An anti-inflammatory diet can fight inflammation to help you manage pain.
March is National Nutrition Month. For those living with back, knee, or other joint pain, your diet can actually play a large part in helping you manage pain. Watching what you eat isn’t just about maintaining a healthy weight. Here are some great anti-inflammatory foods to help fight inflammation.
Foods to Help Fight Inflammation
When it comes to anti-inflammatory foods, you want to try to eat as clean as possible. Avoid highly processed foods, opting instead for whole foods with little to no added sugars. Some of the best anti-inflammatory foods to add to your diet include:
Green Leafy Vegetables
Greens such as kale, spinach, or broccoli are excellent options. They are full of vitamins and minerals, high in fiber, and low in calories. Make a leafy green salad or sautee them to add as a side to your protein for dinner.
Fish
You want healthy fat and protein sources. Fish such as tuna, salmon, or mahi contain fatty acids that won’t lead to inflammation.
Fruits
For those with a sweet tooth, don’t worry! Instead of eating processed sugar treats that cause inflammation, try fruits such as berries, oranges, or grapefruit. Berries are lower in natural sugars than things such as bananas, making them one of the best options for an evening indulgence. Citrus fruits are high in antioxidants that help fight inflammation.
Other anti-inflammatory foods
- Tomatoes
- Beets
- Olive Oil
- Nuts
- Avocados
- Mushrooms
- Turmeric
- Green Tea
Foods that Cause Inflammation
Rigidly sticking to a diet can be challenging, so give yourself room to enjoy other foods and mix it up a bit. It helps to know what foods to eat to help fight inflammation, but it is also essential to know what to avoid. Here’s a list of foods that are the worst for contributing to inflammation:
- Refined carbohydrates (think pastries, pasta, and white bread)
- Artificial sweeteners (found in diet and energy drinks)
- Fried foods
- Snack foods like chips and cookies
- Processed meats (sausage and hot dogs)
How does an anti-inflammatory diet help?
Adopting an anti-inflammatory diet helps your body fight inflammation and pain by aiding your immune system. Arthritis and other pain-causing conditions have been linked to chronic inflammation. Choosing foods that fight inflammation helps you live a more pain-free life.
What else can I do to help with pain and inflammation?
Chronic pain should not be something you “just deal with.” Corrective chiropractic care, stretch therapy, and spinal decompression are all helpful when it comes to managing pain and inflammation. A chiropractor can access the source of pain and create a plan to get your pain under control, while your anti-inflammatory diet helps support the work they will do to correct any misalignments that are causing the pain.
Inflammation Support in Lake Mary, Florida
Our Lake Mary Chiropractic Center doctors are passionate about whole-body health and healing. Celebrate National Nutrition Month by giving us a call to discuss how we can help you reduce your pain and inflammation. We serve Lake Mary, Sanford, Heathrow, and other Central Florida areas.
