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Tag: anti-inflammatory

The Best Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Written by trish on . Posted in Hormone Health.

Inflammation is your body’s way of protecting you from harmful stimuli or potential injury. Inflammation can appear in many forms, including pain, heat, swelling, redness, and a slowing down or complete halt of an organ’s function.

Inflammation also shows up as

💪 Weight gain

💪 Joint pain

💪 Insomnia

💪 Heart Burn

💪 Reflux

💪 Irritability

💪 Tiredness

Inflammation may be either acute or chronic. Acute inflammation is the initial protective response of your body tissues and is most likely to be transient. Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is prolonged and can become severe.

Inflammation may be caused due to an imbalance of the healthy bacteria in your body. It can also happen as a result of food allergies, toxic environment, stress, and bad diet.

Your diet plays a huge role in decreasing or increasing inflammation in your body. If you consume sugary foods, processed foods, or if you are regularly dehydrated, your body is more prone to inflammation while trying to heal itself.

Foods to avoid if you struggle with inflammation:

↓ Alcohol

↓ Refined sugar

↓ processed wheat

↓ Too much dairy

Here are some foods that may help reduce the chances of inflammation or relieve any existing symptoms.

1.Oats:

You can use oats by making a bowl of oatmeal or a jar of overnight oats and top with fruit. Oats help your body fight inflammation and may help reduce any current inflammation that your body is dealing with.

2.Blueberries:

Blueberries can significantly reduce inflammation if consumed on a daily basis. Blueberries are rich in flavonoids, polyphenol, resveratrol and Vitamin C, all of which are well known for reducing inflammation. Blueberries consist of anti-oxidants which can easily turn off and block all forms of body inflammations.

3.Ginger:

Ginger is used in a variety of organic medicines because of its anti-disease, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. You can add it as a spice in your foods, drink ginger juice, or blend it with honey and drink as a health shot. The most pleasant way to consume ginger, however, is a daily cup of hot ginger tea.

4. Dark Chocolate:

Dark chocolate is one of the healthier varieties of chocolate. You can add some to your oats or combine it with fresh fruit to help reduce inflammation.

5. Turmeric:

Turmeric is also widely used in organic and all natural medicines. You can add to food as a spice or stir in a pinch to your milk or smoothie. Turmeric helps slow the production of the two most inflammatory enzymes, 5-LOX and COX-2.

There are a variety of foods you can add to your diet to help reduce or avoid inflammation. These are a few of the easiest and most accessible. If you are experiencing severe, chronic inflammation, however, be sure to get in touch. I have an 8-week programme designed to reduce inflammation, heal your gut and balance your hormones.   Click here to find out more.

Blueberries anti-inflammatory

The Best Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Written by trish on . Posted in Gut Health, Uncategorized.

Inflammation is your body’s way of protecting you from harmful stimuli or potential injury. Inflammation can appear in many forms, including pain, heat, swelling, redness, and a slowing down or complete halt of an organ’s function.

Inflammation may be either acute or chronic. Acute inflammation is the initial protective response of your body tissues and is most likely to be transient. Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is prolonged and can become severe.

Inflammation may be caused due to an imbalance of fungi and healthy bacteria in your body. It can also happen as a result of food allergies, toxic environment, stress, and bad diet.

Your diet plays a huge role in decreasing or increasing inflammation in your body. If you consume sugary foods, processed foods, or if you are regularly dehydrated, your body is more prone to inflammation while trying to heal itself.

Here are some foods that may help reduce the chances of inflammation or relieve any existing symptoms.

1. Oats:

You can use oats by making a bowl of oatmeal or a jar of overnight oats and top with fruit. Oats help your body fight inflammation and may help reduce any current inflammation that your body is dealing with.

2. Blueberries:

Blueberries can significantly reduce inflammation if consumed on a daily basis. Blueberries are rich in flavonoids, polyphenol, resveratrol and Vitamin C, all of which are well known for reducing inflammation. Blueberries consist of anti-oxidants which can easily turn off and block all forms of body inflammations.

3. Ginger:

Ginger is used in a variety of organic medicines because of its anti-disease, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. You can add it as a spice in your foods, drink ginger juice, or blend it with honey and drink as a health shot. The most pleasant way to consume ginger, however, is a daily cup of hot ginger tea.

4. Dark Chocolate:

Dark chocolate is one of the healthier varieties of chocolate. You can add some to your oats or combine it with fresh fruit to help reduce inflammation.

5. Turmeric:

Turmeric is also widely used in organic and all natural medicines. You can add to food as a spice or stir in a pinch to your milk or smoothie. Turmeric helps slow the production of the two most inflammatory enzymes, 5-LOX and COX-2.

There are a variety of foods you can add to your diet to help reduce or avoid inflammation. These are a few of the easiest and most accessible. If you are experiencing severe, chronic inflammation, however, be sure to consult a physician before making significant changes to your diet.

If you would like to learn more about hormone and gut tests book a call here

The benefits of Sauerkraut and how to prepare it

The benefits of Sauerkraut and how to prepare it

Written by trish on . Posted in Gut Health.

While you can certainly make sauerkraut from red or white cabbage. Red cabbage has a strong concentration of anthocyanin polyphenols and 6 x more vitamin C.

This recipe has huge health benefits including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capacities as well as being a powerful tonic for your gut.

Red Cabbage also more iron and vitamin A than white cabbage.

I love the combination. The colour is gorgeous.

It is especially beneficial in the treatment of ulcers and bloating.

A little bit every day is a great accompaniment to any meal.

 

Ingredients

1 head white cabbage

1 head red cabbage

– organic is better but if you can’t find it the fermentation process does help kill off any pesticides.

2 1/2 tablespoons grey Celtic salt or the best salt you can find. Use 1 Tablespoon salt for each 1 kg of cabbage

1 1/2 tablespoons juniper berries

1 tablespoon caraway seeds. These are optional. I have also used fennel seeds in the past.

 

Instructions

Prepare your fermentation vessel or glass jar. Make sure it is clean and sterile and the lid fits well.  This will make enough for 4- 5 medium size glass jars. If you have a tray to sit your glass jars on once full, this will prevent the juices overflowing and staining your shelf.

Clean the cabbage – Begin by removing the outer leaves of the cabbage if a bit old. Wash to remove potential contaminants.

Slice the cabbage into fat ribbons about 1 cm wide. The end result seems to work better when cutting with a sharp knife rather than grating or using the food processor.

Keep the dense end of the cabbage -it makes a handy lid for the ferment to help keep the contents submerged under the juice.

Place in a large bowl and add salt and spices, juniper berries and caraway seeds. Toss, bash, pound and massage the sliced cabbage with the salt and let sit for 30 minutes or until it starts to sweat.  The cabbage will be ready once you can squeeze juice and you begin to see a purple liquid at the bottom of the bowl.

Begin the process of filling your fermentation vessel or glass jar. Push down hard and compress out any air as you go.

Fill the jar but allow a small gap at the top as the contents will bubble when fermenting. Include any liquid at the bottom of the bowl.

Compress down hard using a pounder, rolling pin or your fist. You can place a weight on top of the cabbage to effectively submerge the contents of the jar.  The dense end of the cabbage is very handy for this. Your goal is to have the liquid cover the cabbage completely to provide an anaerobic environment within which the fermentation can take place.

After several hours you may be able to press the contents down further. If the cabbage looks a little dry add some filtered water to the top and stir in gently. Make sure a nice seal is made around the edge to keep oxygen and other potential contaminants out.

After 3 days you will need to burp your ferment. Open the jar carefully and submerge any cabbage that has come to the top. If you need to add a little more liquid or a weight to keep the cabbage submerged this will help keep oxygen out and allow the anaerobic process to occur.

Wait impatiently – Let it sit for a minimum of 2-3 weeks. You can easily leave it for 6 weeks or even months if desired. It will simply become sharper and sourer over time. Once you have reached your desire level of taste you can keep it in the fridge or on your shelf for many months to come.

I recommend a small amount of sauerkraut each day. It goes well with salad, broth and veggies for breakfast or a bowl of rice and steamed veg.

Play around with the flavour you like. Be brave in experimenting with flavour.  Fermenting is a combination of agitation and alchemy. Create magic in the kitchen and enjoy the benefits of this wonderful prebiotic for your gut.