Anti-Inflammatory Diet

[Ultralight]

Because I have some health issues of the chronic variety (not getting into any details) I have been on an anti-inflammatory diet.

No gluten. No deep fried food. No refined grains. I use only olive oil and coconut oil. I don't eat desserts or candy anyway. I eat fresh fruits and veggies, though I steam, roast, or saute the veggies. I also eat beans and lentils.

All my foods are whole, unprocessed, and rather fresh. Though I do eat organic, local saurkraut and kefir (no other dairy products though).

And for the hell of it I also stopped adding salt to foods.I have not shaken the shaker since March.

So here I am 23 days into this...

I feel a little better. And I am somewhat accustomed to eating these flavorless foods.

Anyone else on this diet?

[ApatheticNoMore]

No but sometimes I eat specifically anti-inflammatory food like turmeric, fish, etc..

(Mostly to try to escape join pain when I have it. I don't know why but it's all joints, it's only occasional, long standing, not getting worse - I suspect it can be aggravated by dietary things mostly eating lots of wheat and nightshades, but I've never known with any real certainty). But it's not like turmeric etc. does any harm, it's very healthy and anti-inflammatory.

[dado potato]

ApatheticNoMore,

I don't have joint problems, but DW has had problems with a knee. She took a lot of ibuprofen, and at her last visit to the doc they said she had to cut that out, because her blood pressure was too high. So, I have begun making a daily cuppa turmeric & ginger tea for her. I like how cheery it looks (bright yellow) in a clear glass Bodum teacup on a stainless steel saucer.

I have a dedicated tea kettle I keep on top of the stove (because I brew turmeric inside, and it leaves a residue). Since I only use that kettle for that tea, I can get by with simply rinsing it after use.

My method to make 2 cups:

Fill liquid measuring cup with 2 cups filtered water. Pour same into kettle, turn on the stovetop under the kettle.
Add one-half teaspoon of ground turmeric into kettle.
Slice 5-6 thin slices off a fresh ginger root. Add same into kettle.
Bring kettle to the boil, then turn off stovetop and allow tea to brew for 10 minutes.
Slice a fresh lemon a big enough chunk to express a tsp of juice.
Add a tablespoon of white sugar to the bottom of the measuring cup and fit a strainer over top of the cup.
Squeeze the lemon juice, letting it drip through the strainer & dissolve the sugar in the bottom of the measuring cup.
Leave the squeezed lemon rind in the center of the strainer.
When the brewing time is up, pour the tea through the strainer, over the lemon rind, into the measuring cup.
Remove the strainer, stir with a spoon.

It is ready to pour...

[Yppej]

Oil is pressed, sauerkraut and kefir fermented. So technically not all your foods are unprocessed. You could add fresh herbs to flavor things a little. It could be worse. The most bland thing I have ever tried is matzo bread. If you are not eating salt make sure you are still getting iodine.

[Ultralight]

Oil is pressed, sauerkraut and kefir fermented. So technically not all your foods are unprocessed.

There is one in every crowd.

I guess my fresh mango is processed too because I peel and slice it.

If you are not eating salt make sure you are still getting iodine.

What???

[frugal-one]

Not all processed foods are bad for you:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...=.e7fe6a5d7768

[Yppej]

Iodine deficiencies lead to goiter, a growth on your neck. My grandmother had one during WW2. To prevent this iodine was added to salt in the US.

[Ultralight]

Iodine deficiencies lead to goiter, a growth on your neck. My grandmother had one during WW2. To prevent this iodine was added to salt in the US.

This is just the rationalization I need to eat lots of salt, or as I call it -- magic flavor dust!

[Tybee]

I think if you cook in cast iron, you avoid the iron deficiency.

[catherine]

I feel a little better. And I am somewhat accustomed to eating these flavorless foods.

Haha, I laughed at this--my DH accuses me of eating flavorless food--my diet is naturally pretty unprocessed without a lot of added stuff...he's huge into a ton of salt, which he proclaims is the "right" way to eat, thanks to the Food Network chefs who criticize contestants who don't "season" enough. But I looked at a list of anti-inflammatory foods, and that's pretty much what I eat and love.

An anti-inflammatory diet, or any healthy diet, shouldn't have to be flavorless. First of all, if you've cut out the unprocessed foods (like packaged, canned and convenience foods), IMHO you're allowed to put some salt on your unprocessed food, because it's the processed stuff that overloads us. As Yppej said, you need SOME salt.

I think you'll learn to appreciate things like whole-grain vs white. I also think that adding spices, herbs and lemon help a lot with flavor.

Also, I think it's important for you to make sure you have enough "good" fats--we also need fat in our diet, but it's been demonized for 20 years. If you don't get enough good fat, you're going to crave something unhealthy, and you'll probably be miserable. One time DH went on an awful Optifast liquid diet. And he found himself craving hot dogs--so rather than go off his diet, he chewed the hot dog and then spit it out. It was gross--but speaks to how badly our body will tell us "I want fat!"