Since I started this dieting madness, friends and family have been asking me what exactly is safe and not safe to eat. To be honest, it can be really confusing even to me. The research is all over the place, and it isn't a specific "fad" diet so no one source is the authority on inflammatory foods. I've also discovered that there is a spectrum of anti-inflammatory diets, with the most extreme adopting a vegan diet sans gluten and corn. At the other end of the spectrum, some diets seem too lax to be even health-oriented.
So, what to do? I ended up going with the diet plan generally recommended by Dr. Andrew Weil. I like his writing style and overall philosophy toward eating for health. His food pyramid (pictured) is also quite easy to understand and offers some flexibility in eating options. This is in sharp contrast to Dr. Perricone, whose list of Pro-Inflammatory Foods is so extensive that I wondered how I would survive day to day.
Culling information from several sources of anti-inflammatory eating plans, here's my general approach to my diet:
The Good:
These are the super foods of my diet. If I am not eating these, my body's anti-inflammatory abilities will go haywire. It is essential that I eat these foods several times a week and even daily.
* omega-3 anything (cold water fish, amped up eggs)
* fruits (berries and apples are winners)
*veggies (esp. dark leafy greens)
* whole grains (quinoa, brown not white rice)
* legumes
* nuts (no peanuts)
* spices (esp. turmeric and ginger and cayenne pepper)
* soybeans (tofu, edamame)
* green tea
* olive oil
The Bad:
"Bad" is used with some reservation. I do eat these foods but in moderation just to keep myself from going insane. Depending on who you read, these could go under the forbidden category but I've seen some recipes with such ingredients. If I eliminated these, I would become very depressed.
* skinless poultry
* whole grain flour products (I like Rye Wasa crackers)
* tomatoes, peppers, and corn (These belong to the nightshade family and can cause irritation; it seems like this varies from person to person though.)
* canola oil (olive is best)
* low-fat dairy (I do eat this daily; my homemade organic low-fat yogurt is safe to eat.)
* honey (I eat this regularly in my Chunks of Energy though)
* pasta (I try to eat buckwheat pasta.)
* brown sugar
* red wine (You would go crazy without it too.)
The Ugly
No matter what, these are under that "Most Wanted" section of any diet I've researched. Far and away, I am NOT allowed to have these because these foods are known to trigger inflammation and keep the good guys from doing their anti-inflammatory work.
* all deep fried food (hydrogenated oils are forbidden)
* red meat (so bad, just stay away)
* white sugar
* enriched and processed flour
* peanuts
* vegetable oil
* shortening
* corn syrup
* juice
* coffee
* beer
* trans- and saturated fat anything
* in short, anything fun and junky
Basically, eat as organically close to the earth as possible. I have my next doctor's appointment in April so I'm curious to see if any of this will amount to progress...
Yo thanks for that post. anyway, a coworker suggested this recipe and I tired and liked it. only problem is is the tomatoes (maybe you can use a little lemon juice or balsamic vinegar instead or just half a can)
ReplyDeletesaute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add chopped up stems of swiss chard. cook for about 3 minutes. now add the roughly chopped up leaves of the chard. Cooked until wilted. Add a can of diced tomatoes (14 oz) and 1 (14 oz) can of beans (black beans were good and black-eyed beans would be too). cook for 10 minutes. add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle over rice and eat.
That recipe sounds good. I make a similar dish with kale cooked in some broth with a splash of red wine vinegar, or just wine. Then I sprinkle with flax seeds. I will try the chard recipe--good thing i have a bunch leftover!
ReplyDeleteI thought this was super interesting -- I've had the page open for a week and keep referring to it. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete