVES ON A TYPICAL WESTERN PRO-INFLAMMATORY DIET.

GINGER & TUMERIC: STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT COMBINED OR TAKEN ALONE AT LEVELS OF 2-4 GRAMS PER DAY NATURALLY INHIBIT INFLAMMATORY CHEMISTRY AND HAS BEEN SHOWN TO REDUCE THE PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH OSTEOARTHRITIS, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, AND GENERAL MUSCULOSKELETAL ISSUES.

MAGNESIUM:(INADEQUATE INTAKES)- AVERAGE AMERICANS INTAKE 70-140 MG PER DAY. 375 MG ARE RECOMMENED THRU DIETARY FOOD SOURCES TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE LEVELS. PEOPLE WHO ARE DEFFICIENT MAY REQUIRE 1000 MG TO REPLENTISH LEVELS AND STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THIS CANNOT OCCUR THRU DIET ALONE.

CONCLUSION: CERTAIN FOODS ARE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND OTHERS ARE PRO-INFLAMMATORY. IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING PAIN OR BODY DYSFUNCTION, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND CHOOSE FOOD SOURCES (TRY ELIMINATING THE BAD N6 TO N3 OILS FROM YOUR DAILY CONSUMPTION-THAT IS JUST ONE SMALL STEP) THAT WILL PROMOTE THE BODY TO HEAL ITSELF.