To reduce inflammation, it is necessary to eat more fibre. Eating fibre causes the production of short chain fatty acids by gut microbes. These short chain fatty acids inhibit inflammatory signals in your body like TNF-alpha, NF-KB and IFN-y. Short chain fatty acids also communicate directly to our T regulatory cells to cool off our immune system and suppress inflammation. Butyrate is one of the short chain fatty acids produced by eating fibre. It improves integrity in the gastrointestinal system. Fibre is found in both insoluble forms as well as soluble forms of fiber. Think the color of the rainbow when you choose foods -eat more foods that are coloured and increase the variety- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, golden, white.
Choose polyphenol rich foods like green tea, pomegranates, purple cabbage, unsweetened cranberries, wild blueberries, leafy greens, organic kale, whole unprocessed gluten free grains like red rice, black rice, wild rice, quinoa, buckwheat. Eat 12 cups of low glycemic fruits and non starchy vegetables including the cruciferous family (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, kale, radish) which is so esteemed for its cancer fighting properties. Raw nuts and seeds, lentils and legumes if tolerated are a great source of fiber. Soaking these foods in water overnight can assist digestion as can soaking whole grains in a little water.
Some people that are really inflamed may benefit from following a vegan diet. It is important to have an experienced practitioner provide you with guidelines for doing that. It is easy to run into deficiencies when following a vegan diet like B12, zinc, omega 3 fatty acids, iodine. Always use non-GMO organic soy sources when following a vegan diet and make sure you are using fermented sources like miso if possible. Miso has strains of bacteria that support gut function.
Make bone broth in your slow cooker regularly. Bone broth contains gut healing amino acids like glycine, proline, glutamine and collagen which is well assimilated by the body. Eat prebiotic foods (asparagus, jicama, artichokes, leeks, onions, garlic, spices. etc regularly. Eat organic spices such as oregano, rosemary, turmeric, cumin, etc. which help keep bad microbe counts down in the gut. Eat probiotic foods like fermented sauerkraut and kim chi regularly too. This will help you provide the right bacteria for your microbiome. Fermented foods offer more species of bacteria in your gut. The increased diversity of species introduced tend to lower inflammation. Also include resistant starch which can be found in cooked and then cooled rice or cooked and then cooled potatoes. This type of starch does not get digested like regular starch. It does not spike blood glucose and provides food for the microbiome.
So just to recap, we are going to reduce inflammation by cutting out foods and inflammatory factors in the diet. We are going to lower inflammation by eating more fibre. Once inflammation subsides, you can work with your personal trainer or your chiropractor who can assist you further to achieve your goals whether it be by implementing stretching into your routine or regular chiropractic adjustments.
Others things that may help you include food sensitivity testing, targeted supplements like l-glutamine, curcumin. I will talk more about this in Part 3. To book an appointment to discuss your inflammation, call Parallel Wellness at 4032321283 Thanks! Dr. Robin Vinge, ND
References: The Peigan Diet Mark Hyman, MD; Fiber Fueled Will Bulsiewicz, MD