5 Foods That Help Your Body Fight Inflammation

When we have an injury or our body recognizes anything foreign, such as microbes or chemicals, our immune system kicks in and protects us by using inflammation to fight whatever is threatening us. However, if inflammation lingers even when we have no use for it, it may lead to some serious conditions, like arthritis, depression, heart disease and even cancer.  Help your body deal with inflammation by choosing foods with anti-inflammatory properties.

Salmon

Other than being tasty and nutritious, salmon is also very healthy. It is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and B-complex vitamins, both of which could reduce inflammation and help guard your cardiovascular system by lowering your blood pressure and protecting your heart. Selenium from salmon can improve bone health and thyroid function, while potassium is useful for controlling blood pressure. It gets its red color from astaxanthin, which is a powerful antioxidant. All in all, salmon may help reduce the risk of heart disease, protect the health of your brain and fight inflammation. Along with other fatty fish, salmon might greatly improve symptoms of inflammatory diseases.

Ginger

This wonderful root is an ingredient in many meals, desserts and hot beverages. As soon as we feel sick, this is one of the first plants we turn to, and not without a reason. Although it’s often used to control infections, headaches and nausea, including morning sickness, its anti-inflammatory properties are what it’s famous for. Ginger and lemon tea is great for a sore throat, but ginger also helps with other inflammatory diseases, like osteoarthritis. It might also help with muscle soreness and even menstrual pain. And when you add its ability to fight infections and lower blood sugar to all of this, you have every reason to start adding ginger to your food every day.

Turmeric

This is a bright yellow and somewhat bitter spice, often used in various Indian dishes, but also a mighty antioxidant. You can use turmeric as a nice addition to your winter meals, especially those made of chicken, lamb, rice and vegetables such as cauliflower or squash. It even goes well with some sweet smoothies, as well as boiled with ginger into a nice cup of tea. It gets its wonderful color from its active compound, curcumin, which may help you reduce inflammation and joint pain, especially in people with osteoarthritis. So, if you want to benefit from its healing properties, but don’t really want to bother with cooking, you can opt for anti-inflammatory curcumin supplements.

Green leafy vegetables

The leafy greens are loaded with vitamin E, as well as other vitamins and nutrients with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Kale is a low-calorie vegetable, containing a healthy combination of vitamin E, vitamin K and omega-3 fatty acids. Spinach and broccoli are packed with vitamins E and C, along with various antioxidants. They are a great support when fighting inflammation, but try to keep them cooked as little as you can, or even find recipes to eat them raw, since that way they can keep their valuable nutrients. In addition to manganese and vitamin C, cauliflower is a great source of vitamin K, which makes it an impressive anti-inflammatory food. Similar to this, vitamin K in Brussels sprouts helps fight inflammation, especially in combination with glucobrassicin, which restricts inflammation in its early stages.

Beets

This amazing root vegetable is delicious and very simple to include in your diet. Their calorie count is low, but it’s rich in nutrients. It may improve your blood pressure and digestion, while keeping your weight in line. They get their magnificent color from betalain, which is not only an antioxidant, but might also be of aid in fighting inflammation. Beets also contain high levels of magnesium. Magnesium deficiency is tightly related to inflammation. Furthermore, without magnesium, calcium cannot be processed properly, which causes it to build up in the body and cause inflammation. It is therefore important to consume anti-inflammatory foods, rich in both calcium and magnesium, so that the body can process them adequately.

A balanced diet is important for our overall health and what we eat can greatly influence the state of our body and mind. Hence, try to avoid medicines this season and choose quality foods that will make you feel better instead. However, if your inflammation persists, talk to your physician and get some professional advice.

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This post is written by Luke Douglas, a fitness and health blogger at Ripped.me. Luke is a great fan of the gym and a healthy diet. He follows the trends in fitness, gym and healthy life and loves to share his knowledge through useful and informative articles. To keep up with Luke, follow his Facebook and Twitter page!