PART TWO - THE ANTI-INFLAMMATION DIET FUEL YOUR MACHINE

“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or slowest form of poison.” Ann Wigmore

OVERVIEW: DON’T FEED YOUR STOMACH – FUEL YOUR BODY

IT’S NO SECRET: MODERN MEDICINE IS a marvelous success. We’re living longer lives than our ancestors, in no small part thanks to the incredible scientific and medical advancements we’ve made. Immunization, open-heart surgery, chemotherapy, dialysis, organ transplant... the list goes on and on. As a result of our well-founded trust in the medical community, when something is wrong with our bodies or we want to make a change, we often look first to the medicine cabinet. Pharmaceutical remedies ranging from over-the-counter ibuprofen to prescription heart disease medication can be helpful, and often even life saving. But the truth is, we also have the power to cure many ailments ourselves, simply by fueling our bodies properly so they can work more effectively and efficiently. In other words, by eating what our systems want and need – not just what tastes good.

Many diseases that plague us are started and sustained by a common denominator. Chronic inflammation doesn’t happen overnight–it builds over time, until your immune system and other defenses are simply exhausted and unable to independently continue running as fluidly as they once did. We have the tools to prevent this from happening, and it starts with eating more vegetables, heavying up on antioxidants and omega-3s, and cutting out red meat and processed foods. Following an anti-inflammatory diet can keep food-based stress at bay, and can improve markers of physical and mental health more generally. In the posts that follow, I’ll provide everything you need to get started.