27 Anti-Inflammatory Foods to Speed Recovery

Tina Muir
Nutrition Features

Inflammation. It is definitely a word we are used to hearing on a daily basis. We all have little pains here or there that come from inflammation. Exercising beyond what your body is ready for will often result in inflammation. It is, after all, our bodies natural response to something being not quite right. It is usually helpful, and is a strong indicator that you changed something too fast.

Inflammation can also occur in other areas that are more serious: plaque on your heart from cholesterol, asthma, ulcers, and even cancer. When we consider these dangerous illnesses as inflammation, it becomes real, and we are left wondering what can be done to reduce it.

The usual balanced healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and exercise are obvious ways to reduce the effects, but as our lives become busier, it can be difficult to get this right. The book Unmasking Superfoods by Jennifer Sygo provides a breakdown of specific foods that have anti-inflammatory effects to help your body reverse the damage. Most people do not have the time to read an entire book, so I thought I would create an overview of the best anti-inflammatory foods to try to include in your diet based on the scholarly research that has been completed. I have put some recipe links alongside for you to check out.

Most of the research, found that the most important part of using food to reduce inflammation was to ensure foods high in Omega-3s were consumed on a regular basis. However, many of the foods that contain Omega-3s, also contain Omega-6. Unfortunately, Omega-6 encourages inflammation and Omega-3s reduce inflammation, which mean they ultimately block one another. As I mentioned, sometimes inflammation is a good thing, your body needs that to be aware of what is wrong and right. However, many of the most common diseases are caused by inflammation from our confused bodies wondering what is going on. Therefore it is important to consume foods that are high in Omega-3, with only a limited amount of Omega-6. The following foods hPumpkin pie pancakesave been declared best for this purpose:

 To reduce inflammation, Vitamin E is an extremely important protective fat-soluble nutrient to add into your diet. When you combine it with the “good fat” (LDL) found in the above foods, Vitamin E works to block a destructive, but natural process called oxidation. It is an extremely important nutrient, that is often overlooked by science as a nutrient of concern; 90% of Americans do not consume enough of it. By increasing your intake, you are strengthening your line of defense to limit the damage caused by it. Intense exercise increases oxidation, and therefore can overwhelm your bodies defense. Consume these foods to increase your vitamin E intake:
As well as the sources listed above, there are other inflammation reducing Superfoods that have been researched in recent years to try to conclude their effects on reducing inflammation. If possible, you should also try to include these as they are not only powerful in their anti-inflammatory effects, but have lots of other health benefits:
    • IMG_5479Manuka Honey (found in health food stores)
    • Cherries
    • Blueberries
    • Lentils (Need a hearty soup? Check out this Pumpkin and Lentil Curry Soup)
    • Chickpeas
    • Green tea
    • Ginger (These recovery stuffed peppers are packed with inflammation reducing ingredients)
    • Curry powder

I know this is quite a substantial list of foods to try to incorporate into your diet, but this the purpose of this post is to make readers aware of what foods they should be consuming to maximize the bodies defense line against inflammation. It has stopped/slowed/hurt us all at some point, and if you have the potential to reduce its effects in the future, why not give your body all the help it can get?

 I used many sources in this research, they are listed below
recovery, runner foods, super foods

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