By Donna V. Scaglione
It’s becoming clearer to medical researchers that chronic inflammation within the body contributes to a number of diseases. Heart disease, neurodegenerative illnesses like Alzheimer’s, joint pain, and many cancers have been linked to inflammation. While the normal inflammatory process is important for healing — consider how your skin and blood react after you cut yourself — when inflammation is activated inside the body and doesn’t turn off, damage and disease occur. With destructive, chronic inflammation, the body’s natural defense system stops protecting it and starts destroying it.
While factors including genes, physical activity level, and stress play a role in chronic inflammation, what we eat does, too, experts say. By eating more whole foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, and cutting out processed foods, you can reduce inflammation and feel better. Here’s how to eat to beat inflammation at every meal.
1. Berries at breakfast
Berries, including strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, are rich in flavonoids and carotenoids which fight inflammation as well as cell damage from free radicals. Enjoy these colorful beauties with cereal, mixed in a smoothie with low-fat vanilla yogurt, or with peanut butter on whole-grain toast. Because berries are known to absorb pesticides, choose organically grown when you can.
For another early-morning anti-inflammatory boost, ditch the coffee for a cup of white, oolong, or green tea. All three teas are full of catechins, another anti-inflammatory compound.
