I have had some questions recently about my diet. It is wonderful and delicious and the only thing I really feel deprived of is Ho Ho's. Really! I love those horrible little things. So I thought I would explain my way of eating a little more in depth.
When I talk about eating an anti-inflammatory diet, I mean every meal and every snack every day. If I am not faithful to this way of eating, in time I begin to experience pain and inflammation. Each meal is filled with foods that calm inflammation in my body. Not every ingredient I use is anti-inflammatory but I do make sure that the majority are and that the each meal has a strong anti-inflammation factor. What that means is that all foods have IF (Inflammatory Factor) Ratings:
Some food is way off the charts and totally inflammatory. I avoid those foods.
(Ex. pretzels, safflower oil, coconut oil, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, white pasta)
Some food is way off the charts the other direction and totally anti-inflammatory. I eat those foods.
(Ex. salmon, olive oil, coconut oil, olives, garlic, chili powder, avocado, dry roasted almonds)
When foods are slightly inflammatory, I pair them with spices and other foods that bring the meal over to the anti-inflammatory side so that it has a calming effect on the inflammation in my body. Since RA is known to cause an abundance of inflammation I attack it right back with these wonderful foods and that keeps my body running normal.
The Inflammation Free Diet Plan is written by Monica Reinagel, and an excellent resource for finding out the IF Rating on food. It is packed full of recipes and great information to help in maintaining an anti-inflammatory diet. I refer to it constantly.
Since there are so many wonderful food choices that lower inflammation, I still eat absolutely delicious meals. Thankfully I love to cook and experiment in the kitchen which helps me in maintaining my diet. I will keep looking for and posting great recipes that meet the anti-inflammatory criteria. If you have any great recipes that fit....please share!
