Healing inflammation with food

Healing inflammation with food

Your diet plays a critical role in helping your body to heal.

Your diet plays a critical role in helping your body heal.

Inflammation is part of our body’s natural immune response, the first line of defense in protecting our bodies from invading organisms that enter our system through wounds or by contact with viruses and bacteria. Inflammation tends to attack the weakest organ system first, depending on genetics and/or pre-existing health conditions.

When inflammation gets out of control and does not heal, it creates a constant irritant that can result in different types of health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease. Autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and polymyalgia rheumatic, are also associated with chronic inflammation. In addition, inflammation can damage the body’s immune system as it continues to mistakenly initiate an inflammatory response even when there is no apparent need, such as in asthma, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. It is not surprising that, according to the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, “Inflammation has long been associated with the development of cancer.”

Fortunately, there is something we can do to reduce inflammation and help support our body’s healing process that does not require expensive drugs or surgery. (more…)

Why “No” to GMO

Why “No” to GMO

GMO is one of those acronyms everyone recognizes, but few people understand what it really means and why we should be concerned about eating them.

GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. An example regarding our food supply; GMO crops are those plants that scientists have changed their genetic makeup so they can withstand direct applications of herbicides and/or produce insecticides in order to control invasive weeds and insects that threaten certain crops.

Supporters for GMO crops claim that genetically engineered plants are the way of the future. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations the potential benefits of GMO plant foods are:

  • Better resistance to pests
  • Require the use of less pesticides
  • More nutritious
  • Higher crop yields
  • Longer shelf life
  • Cheaper to produce

On the surface it all sounds great, a win-win for agriculture, society and the environment. However, many concerns continue to surface. It can be difficult to find the facts when there have been so few scientific studies providing hard evidence proving its safety and widely conflicting opinions. As we await more studies to bring clarity, we must consider what little we know so far: (more…)

Understanding the ingredients list on food labels

Understanding the ingredients list on food labels

Congratulations! You are on the path to a healthier lifestyle. But how do you eat healthy when all you have time for is quick convenience foods?

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Avoid products like this with sugar and white flour…

Understanding the ingredients list on food labels of prepackaged foods is an important part of learning to make healthy choices. Some foods contain ingredients with complicated names that sound like they belong in a chemistry lab, not on your plate. To make matters even more confusing, the advertising of some products can be misleading, making you think their product is healthy when, in reality, it is laced with sugar, preservatives and/or trans fats.

Tools to deciphering the ingredient list: (more…)