Inflammation and Heart Disease

It turns out that you can fight inflammation in the body more effectively with the right foods than with prescriptions drugs. Our immune systems are marvelously designed to attack anything that they don’t recognize such as plant pollen, germs, toxins, pollutants, microbes, or chemicals. Inflammation is the end result of this process; it’s a protective measure in our programming but it can cause a lot of other complications. It’s your body’s natural response to threats and involves immune, vascular and cellular biochemical reactions which work to remove the offenders and protect tissues from damage. So, let’s talk about why you want to avoid Inflammation in the body. This natural defense mode works to shield your body’s systems and initiate the healing process. But when your body is in a chronic state of inflammation, it can have serious effects on your cellular health. It can greatly contribute to towards diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, cancer, Alzheimer’s and even depression.

Foods you definitely want to avoid or limit are refined carbohydrates like white bread or pastries. Also try to limit fried foods. You want to try and eliminate or limit sugar, red meat, processed meats, shortening and margarine. This “avoid” list is pretty common as it seems to affect many things in the body negatively. These foods seem to be linked with diabetes as well as heart disease.

Now for the good foods. A few foods that are beneficial and have been shown to help reduce inflammation in the body are tomatoes, olive oil, canola oil; which is rich in Omega-3, poultry, legumes nuts such as walnuts , pistachios or almonds. Nuts contain arginine which is an amino acid that can aid in calming inflammation. You also want to eat plenty of green leafy vegetables like collard greens, kale and spinach. Fish is great for your heart and also helps to fight inflammation. Salmon, tuna, herring, sardines and mackerel are all great examples of fish to start incorporating into your diet.

Fruits are wonderful, they contain Vitamin C, fiber and help fight inflammation. You should have things like strawberries, cherries, oranges, blueberries, grapes and apples. The antioxidant resveratrol found in the skin of grapes and red wine also fights inflammation and even cancer. Drinking concord grape juice may lower inflammatory markers in the blood of people with stable coronary artery disease. Even coffee in moderation, contains polyphenol which has anti-inflammatory properties as well.

Inflammation can also exacerbate asthma, acne and obesity and can even cause your moods to fluctuate. The more natural, and less processed your foods are …..the better for your body. Aren’t you glad to know you can play such a part in avoiding all of these health conditions just with your food choices…..it’s very empowering.