Anti-inflammation Diet

The anti-inflammation diet arose in light of the revelations linking inflammation with heart disease. It is designed to reduce the risk factors associated with heart disease. The diet consists of 40% carbohydrates, 30% proteins and 30% healthy fats. Foods should be rotated so that no one food is eaten more than 5 times per week. Organically grown fruits and vegetables should feature prominently. There is no caloric restriction on this diet. The diet should be followed for a minimum of 8 weeks. The following foods should be a part of the anti-inflammatory diet:

Steamed Vegetables: Steaming improves the utilization or the availability of the foods nutrients, allowing the body to begin repairing itself. Eat a variety of low glycemic carbohydrate vegetables. Examples include asparagus, bean sprouts, beet greens, broccoli, red and green cabbage, cauliflower, celery, Swiss chard, cucumber, endive, lettuce (red, green, romaine), mustard greens, parsley, radish, spinach, watercress.
6% - string beans, beets, Bok Choy, Brussel sprouts chives, collard greens, eggplant, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, onion, parsley, red pepper, pumpkin, rutabagas, turnip, zucchini.

Fruits: Eat 1 or 2 pieces of fruit daily (excluding citrus). Baking fruit is preferred. Eat low carb fruits such as cantaloupe, rhubarb, strawberries, and melons.

Grains: Eat 1 or 2 cups of cooked grains every day. Preferred grains are amaranth, barley, buckwheat, millet, oatmeal, quinoa, basmati, or brown rice, and rye.

Legumes: Eat a variety of legumes. Soak legumes for 48-72 hours before steaming slowly. Good choices are split peas, lentils, kidney beans, pinto beans, fermented soy (tempeh or miso), mung beans, garbanzo beans, aduki and azuki beans.

Fish: Eat a range of deep sea ocean fish (avoid farmed fish). Don’t eat shellfish, opting instead for such delicacies as baked, steamed or broiled cod, haddock, halibut, mackerel, summer flounder, wild Pacific salmon.

Chicken /Turkey: Bake, broil or steam in a pressure cooker. Do not eat the skin. Only consume chicken and turkey that has been grown organically or free range.

Sweeteners: Sugar, nutra-sweet and other sweeteners are forbidden on this diet. Occasionally you can have some maple syrup, rice syrup, barley syrup, raw honey or stevia.

Seeds and Nuts: Grind seeds and nuts and add them to steamed vegetables. Flax, pumpkin, sesame, or sunflower seeds are good choices.

Butter/Oils: For butter, mix together 1 pound of organic butter and 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil. Whip at room temperature and store in the refrigerator. Use extra virgin olive oil for all other situations requiring oil.

Water: Drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. Sip the water with the goal of consuming one glass every hour. Do not drink distilled water.