Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food
Hippocrates
The philosophy of integral wellness can be summarized as a constant search for balance that reflects in our being and is achieved through an integrative work in different areas. It consists of 7 spheres: nutrition, spirituality, our ability to relate to others, movement, the ecosystem that surrounds us, our ability to resilience, and chrono-medicine, which is closely related to our ability to recover during sleep. In today's blog post, we will focus on anti-inflammatory nutrition.
Science strives to find how through natural elements, such as nutrients, we can stop processes such as aging caused by chronic inflammation.
Inflammation
Inflammation is a natural process of our body. Explaining what acute inflammation consists of is simple: we all remember the redness, heat, and swelling that accompany a good blow or a wound. But there is also chronic inflammation, which we are not aware of and is the one that accelerates the aging process.
This inflammation-related aging has its origins in certain lifestyle habits: a high consumption of sugars, a diet based on carbohydrates, exposure to excessive sunlight without proper protection, alcohol consumption, and tobacco use. All of these affect cellular health causing inflammation. This inflammation of cells has a direct relationship with the development of chronic diseases, but it also manifests in external damage reflected in the skin: thinner skin, expression lines, wrinkles, loss of muscular tone, sagging, and dull tone.
How to reduce inflammation
You may be wondering how to reduce this silent inflammation. There is a new research trend called "Inflammaging," which is a new immunometabolic viewpoint to explain the relationship between inflammation and aging. We know that nutrition is a tool we have to prevent this process.
The University of Arizona proposes that, in general, we avoid foods that promote inflammation: dairy products; saturated and hydrogenated fats found in margarine; added sugars; wheat found in bread, industrial pastry products, pasta, and processed meats.
Tips
Reduce sugar intake: A low-sugar diet has shown a benefit in controlling inflammation. To do this, we will choose foods without added sugar and choose to sweeten with fruits and vegetables that are naturally sweet, such as raisins, dates, carrots, and beets. Honey or Stevia leaves are also a great ally.
Choose your proteins wisely: Proteins from legumes, pseudo cereals such as millet or quinoa, and fish that are rich in polyunsaturated omega-3 fats should predominate. We know that diets based on processed meats such as sausages, cold cuts, and hamburgers are high in Omega-6, a pro-inflammatory type of fat that we should definitely decrease in our diet.
Reduce dairy intake: Any element that is abused has inflammatory effects, and the idea that dairy products are the source of calcium has produced an excess of their consumption. Supermarket shelves are full of proposals for milk, yogurt, creams, butter, and cheese. There is a direct allergen that is lactose that appears in people who have this type of food intolerance, but without reaching that spectrum the overuse of this type of food produces chronic silent inflammation, the basis of aging.
Watch your wheat consumption: Just as monoculture harms the soil, consuming a single cereal inflames our body. If you think about how many times you have eaten wheat today, you would be surprised: bread for breakfast, pies with wheat-based or pasta lunches, pastry pastries for snacks are made of wheat, and even the toast that accompanies the chickpea hummus appetizer at dinner is made of wheat. In times where nature has spoken to us and we are in search of what is #naturalinyou, we want to bring you this information so that you have a philosophy of life based on integral well-being and food as our first medicine.
Conclusion
Anti-inflammatory nutrition is a choice, and by adopting all of these tips, you will see them reflected in your longevity. It is in our hands to change small habits that are everything for our health.
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