Aging gracefully means being as healthy and active as you can be for as long as possible. To achieve this goal you must remember that your dietary and lifestyle choices play a big role in that. In addition to eating right and exercising regularly, you can also fight aging through eating anti-inflammatory foods.
Studies show that the body’s aging process can be accelerated by inflammation in the body. There are certain foods that can help your body combat inflammation. You should to talk to your doctor, dietitian, or nutritionist to find out more about this.
What is inflammation and how can it affect your body?
The immune system responds to injury and diseases by providing you with inflammation. This is a normal process that is important for healing. One the other hand, not all inflammation is healthy for you.
When inflammation isn’t under control, it can attack the normal cells of your body. When this happens the process that is designed to heal you becomes self-destructive. Many point to chronic inflammation as the root cause of many serious illnesses, especially those related to the aging process.
The usual causes of this inflammatory process are:
- Persistent stress
- Over-exposure to environmental toxins, and
- Poor diet
What are your options?
The good news is that there are some lifestyle choices that can help combat inflammation. Following an anti-inflammatory diet is one way to control the aging process. While it sounds like a good idea, please understand that this is a lifestyle change for the rest of your life and not a diet. This is a diet that isn’t designed for weight loss but is designed to improve your long-term health.
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet
The anti-inflammatory diet focuses on:
- Foods that are whole and unrefined
- High in anti-inflammatory spices
- High in healthy fats, and
- High in omega 3 fatty acids.
Here is a partial list of foods to include in an anti-inflammatory diet include the following:
- Soy products, such as tofu, soy milk, tempeh, an edamame
- Healthy fats found in extra virgin olive oil of high quality, beans, avocados, seeds, and nuts
- Vegetables and foods that are brightly colored, such as dark berries, fruits, and vegetables
- Clean water and green tea as a beverage
- Spices that are anti-inflammatory, such as cinnamon, turmeric, and ginger
Avoid These Foods
Besides eating the recommended foods, it’s important to decrease your intake of foods that cause inflammation. These include:
- Highly processed foods and carbohydrates that are quickly digested
- Sugar, sugary snacks and drinks..
- Foods containing vegetable shortening, partially hydrogenated oils, and polyunsaturated oils, such as soy, corn, safflower, and sunflower oils.
It’s not always easy to identify these foods. That’s why you need to read the food labels to see if any of these inflammatory foods are in them. When you’re not sure, you should buy raw unprocessed foods and cook them yourself. Food that are labeled “raw” or “organic” are usually good foods to choose in an anti-inflammatory diet.
Does an anti-inflammatory diet work?
There is good evidence to show that monounsaturated oils and omega 3 oils can fight inflammation. Yet, genetics also plays a role in the aging process. You can decrease the effects of chronic diseases by eating an anti-inflammatory diet. Don’t change your entire diet all at once. Start introducing anti-inflammatory foods gradually into your diet. Do this while you take away inflammatory foods. Eventually, your diet will represent an anti-inflammatory diet as much as is possible.
Are there risks to an anti-inflammatory diet?
According to experts, there are no known risks to taking an anti-inflammatory diet. As always, take precautions if you have food allergies. You should talk to your doctor about finding ways to use this type of diet to your advantage.