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Tag: Inflammation - Organic Lifestyle Magazine Tag: Inflammation - Organic Lifestyle Magazine

Growing Evidence Links Covid-19 Vaccine to Myocarditis

The CDC has reported higher-than-usual cases of myocarditis after vaccination, overwhelmingly in young men under 30.

So far 226 cases of myocarditis have been reported in men under 30 where the CDC was expected fewer than 100 cases for this age group.

Problems are most common after the second dose of an mRNA vaccine but the CDC said more research is necessary to determine if the vaccine is the cause of the problem.

Teenagers and people in their early 20s accounted for more than half of the myocarditis cases reported to the CDC’s safety monitoring systems following Covid-19 vaccination, despite representing a fraction of people who have received the shots.

Evidence grows stronger for Covid vaccine link to heart issue, CDC says

Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle. Most cases were mild and went away on their own. Fifteen patients are still hospitalized with three still in the ICU.

Related: How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children



Should You Ice an Injury?

The other day, I went to the grocery store with my little brother. While loading the car, I turned around, shut the trunk, and in a lapse of judgment, took my eyes off of my 4-year-old brother and accidentally hit his head with the trunk of the car. He had leaned his head forward to look inside the trunk and I had not noticed. 

I picked my brother up and put him on the hood of the car as I examined his injury and tried to decide what to do. A store employee had seen the whole thing happen and offered him some ice. I quickly thanked him and took the ice, holding it to my brother’s head as I thought to myself, “Are you even supposed to ice injuries?” I took the ice to appease onlookers, but found myself, as I have with so many things in the past year, wondering if that was, in fact, the right thing to do. The more I learn about health the more I learn that most things I thought I knew were not true.

Related: What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good

After telling my dad about the whole thing, he confirmed that ice was in fact, not necessary or desirable in most cases. So, when should you use ice? 

As far as temporary pain relief, icing an injury is better for your health than taking something like ibuprofen or Tylenol. In some cases, it may be beneficial to ice. For example, when you need to avoid swelling and inflammation for mobility reasons like sports events where one has to continue participating, ice makes sense. A pitcher, for instance, may need to ice their shoulder in order to numb pain and prevent swelling so they have the mobility to continue pitching. However, once the event is over, it’s better off to the body heal naturally without ice.

When we injure ourselves, the body’s response is typically inflammation, swelling, and pain. During inflammation, blood clots form, and vessels constrict to stem the flow of blood from damaged tissue, while healthier vessels signal the body to get to work repairing the damage. Local nerve endings become more sensitive as a way of letting the body know what it should and should not do. 

All these responses are very natural and necessary. However, when we ice injuries, we slow blood flow to the area and prevent inflammation and swelling. In other words, ice can slow down the healing process.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut 

While many people still learn the “RICE” method in school, today the doctor who wrote the RICE method no longer recommends it. 

When I wrote my best-selling Sportsmedicine Book in 1978, I coined the term RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) for the treatment of athletic injuries (Little Brown and Co., page 94). Ice has been a standard treatment for injuries and sore muscles because it helps to relieve pain caused by injured tissue. Coaches have used my “RICE” guideline for decades, but now it appears that both Ice and complete Rest may delay healing, instead of helping.

Why Ice Delays Recovery -Dr.mirkin.com

Additionally, many pro-ice studies are based on anecdotal and/or circumstantial evidence while many other studies have come to inconclusive results on cryogenic therapy. One study done in 2008 by the Emergency Medicine Journal came to the conclusion “There is insufficient evidence to suggest that cryotherapy improves clinical outcome in the management of soft tissue injuries.” Another study done by The Journal of Athletic Training, in 2012 found similar results saying “Insufficient evidence is available from randomized controlled trials to determine the relative effectiveness of RICE therapy for acute ankle sprains in adults.”

Next time you injure yourself, in most situations, you’ll likely be better off letting the body do its thing without the interference of ice.

When intimation is chronic condition, we recommend: Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections 

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Turmeric and Diabetes

Every now and then we hear about a common food that contains amazing healing properties. Turmeric is a fine example. Although it is a spice that has been used in Asian medicine for thousands of years, its potential to cure disease has been largely ignored in the West. Now we are told it can be used to treat a whole list of ailments from diarrhea to diabetes, and scientific tests are beginning to back up these claims.

What is Turmeric?

The turmeric plant, a member of the Zingiberaceae or ginger family, is native to Southeast Asia. Like ginger, the rhizome, or root, is the source of the spice. The turmeric root looks much like ginger root except for its color. While ginger is white, turmeric is orange, so orange, it was used as a dye before it was used for medicinal purposes.

If you’ve never bought turmeric, you may not realize you’ve eaten it. Chances are, you have. It is the main spice in curries, the spice that gives curry powders an orange color.

Related: Foods, Vitamins, and Herbs That Kill Cancer

What Does Turmeric Contain That Aids in Healing?

Curcumin has been identified as turmeric’s source of healing properties. Curcumin is both an anti-inflammatory and a strong anti-oxidant. It prevents inflammation and reduces chronic inflammation. It has also been found to induce apoptosis (cell death) in cancer and pre-cancer cells.

What is Turmeric Used to Treat?

According to Web M.D., turmeric is used internally to treat the following:

  • Arthritis
  • Heartburn (dyspepsia)
  • Joint pain
  • Stomach pain
  • Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
  • Bypass surgery
  • Hemorrhage
  • Diarrhea
  • Intestinal gas
  • Stomach bloating
  • Loss of appetite
  • Jaundice
  • Liver problems
  • Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection
  • Stomach ulcers
  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
  • Gallbladder disorders
  • High cholesterol
  • Lichen planus
  • Skin inflammation from radiation treatment,
  • Fatigue
  • Headaches
  • Bronchitis
  • Colds
  • Lung infections
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Leprosy
  • Fever
  • Menstrual problems
  • Itchy skin
  • Recovery after surgery
  • Cancers
  • Depression
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Swelling in the middle layer of the eye (anterior uveitis)
  • Water retention
  • Worms
  • Lupus
  • Urinary bladder inflammation
  • Kidney problems
  • Soreness inside of the mouth and gum disease.
  • Inflammatory bowel disease (used as an enema)
  • Diabetes

And is used topically to treat:

  • Pain
  • Ringworm
  • Sprains and swellings
  • Bruising
  • Leech bites
  • Eye infections
  • Acne
  • Inflammatory skin conditions and skin sores
  • Infected wounds
Related: What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good

Turmeric and Diabetes

If you google turmeric or curcumin, you will find statements denouncing its benefits. It is common to find every alternative healthcare claim to be summarily dismissed. On the other hand, it doesn’t take much effort to find scholarly articles that show turmeric’s health benefits, such as the studies regarding turmeric and diabetes.

Studies have shown turmeric lowers blood sugar levels, repairs pancreas cells (even benefitting type I diabetics), reverses prediabetes, lowers cholesterol levels, reduces heart risks, protects kidneys, and reduces inflammation and oxidative stress caused by the disease.

Related: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

What is Diabetes?

When we eat, carbohydrates and sugars are broken down into glucose. The pancreas produces the hormone insulin, which allows glucose in the bloodstream to enter the cells. When this process is disrupted because the body cannot make enough insulin or can’t utilize the insulin it does make, high levels of glucose remain in the blood and the cells do not receive the glucose they need.

High blood sugar results in damage to blood vessels, to the kidneys, eyes, nerves, and other parts of the body. Healing and circulation may become impaired. Diabetes is also associated with high blood pressure and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

According to the American Diabetes Association, 30.3 million Americans or 9.4% of the population have diabetes; 1.25 million (4%) have type 1 diabetes. In 2015, diabetes was rated the 7th leading cause of death in the United States.

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that is usually diagnosed in childhood or young adulthood. The body attacks and destroys the pancreatic cells that make insulin, leaving the pancreas unable to produce sufficient amounts of insulin, if any at all. The treatment for type 1 diabetes is lifelong insulin therapy – injected insulin – along with diet and exercise management.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy. It is believed that hormones from the placenta create insulin resistance, causing the mother to need as much as 3 times the usual amount of insulin. The CDC estimates gestation diabetes occurs in about 9.2% of pregnancies.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is also caused by insulin resistance. Since the cells don’t respond correctly to insulin, the pancreas overproduces insulin to compensate. Over time, the pancreas is unable to provide enough insulin.

Prediabetes

Prediabetes is diagnosed when blood sugar is abnormally high but not yet high enough to be considered diabetes. These elevated levels of blood sugar can still cause damage to the body.

Curcumin, Prediabetes, and Type 2 Diabetes

In a study conducted in 2012, 240 pre-diabetic patients were randomly chosen to receive either curcumin or placebo capsules. By the end of the 9-month study, 16.4% of the control group developed type 2 diabetes, while the subjects who received curcumin showed better overall function of the pancreatic cells, and not one patient developed diabetes.

A 2014 study that reviewed articles published from 1998 to 2013 in PubMed concluded that curcumin can reduce blood glucose levels, stimulate glucose uptake, stimulate insulin secretion, improve pancreatic cell function, and reduce insulin resistance.

Although most of the positive reports involve prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, some studies are also showing improvements in the pancreas tissue of patients with type I diabetes.

Related: How to Optimize Curcumin Absorption – With Golden Milk Tea Recipe

Warnings

There are a few warnings about regular or daily use of turmeric for medicinal purposes. Extreme amounts taken on a daily basis may cause problems with the liver. Keep in mind that turmeric really does work to reduce blood sugar levels. Do not use it medicinally along with medication to reduce blood sugar. The result may be hypoglycemia – low blood sugar.

For excellent detail regarding dosage and interactions, check out Turmeric Dosage for Diabetics. The entire site, Turmeric for Health, is filled with useful information, including recipes.

To learn more about healthy absorption of turmeric and a delicious way to consume it, read How To Optimize Curcumin Absorption – With Golden Milk Tea Recipe. To increase absorption of curcumin, always add a pinch of black pepper. There is evidence that garlic also increases absorption.

Conclusion

There is abundant evidence proving turmeric can prevent type 2 diabetes and aid in managing or reversing the disease. Remember, the smart way to manage or prevent late onset diabetes is through diet and exercise, not by simply adding supplements or medications to your daily routine. But turmeric can certainly be a healthy part of your diet plan as well as a supplemental aid, without the side effects of pharmaceuticals.

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Sleep Apnea and Why It’s Keeping You From Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

For many people, sleep is one of the first things to go when their schedule becomes overwhelming. But that starts a damaging cycle where too little sleep leads to sleep conditions, weight gain, and heart disease, among other issues. One of these issues is sleep apnea, a condition where the sleeper stops breathing or only takes shallow breaths while asleep. Someone who wakes up between 5 to 15 times an hour has a mild case of sleep apnea, and someone with severe sleep apnea wakes up more than 30 times.

Sleep apnea can cause serious health problems, but as many as 90% of people with it don’t even know they have it. So what is sleep apnea? How do you detect it? Most importantly, how do you treat it?

The What

There are two types of sleep apnea.

The most common type is known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and it happens when something blocks airflow while you sleep. The archetypal OSA candidate is overweight, male, drinks, and smokes. Enlarged tonsils or tongue, sinus problems, gastroesophageal reflux, and allergies are other OSA risk factors.

Central sleep apnea (CSA) is much less common and affects less than 1% of people. CSA occurs because the brain stops sending the body signals to breathe while sleeping. It’s more likely to occur in men over 65 who are already suffering from heart problems.

It is possible to suffer from both types of sleep apnea at the same time. Both types increase the likelihood of stroke, diabetes, heart disease, falling asleep while driving, and obesity. In addition, people with sleep apnea already have high blood pressure.

How Do You Know You’ve Got It?

Signs of sleep apnea can include snoring, gasping noises, grinding teeth, brain fog, sleepiness, impotence, depression, and high blood pressure. Dry mouth or drooling may be another sign of sleep apnea, as conditions that cause mouth breathing like sinus infections, colds, or deviated septums also block the airway.

Many of the symptoms of sleep apnea are also treated conditions in their own right, like depression or impotence. This can lead to professionals suggesting treatment for other things before considering sleep apnea. Often family or friends are more likely to notice the snoring or gasping episodes, and a diagnosis usually occurs after a sleep study.

Treatments

For sleep apnea treatment, we can divide them into two different types: medical interventions and lifestyle changes.

Sleep Apnea and Medical Interventions

Surgery is the most invasive of the three options, and frequently performed surgeries include tonsillectomies (to create more space in the throat), rhinoplasties (fixing deviated septums), and maxillomandibular advancement (moving the upper and lower jaw forward).

For most moderate or serious cases, the most common treatment option is a continuous positive airway pressure device (CPAP) or automatic positive airway pressure (APAP) device. These are usually a plastic facial mask attached to a tube and a device that reinforces the airway with pressurized air. While the positive airway pressure treatment methods have been shown to reduce many of the health risks that come with sleep apnea, it’s also uncomfortable and can cause dry mouth, chest discomfort, and nosebleeds. The CPAP device may keep the airway open during sleep, but most people stop using it due to the discomfort. Studies are finding that positive airway pressure therapy doesn’t notably reduce the cardiovascular risk associated with sleep apnea.

Related: Insomnia – A Comprehensive Look with Natural Remedies

Sleep Apnea and Lifestyle Changes

When treating sleep apnea through lifestyle changes, many of the usual suspects apply. Sleep on your side. Stop smoking. Quit drinking. Lose weight.

These are all excellent ideas. It’s important to eliminate inflammation. Soft tissue like the tonsils, tongue, or airway relaxes when you’re asleep. If it becomes inflamed, swollen, or enlarged, it can obstruct the airway.

To deal with inflammation, stop eating processed foods and refined sugars as they trigger the body’s immune response. Make sure to get some sunshine and stay on top of your b vitamin levels, as vitamin D and B deficiencies can also cause inflammation. Easily obtained anti-inflammatory foods include turmeric, ginger, blueberries, chia seeds, broccoli, and red peppers among others.

Must Read: What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good

Another factoring in managing sleep apnea involves clearing out the sinus passages. The buildup of mucus makes it difficult to breathe clearly during the day and results in shallow, fitful sleep at night. If you’re seeing other symptoms of sleep apnea, it’s time to clear out the sinuses. Gargle with apple cider vinegar or a fire cider. Avoid dairy, sugar, processed foods, and other foods likely to cause phlegm and mucus. Hot and cold hydrotherapy can also help things drain out the sinuses.

Many of the steps that deal with inflammation, sinus infections, and sleep apnea in a sustainable way overlap. Everything in the body is connected. Eating a healthy diet that’s 80% fresh, raw organic veggies without processed food will result in less inflammation, better quality sleep, and make it easier to clear out the sinus passages. A diet bereft of vegetables and dependent on processed foods guarantees that any health issues will continue and eventually worsen.

The Importance of Sleep

Inadequate quality sleep is a factor in developing a multitude of health issues, from heart disease to Alzheimer’s to weight gain. Sleep apnea is a stealthy thief, as people suffering from it often don’t realize they’re waking themselves up. If you find yourself waking up in the morning feeling as though you haven’t slept at all, you owe it to yourself to find out if it could serious and reclaim a good night’s rest.

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The Most Potent, Anti-Inflammatory Everyday Foods

According to Medical News Today, nearly 75% of all deaths in the United States are attributed to just ten causes. Eight of the ten, which include heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, kidney disease, and even suicide, are directly linked to chronic inflammation.

In fact, by simply lowering the levels of inflammation in the body we can prevent, slow the progression of, and, in some cases, reverse each of those eight causes of death. This would leave us with influenza and accidents at the top of the list, but the severity and likelihood of influenza would be reduced with an anti-inflammatory diet.

This means that if we all adopt an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, the only thing that can get in our way of living a fulfilling and healthy life is an accident or the inevitable aging. But even the effects of aging are caused by low-grade inflammation. In many scientific papers, this process is called “inflammaging” and it is the reason why your brain and body just don’t function like they used to as you age. But this process too can be slowed down tremendously by adopting an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.

What is an Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle?

Let’s keep it simple. To maintain lower levels of inflammation we need to move more, sleep better, and eat right by eating anti-inflammatory foods instead of inflammatory foods.

So let’s start with the food we should eat because just eating the right food will make it easier to eat less, move more, sleep better, and stress less.

   Related: What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

When you replace inflammatory foods with fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other anti-inflammatory foods you will decrease the levels of inflammation in your body, which will lead to a reduction in cravings and the amount of food you eat, an increase in your energy levels and sleep quality, and a decrease in stress and anxiety.

A food is anti-inflammatory when it contains vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other beneficial compounds that act together with our body to promote the health of our cells. Think whole foods. Although you are safe in assuming that any organic fruit, vegetable, herb, nut, or seed comes with their own anti-inflammatory effects (as long as you are not allergic and they aren’t fried, overcooked, or otherwise processed), there are some foods and beverages that, without a doubt, have potent anti-inflammatory effects that help boost cellular health, reduce aging, and reverse disease.

The 11 Most Effective Anti-Inflammatory Foods and Beverages

Sesame seeds, Flaxseeds, and Chia Seeds

Consuming seed oils on their own is strongly advised against, but when they are eaten freshly ground, seeds are filled with anti-inflammatory and health promoting compounds. For example, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, and chia seeds all have a high lignan content, which has protective effects against inflammation, carcinogens, and cancer.

Flaxseeds are the richest dietary source of lignan precursors, while sesame seeds offer the highest amount of phytosterols of all nuts and seeds. Phytosterols are important because they decrease blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer. They may also be what makes sesame seeds a potential treatment for the symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Related: Homemade, Vegan Nut Milk Recipes and More

Chia seeds contain more ALA, or Alpha-linoleic acid, than any other seed. ALA is most widely known as a plant source of EPA ad DHA for the body, but only a small percentage of it is actually converted to EPA and DHA. However, ALA still may help reduce inflammation in the colon making it a potential treatment for colitis.

It is best to consume sesame seeds, flaxseeds, and chia seeds ground or crushed right before consumption. Use them in dressings, dipping sauces, salads, or smoothies.

Soaked chia seeds can also be used as an egg replacement in baking recipes. However, it is important to avoid roasted seeds because they will contain rancid oils that make them pro-inflammatory.

Hibiscus Tea

Green tea is widely known as a healthy beverage, especially matcha green tea, which has more antioxidants than normal green tea. However, matcha green tea comes with around 70 mg of caffeine per cup. Although the caffeine content is lower than a cup of coffee, it is still high enough to affect the mind and body. Doses of caffeine as low as 12.5 mg can create a powerful response in the body, so if you would rather not expose yourself to the increased stress response and addictive qualities that caffeine provides, hibiscus is the best option.

Hibiscus tea is actually a better option for reducing inflammation than any other tea because it elicits much more antioxidant and anti-inflammation activity in the body, and it has no caffeine at all.

Hibiscus tea also tastes better than green tea (in my opinion). I prefer to cold brew it overnight with a little bit of lemon juice to make a refreshing drink I can sip throughout the day.

Berries

There are hundreds of types of berries in the world and all of them contain different anthocyanins, which are flavonoids responsible for their distinctive colors of red, blue, and purple. These flavonoids also have powerful anti-inflammatory effects.

Wild blueberries, for example, have been found to improve memory in older adults, which suggests that they protect the brain from inflammation. Other berries like cranberries, elderberries, currants, acai berry, goji berries, and amla fruit have different flavonoids that have potent anti-inflammatory effects on other parts of the body as well.

Amla fruit, in particular, may have the most potent anti-inflammatory benefits of all the berries, with more antioxidant activity than blueberries, 20 times more vitamin C than lemon juice, 30 times more polyphenols than red wine, and more gallic acid (a potent antioxidant) than any other fruit.

Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits, like lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruit, contain flavonoids that have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects on damaged cells. Studies have found that citrus fruits have little to no effect on healthy cells so, even in high doses, citrus flavonoids are non-toxic.

Virgin Olive Oil

Virgin olive oil contains numerous health promoting compounds. One of the most studied compounds found in virgin olive oil is a phenolic compound called oleocanthal.

Oleocanthal possesses similar anti-inflammatory properties to ibuprofen. This makes virgin olive oil a great addition to the diet to help reduce acute and chronic inflammation.

However, some of the fats in olive oil can become rancid at temperatures higher than 300 degrees Fahrenheit so it is important to consume it in its uncooked form. Put it on your salads and vegetables to add some healthy fats your meal and increase the absorption of vitamins A and K from the vegetables, while you reap the benefits of olive oil’s healing properties.

Turmeric

Most of us have probably heard about the healing properties of turmeric, and the rumors are true. Even Dr. Axe refers to it as the “most powerful herb on the planet at fighting and potentially reversing disease”.

This is because turmeric contains curcumin, a phenolic compound that is responsible for turmeric’s yellow color, and its ability to help heal cells throughout the body. So far we have found curcumin to be a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, and cancer.

Related: How to Optimize Curcumin Absorption – With Golden Milk Tea Recipe

Cloves

This spice is commonly used in pumpkin pie to give it that extra cinnamon-like kick, but you may not know that cloves have the highest antioxidant content of any spice or herb that scientists have measured.
Cloves protect the body by eradicating harmful bacteria, fungi, and yeast, including giardia and candida. Insulin resistance and obesity may be ameliorated by cloves as well.

I prefer to consume cloves in the form of tea to help relieve a sore throat and improve my energy levels. You can also add it to smoothies, hot beverages, sauces, and soups to give them some extra flavor.

Garlic (and other vegetables from the Allium family)

Garlic has been used for centuries as a prophylactic and a treatment for many diseases. It is rich in organosulfur compounds, which give it its potent flavor, taste, and healing abilities. In fact, garlic has been found to reduce the size of tumors and activate important anti-oxidant enzymes in the body that help protect our cells from cancer, infection, and disease.

Garlic, onions, leeks, and other vegetables from the Allium family all contain allicin. This is an active compound that activates anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities that protect us from disease, and it may even have neuroprotective effects against brain injury.

Related: Things You Should Know About Garlic – DIY, Recipes, Other Tips

Broccoli Sprouts (and other cruciferous vegetables)

Many cruciferous vegetables are filled with vitamins K and A, which are essential for our health, but have you heard of sulforaphane? This is a compound that is created when we crush or chew cruciferous vegetables, and broccoli sprouts add more of this compound to our diet than any other cruciferous vegetable.
Why does it matter? Because sulforaphane has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, which boost brain function and even protect us from the flu and environmental pollutants.

You can easily grow your own broccoli sprouts at home. If you start today, they will be ready to eat in less than a week. You can add your fresh sprouts to salads and smoothies or have them as a snack.

Coconut Oil

There is a lot of controversy surrounding saturated fats, but the truth is that they aren’t the problem that we once thought they were. The perfect example of how saturated fats can be good for you is found when we consume coconut oil.

Related: 35 Things You Could Do With Coconut Oil – From Body Care to Health to household

In a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial, coconut oil supplementation promoted a reduction in abdominal fat and kept blood lipids under control, while soybean oil caused an increase in total cholesterol and a decrease in HDL cholesterol. This is most likely due to a reduction in inflammation caused by consuming coconut oil and an increase in inflammation caused by consuming soybean oil.

Related: Powerfully Healing Raspberry Cream Smoothie Recipe

Avocado

Avocados are primarily made up of monounsaturated fatty acids – a type of fat that reverses inflammation. It may even reverse the inflammation caused by some types of saturated fats. This is because monounsaturated fatty acids activate anti-inflammatory processes in the body while being extremely stable. On the other hand, fats like omega 6s and omega 3s are highly unstable, which is why they can create harmful oxidants and increase inflammation in the body. Monounsaturated fats, however, are so stable that they only improve our health.

In fact, Monounsaturated fat is so stable that it can be heated to around 500 degrees Fahrenheit without becoming rancid, which makes it a great cooking oil.

But it’s not just all about the fat. Avocados also contain other compounds like mannoheptulose, which may help reverse obesity and diabetes.

Putting It All Together

You can literally combine each one of these anti-inflammatory foods into a delicious meal. Get your notepad ready.

Step 1

Get your cruciferous greens and put them in a bowl. They will be the base of your meal.

Step 2

Put some avocado slices, broccoli sprouts, and wild blueberries on top.

Step 3

In a small bowl, combine virgin olive oil with crushed garlic, lemon juice, chopped up turmeric slices, and apple cider vinegar.

Step 4

Grind some chia seeds, flaxseeds, or sesame seeds and put them on top of your salad. Finish it off with your olive oil based dressing.

Step 5

While you enjoy your anti-inflammatory meal, start brewing some ground clove and hibiscus tea. To give it a creamy and frothy feel, put about a tablespoon of coconut oil and blend it up when it’s finished brewing.

Related: Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included

But What about Omega 3s!?

After digging through the research, it’s hard to justify putting seafood on the list of anti-inflammatory foods. It is commonly believed that the omega 3s called DHA and EPA that are found in seafood help prevent heart disease and inflammation, but studies on omega 3 supplementation have not consistently shown this effect. The association between eating fish and a reduction in heart disease risk is better explained by the fact that people who eat more fish tend to have healthier lifestyles.

It is important to mention that even though they are not on this list, seafood and other animal products contain many different antioxidants, vitamins, and amino acids that are essential for maintaining health. But even high-quality meat and fish may still cause a small inflammatory response, which is why they didn’t make our list of anti-inflammatory foods.

Conclusion

This is by no means a comprehensive list of foods that fight inflammation. This article just contains the most well-researched anti-inflammatory foods that have been studied so far (that I could find).

The truth is that there are thousands upon thousands of different compounds in plants that influence our bodies, and we have only studied the effects of a small fraction of them.

The most important thing you can do after reading this article is to eat a wide variety of whole vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, and seeds to ensure that you are nourished. If you do this and ignore all the foods listed above you will still decrease your inflammation levels. This is because you are eating less inflammatory foods and eating more fiber, which feeds the probiotics in your gut that help protect your gut lining and produce anti-inflammatory by-products.

But if you continue eating inflammatory foods every day, they will undermine all the positive effects you can get from eating anti-inflammatory foods.

For more on what an inflammatory food is and how they cause inflammation, see Chronic Inflammation: How You Are Causing It and How You To Be Rid Of It and What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good.

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Chronic Inflammation: How You Are Causing It and How You To Be Rid Of It

You’re (probably) inflamed right now.

But it’s okay, your body is just trying to save your life.

Somewhere in your body, there is a cell that has been damaged by a harmful stimulus. This stimulus could be from foreign matter that is toxic to the body, blunt trauma, or degeneration caused by a lack of nutrition. In response to the damage, your immune system is activated to help repair or replace the cells. White blood cells and other blood components flow to the site of trauma, blood vessels begin to leak into the damaged tissues, and that area becomes more sensitive to all other potentially harmful stimuli. Once the tissue is repaired and cleaned up by the immune system the injury returns to its natural state, inflammation-free.

This process is known as acute inflammation. This is the way your body heals any damage that is done to your cells, and it only lasts for the duration of the injury.

For example, you most likely experienced acute inflammation the last time you stubbed your toe. You hit your toe really hard on a piece of furniture, so fluid was drawn to the area (swelling) and white blood cells came to the rescue. The damaged tissue was repaired, waste was discarded, and after a couple days you forgot that anything ever happened to your toe. But sometimes inflammation can stick around for months, years, or even decades.

When The Toe Stubbing Doesn’t Stop

If you keep stubbing your toe, the cells will never be able to heal and the inflammatory process will keep happening. Inflammation that doesn’t go away is known as chronic inflammation. But if you have chronic inflammation, it is (hopefully) not being caused by you repeatedly stubbing your toe.

Chronic inflammation is caused by having an internal environment that damages our cells. Consider diet. Food that not conducive to cell health damages cells. Chronic inflammation happens because the body is consuming substances that cause damage.

Reversing Chronic Inflammation

The causes of chronic inflammation are influenced by our environment, our genetics, and most importantly, our habits. Many of us don’t have nearly enough control over our environment to ensure it is the healthiest possible, and genetic manipulation is still l a ways off. For almost everyone, chronic inflammation can be prevented and even reversed by eating the right foods and eliminating the wrong ones. Spoiler alert: the right foods are whole foods and the wrong foods are processed!

What Are Inflammatory Foods?

An inflammatory food is any food that creates an inflammatory response regardless of who consumes it. But how do we know what foods cause inflammation?

Scientists tend to measure the levels of C-reactive protein and specific immunoglobulins in the blood to detect inflammation levels, but it’s not feasible for you to test your blood after every meal, so what can you do?

Pay attention to how you feel after each meal.  Tiredness, anxiety, achiness, depression, a constricted feeling in the abdomen or back, a lack of energy, and decreased cognitive function in response to a meal are all signs that the food that you ate caused an inflammatory response. Food should make you feel better and function more efficiently, it shouldn’t be a crutch.

If you continue to eat inflammatory foods, your body will be in a chronic state of inflammation, which can cause and accelerate the progression of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and cancer. Inflammatory foods also damage parts of your brain that regulate your appetite and body weight, which will cause you to eat more, store more fat, and become diabetic.

Fortunately, when we reduce our consumption of inflammatory foods, the cells in our brain, blood vessels, and body can finally heal.

The Foods That We Should Never Eat

Highly Refined Foods

All highly refined foods create an inflammatory response. This includes “foods” like cookies, cakes, chips, doughnuts, pizza, cereal, soft drinks, and french fries. These and many other common “food” products are so far removed from real food that they contain high sugar, high fat, rancid oils, synthetic chemicals like pesticides and flavorings, and almost all of the fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals are removed. This is a recipe for inflammation.

Think about your favorite highly refined “food” – the one you think you can’t do without. Now, let’s explore what happens in your body when you eat that food.

As every bite of that food reaches your small intestine, your body diverts its attention to dealing with the excess fat, sugar, and potentially harmful chemicals. Your body tries to keep your blood sugar at safe levels by shuttling the excess energy into your cells, so it can be used as fuel by the mitochondria (the part of your cell that produces all of its energy).

During this process, harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species are created, which impair the function of the cells throughout your body as they accumulate. To clean up the reactive oxygen species and the damage they cause, our body uses antioxidants. However, the level of antioxidants in your body depends on the food you eat.

For example, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and glutathione are some of the most powerful antioxidants we use to protect and heal our cells, but we can’t create Vitamin C and E on our own and we need specific amino acids and sulfur-rich foods to help boost glutathione levels.

After weeks of eating these highly refined foods, your mitochondria will start to malfunction and your body will become chronically inflamed because it is getting too much fat and sugar with almost no help from vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Eventually, you’ll go to the doctor, and she or he may diagnose you with a disease like heart disease or diabetes, an autoimmune condition, or cancer. It will most likely be a condition that you are genetically predisposed to, but your genetics are only partially to blame. Eating high calorie, high fat, or high sugar foods that lack fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are most likely the main culprit.

Eliminating all highly refined foods from your diet is a great way to radically change your health for the better, however, there are many other food items that can cause inflammation regardless of their calorie content.

Vegetable Oils

Dietary fat comes in many different shapes and sizes. For example, vegetable, seed, and soybean oils are filled with polyunsaturated inflammatory Omega 6 fats. Inflammatory omega 6s create an inflammatory response. When most of the fat in our diet comes from omega 6s, this will create higher levels of inflammation within the body.

Unfortunately, all of the most easily commonly accessible oils and processed foods are filled with unhealthy, inflammatory oils. There are anti-inflammatory fats, many of which are within the Omega-3 category. These fats promote the inflammatory reduction process. There are also healthy fats the aid int he inflammatory process. We need both. Both are good for us. But heavily cooked, overly processed, rancid fats are never good for us. And these fats lead to the inflammation cycle that is the cause of most modern diseases.

Rancid Oils and Trans Fat

Before you rush to the store to get a salmon filet or fish oil that is packed with omega 3s, it is important to know that all polyunsaturated fats, including omega 3s, are highly unstable. This means that sunlight and heat can render omega 6s and omega 3s rancid, which will make them both toxic to the body. This happens with cooking fish too, but the method of cooking can make a difference, and less well-done fish has more beneficial fatty acids left. The same thing happens when we ingest trans fats, which includes all fully and partially hydrogenated oils.

Factory Farmed Animal Products

Many studies show that animal products like heavy cream and red meat cause a spike in inflammation after consumption. However, it is important to consider the source of the animal products. It is rare to find a study that will pay attention to the quality of the animal products that are used. Scientists are most likely using cheap animal products that are sourced from sick animals that were fed pesticide ridden foods and antibiotics. This leads to animal products that cause a massive spike in inflammation.

Animal products that come from pastured, humanely-raised animals contain more CLA, glutathione, and other beneficial compounds than their conventional, factory-farmed counterparts. CLA and glutathione are both anti-inflammatory molecules that play a major role in reversing many diseases and releasing fat from the body. Pastured animal products are also likely to have less omega 6s.

Related: Why Chronic Pain is Such a Pain and What You Can Do about It

Charred, Smoked, Overcooked, and Fried Foods

How you cook your meat and vegetables could make a nutritious meal into a cancerous substance. When we char or smoke our food, it vastly increases its carcinogenic properties and creates a potent inflammatory response in the body.

Cooking your fats and fatty foods at high temperatures will also render the fats rancid, especially if you are using any vegetable oils or other oils that are high in polyunsaturated fats.

It is best to cook your meat at low temperatures for a longer period of time (think “low and slow”). This ensures that the fat will be stable, the meat won’t be charred, and you will be able to reap all the health benefits of high-quality meat (The same applies to pastured eggs, although it may be best to consume them raw).

But even the highest quality meat and dairy products should be eaten in moderation because they may still cause an increase in inflammation and cancer cell growth. If you accompany your meat with vegetables and herbs, you can get all of the benefits of meat with little to no inflammatory response.

Related: Advanced Glycated End Products

Other Things to Consider

Artificial sweeteners like sucralose, MSG, and pesticides like glyphosate all have a substantial impact on our inflammatory response. Sucralose and other artificial sweeteners may actually blunt our immune response, creating an ideal environment for infectious bacteria and parasites.

MSG directly creates an inflammatory response in the liver and can lead to central obesity and type 2 diabetes. Glyphosate creates inflammation indirectly by damaging the gut wall, which causes the immune system to overreact to previously harmless foods. This means consuming pesticide ridden foods like GMOs and conventional fruits and vegetables can cause leaky gut and food intolerance.

The Quickest Way to Reduce Your Inflammation Levels

We covered a lot about inflammatory foods and their effects, but we still didn’t come close to explaining it all.

Let’s sum it up with the four inflammatory food groups that should never be in any human (or animal) diet:

  1. All highly refined foods, high sugar, high fat, and low fiber foods (cookies, cakes, candy, cereal, doughnuts, etc.)
  2. All vegetable, seed, and soy oils
  3. All pesticide ridden foods like GMO corn, GMO soy, and most conventional fruits and vegetables
  4. All factory-farmed, non-pastured animal products

And never buy these things again.

Replace all of those inflammatory foods with foods that contain anti-inflammatory compounds like organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs that are minimally cooked, and raw nuts and seeds. Each one has a variety of vitamins and minerals, high fiber, and other unique beneficial compounds that improve your health. Make sure you eat a wide variety of different vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, and seeds. These should make up almost all of your main course with a side dish of high quality pastured animal products at some of your meals.

By eating in this way, we will provide our body the nutrients and antioxidants we need to stave off mitochondrial dysfunction and promote the health of every cell in the body. In other words, your cells will rarely stub their toes.

Related: Understanding and Detoxifying Genetically Modified Foods

How to Check Your Inflammation Levels

To track your inflammation levels, get a normal blood panel and check your C-reactive protein levels. C-reactive protein is created by the liver when there is inflammation in the body, so it is a great indicator for the level of inflammation in the body. It is commonly suggested to keep your C-reactive protein level Below 1 mg/L, but Dr. Chris Masterjohn suggests that it is better to keep it lower than .07 mg/L.

Read through The Most Potent, Anti-Inflammatory Everyday Foods to find out the specific foods that are best at lowering your inflammation levels.

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The Amazing Benefits of Stinging Nettles, with Recipes

If I told you there was a plant that offered an amazing range of nutrients, eased allergy suffering, reduced inflammation, treated arthritis, healed rashes, cured anemia, and improved energy, you would want to know about it, right? Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) are a superfood, super-medicine, and all around superstar of the plant world.

Nettles have a long history, appearing in the writings of the ancient Greeks, ancient Egyptians, and Roman armies. Their fibers were found in artifacts from the Bronze age and early indigenous American cultures. Nettles are found growing all over the world and in forests and fields near you. They are readily available as a bulk herb and supplement at health food stores. You can incorporate nettles in your diet by creating amazing culinary delights or by steeping them as a tea when you just feel like you need some super powers. There is a lot that you should know about nettles.

Nettles – the Super-Green Superfood!

Nettles pack a powerful punch of nutritional value, making them an excellent superfood and tonic. They contain high levels of iron, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, potassium, magnesium, and more chlorophyll than almost any other plant. They have been used throughout history to restore energy to the sick and stimulate sluggish metabolic and lymphatic systems in the spring.

When consumed as a broth, tea, or even a traditional beer, nettles are an age-old cure for scurvy, anemia, low energy, and general depletion from illness or fever. Nettle tea can be extremely useful as a mother’s helper to bolster prenatal nutrition and to increase milk production for breastfeeding. The high nutrient content, combined with all the other positive benefits, makes nettles a worthy daily health supplement. Whether this is in the form of a capsule, tincture, or fresh herb, it’s a good way to ensure you are taking care of yourself.

Nettles as All Around Medicine

Stinging nettle is one of those plants I like to call “Nature’s medicine chest.” It addresses such a wide variety of ailments both internally and topically, that it is always worth having on hand. Aside from the more prevalent treatments for arthritis and allergies, nettles act as an anti-inflammatory agent, addressing a variety of related conditions from sore muscles to gastrointestinal discomfort. The diuretic properties of nettles make them a useful treatment for urinary tract infections, issues with the bladder and kidneys, and enlarged prostate (BPH) for men. A reliable women’s health herb throughout the entire reproductive

Nettles alleviate a variety of issues encountered during menstruation, pregnancy, the postpartum period, and menopause making them a reliable women’s health herb for the entire reproductive cycle.

It is also thought that nettles aid in reducing blood pressure and lowering blood sugar. Externally, nettles treat eczema, burns, rashes, hives, and stimulate hair growth. As an astringent, it stops bleeding and can be applied in a powdered form to arrest nosebleeds. When it comes down to it, nettles belong in your medicine cabinet in some form, much like band-aids. Really.

Nettles as Arthritis Treatment

Although the sting of the stinging nettle is uncomfortable when you encounter it out on a walk, the prickly hairs on the stem and leaves actually reduce the pain and swelling of arthritis. If you pick  nettles with your bare hands, your fingertips may be numb for hours afterward. Urtification, or basically flogging the affected area with stinging nettles, is a practice documented over the last two thousand years. Research has shown that the “sting” of nettles both interferes with pain signals in the body and releases anti-inflammatory compounds to treat arthritic conditions. Taken internally, nettles have been found to support bone and joint health, deliver a healthy dose of boron, balance hormones that affect arthritic conditions, and flush uric acid buildup from the affected joint areas. With plenty of not-so-great-for-you pain relief available these days, it’s nice to have this natural, safe, herbal go-to available for daily management.

Nettles as Allergy Treatment

For a large number of the population suffering from allergies and hay fever, nettles can be a great ally. It is most commonly taken in the form of freeze-dried capsules during periods of seasonal allergies, to reduce inflammation of the affected tissues. Nettles are thought to reduce the histamine levels produced by the body as an allergy response, thus alleviating the allergy symptoms. Many people have reported that itchy eyes, sneezing, runny noses, and stuffy sinuses are treated as effectively, if not more so, by stinging nettle than over the counter allergy medications. They will also leave you feeling energized rather than drowsy. I have always thought it was a wonderful coincidence that nettles start growing in the spring just as pollens are coming out, and continue into the summer and height of pollen season.

Benefits and Use of Stinging Nettles for Other Ailments

Stinging nettles are a blood purifying, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, detoxifying antioxidant with more health benefits than we can list.

  • May treat many skin problems from acne to eczema
  • Stimulates lymph system
  • Stimulates immune system
  • Support adrenal glands
  • Supports thyroid
  • Supports prostate
  • Supports the spleen
  • Supports the pancreas
  • Supports entire endocrine system (hormonal system, glands)
  • Good for menstrual cramps, bloating, PMS
  • Relieves menopausal symptoms
  • Relieves arthritis symptoms
  • Promotes release of uric acid from joints
  • Supports the kidneys
  • May break down kidney stones
  • Helps with respiratory tract infections and respiratory inflammation
  • Helps asthma sufferers
  • Strengthens the fetus in pregnant women
  • Promotes milk production for breastfeeding
  • Improves blood clotting
  • Relieves pain and symptoms from osteoarthritis
  • Reduces inflammation
  • Reduces likelihood of prostate cancer
  • Eliminates allergic rhinitis
  • Reduces hypertension
  • May reduce nausea
  • Alleviates diarrhea
  • Helps with gastrointestinal disease, IBS, and constipation
  • Reduces gingivitis (when used in mouth)
  • Removes and helps prevents plaque buildup (when used in mouth)
  • Has been shown to help treat Alzheimer’s disease
  • Provides relief for neurological disorders like MS, ALS, and sciatica
  • Destroys intestinal worms and other parasites
  • It’s antifungal. Kills Candida along with other yeast and fungi

How to Find Nettles

Nettles can be found growing in moist soils at the edge of forests, in fields, along ditches and near streams or marshy areas. With a good plant ID guide and advice from local foragers, you can venture out and gather your own nettles all through the spring months. You can also purchase nettle seeds from heirloom seed companies and plant them in your garden. I have found that the rhizomes from wild nettle patches transplant nicely into my garden. They love my compost pile. With a little water, you can keep them going through the summer. Nettles are very easy to dry and use throughout the rest of the year when they aren’t found growing outside. If you do not have access to foraging areas or garden space, you can always purchase dried nettle leaf and a variety of nettle supplements. In the Spring, grocery stores will sometimes carry fresh, wildcrafted nettles.

Wellness Nettle Broth Recipe

I have found when I am feeling under the weather, or I am just in need of some solidly green food at the end of the winter, a nettle broth is perfect. It leaves me feeling healthy and energized.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of fresh stinging nettle tips (or 1 cup dried)
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 4-5 cloves fresh minced garlic
  • 2 Tbs fresh grated ginger root
  • 1 burdock root peeled and chopped fine (or 4 Tbs dried)
  • 4 cups vegetable broth, miso broth, or bone broth
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • dash of tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
  • salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, sauté onions until translucent. Add burdock root, garlic, and ginger and sauté a few more minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add nettles, turn down to a simmer, and stir occasionally until the nettles are soft and fully cooked. (This breaks down the prickly hairs, and your tongue will thank you.) Add tamari or Bragg’s and season to taste.

Stinging Nettle Homemade Toothpaste Recipe

The boron in stinging nettles is an essential element for bone health that helps bones and teeth retain calcium. Therefore, it is a great addition to homemade toothpaste.

Homemade toothpaste is easy. If you don’t have one of the ingredients, leave it out or substitute something similar. Mix it up, and experiment.

  • 2 Tbsp nettle powder
  • 1 tsp Irish moss powder
  • 1 tsp bladderwrack powder
  • 1 drops liquid stevia
  • 5 drops peppermint essential oil
  • 1 tsp unrefined sea salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda

Add dry ingredients together and mix. Add wet ingredients and a little bit of distilled water to get your desired consistency.

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