In our modern society, most of us are walking around with a significant amount of inflammation in the physical body and inflammation is the source of most disease. Clinical nutrition can be a powerful tool to alleviate inflammation.

The most inflammatory foods are:

• Gluten
• Sugar
• Dairy
• Red meats

This is pretty much the case for anyone – only a small % of the population don’t have some sort of inflammatory response to these foods.

When eating a more anti-inflammatory diet, a good diet model to follow is the Mediterranean Diet, which is less of a diet, but more of an eating plan, rich in oil, nuts, vegetables, fruit and fish (omega-3 foods) with little to no red meat, sugar, gluten or dairy.

Below are some anti-inflammatory diet will support you in alleviating inflammation in the body and also lowers your risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular events:

• Incorporate fibre-rich foods and add a lot of fruits and vegetables in order to prevent constipation.
• Choose dark, leafy greens (include fennel, too) such as baby spinach, collard greens, kale or Swiss chard for the most magnesium.
• Turmeric
• Add ginger and garlic to your meals when you can.
• Oily fish (e.g. wild caught salmon and halibut) that are rich in omega 3 fatty acid.
• Fresh pineapples and berries (e.g. blueberries) are anti-inflammatories that aid in healing and boost the immune system.
• Chia seeds and flax seeds (crushed, not whole)
• Celery
• Coconut oil
• Beetroot
• Foods rich in C-Vitamins, especially citrus and tomatoes
• B-Vitamins are very important (especially when suffering from sciatic nerve pain) and can be found in green peas, spinach, navy beans, nuts, bananas, etc.
• Drink plenty of water, between 1.5-3 litres a day.
• Start your day right: I choose to drink warm lemon water with ginger every and sometimes add a tablespoon of green powder, which makes it easier to consume more leafy greens with spirulina.
• Toxins and sprays are also inflammatory, so trying to eat organic foods as much as possible is also worth considering.

The recommendations above were generously brought to you by Northern Beaches’ local Wellness Coach Jo Lincolne. For further information or a personal consultation, please contact jolincolne@gmail.com.

Be well,
Josie x