Anti-Inflammatory Menu Components

Anti-inflammatory foods are foods which do not promote inflammation in the body. The following list is provided by Wendy Kohatsu, M.D., Director of the Integrative Medicine Fellowship at Santa Rosa Family Medical Residency Clinic in California.  Dr. Kohatsu is interested in the integration of primary care with nutrition, lifestyle changes, mind and body therapies and botanical medicine. She studied under Dr. Andrew Weil, at the University of Arizona in 1999 and has since gone on to receive her professional culinary degree in 2008. Along with her regular private practice she teaches healthy cooking classes at wellness centers and national conferences. She hopes to inspire her patients to not only eat healthier but to use food as medicine. I had the good fortune to have her as my primary care physician for a few years before she left to take her current position. It is interesting to find out that 'anti-inflammatory foods' is a passion of her practice. I did not know this until I found her list online through my research. It is a perfect representation of her healthcare focus.

Dr. Kohatsu describes this list of foods as evidence based principles to promote health, prevent and reduce inflammation in the body and generally be a helpful diet for patients with heart disease, diabetes, and chronic pain illnesses.  The following items are guidelines for a healthy diet.

1) Ensure adequate omega-3 intake.

         Eat two servings (4 ounces each) of fatty fish per week, or supplement with 1
         gram combined EPA + DHA daily.
         Reduce use of omega-6 fats.  Keep the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in range of
         2:1 – 4:1.

2) Choose healthy fats. 
        Substitute olive oil for other vegetable oils, trans-fats, or butter in cooking for health
        benefits. (I suggest you consider coconut oil as well. See previous post.) 

3) Increase vegetable and fruit intake (especially vegetables)
        Eat 5 - 9 servings of vegetables and fruit per day - more than
        half should be vegetables.
        Color your diet!  -- deeply-colored fruits and vegetables contain
        higher amounts of protective phytochemicals.
        Use the visual plate method – the biggest portion, half your plate should be vegetables
        (excluding starchy vegetables like potatoes, peas or corn).

4) Choose whole grain carbohydrates and limit the portion sizes to 1/4 of your plate.
        Choose carbs that are whole grain (requires chewing!), and aim for total
        of 25 grams of fiber per day.

5) Incorporate plant-based proteins (legumes) and/or choose lean, natural animal
         sources of protein as the other 1/4 of your plate.

6) Spice it up!   Include garlic, turmeric, rosemary, ginger, and cayenne in your
         diet.

7) Eat mindfully - use a small salad plate instead of a dinner plate.
         Adopt the Okinawan philosophy of “hara hachi bu” – stopping when nearly 8/10 full
         and paying attention to hunger and satiety signals.
         Regardless of how healthy your food choices are, excess calories from any source
         increase inflammation and obesity.

8) Focus on the whole diet pattern, not just components. Choose foods that are closest
         to their natural form (i.e., less processed).

9) Keep your weight under control.
         It is especially important to prevent and reduce obesity, especially abdominal obesity,
         as obesity itself sets up chronic inflammatory responses in the body.

10) Don’t forget dark chocolate! – 2 ounces of dark (70% cocoa mass or greater)
         chocolate as your treat once a week.


Hope these guidelines along with my other postings about nightshade vegetables and alkaline foods help you to make wise food choices in the days ahead. Thanks for coming by today, and may you be blessed each day. Hope to see you again soon! Please leave your comments or questions.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods That Improve HDL

Many people have high cholesterol and are either making dietary choices or taking medications to achieve proper LDL and HDL levels. Simply put, the LDL (low density lipoprotein) is considered to be the "bad" cholesterol that builds up in your the arteries and causes heart disease.  The HDL (high density lipoprotein) is the "good" cholesterol which eliminates the bad cholesterol from building up in your arteries. When your HDL level is above 60 mg/dl, your risk of heart disease or heart attack decreases.

There are several anti-inflammatory foods which increase HDL levels. These foods are easy to include in your everyday diet.

Avocado - great on salads, sandwichs and as a dip. Tip: avocados are high in calories, so portion control is key. Add a little squeeze of lemon or lime juice to prevent darkening.

Niacin rich foods or supplements - are believed to block cholesterol production in the body. Foods high in niacin include crimini mushrooms, chicken breast, halibut, tomato, romaine lettuce and enriched breads and cereals. Niacin supplements may cause side effects like flushing, itching or headaches. Tip: Slow release tablets may minimize any side effects.

     

Legumes - are excellent sources of HDL friendly soluble fiber. Tip: Indian spices (cumin, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric, paprika) are a tasty addition to lentils. These seasonings have been found to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Salmon - and other omega 3 rich fish like halibut, lake trout, tuna, mackerel and herring are heart healthy fats which should be eaten at least twice a week. Tip: By adding a chopped almond crust to the fish, you increase the omega 3 fats even more.

        

Olive Oil - is high in unsaturated fats and can help elevate your HDL levels. Tip: Oil is high in fats and calories, so practice portion control.

Fiber - includes whole grains. Foods high in soluble fiber are especially helpful to raise HDL and lower LDL. Oatmeal is an excellent source of soluble fiber as is rice, whole wheat, quinoa and barley. Tip: Choose a whole grain to eat daily.

    

Nuts - are a good source of heart healthy fats. Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, and pecans can be added to salads, yogurt, cereals, rice or pasta dishes. Tip: Although nuts are more than half fat, they are high in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Limit your portion to one handful.

Cholesterol levels are also affected by blood pressure and blood glucose. If these two factors are high, your cholesterol numbers may be off as well. These 3 factors can increase your risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Choosing to add the foods listed above to your daily diet will help lower your health risks to live a longer, healthier life.

Thanks for stopping by today for a visit. Hope you found this an interesting and helpful topic that you can integrate into your life. 

The Nutrient Factors

Often times we would like to find out the nutritional information of a specific food or perhaps analyze a recipe. Nutritiondata.self.com has an extensive database with thousands of foods allowing you a unique opportunity to select a food and query as to it's nutritional values.  By clicking on the food summary, you will see the ever familiar nutritional fact label, breaking down per serving calories and percentage of daily nutritional needs. There are colorful diagrams for Fullness & Nutrition Factors along with a Caloric Ratio. Included in the analysis is a Glycemic Index load and an Inflammation Factor for the food. The final two diagrams offer the visual impact of the percentage of essential nutrients in the form of proteins, fats, and vitamins  and the quality of the essential amino acids. Because this is such a colorful visual presentation, it is very impressive. Click on this link to view the nutritional value of an avocado: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1844/2

Another unique feature of Nutritiondata.self.com is the ability to enter a recipe and find out it's nutritional value. This helps to analyze the breakdown of calories, fats and carbohydrates. After entering your ingredients and the amounts, you can save and analyze the recipe. If you wish to make substitutions at this time you can go back and change ingredients, making healthier substitutions and then view the nutritional changes. Click here to see my (anti-inflammatory) recipe for Chicken Chile: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/recipe/2039662/2

A final enjoyable feature of the website is the "Topics" menu offering current articles on: Dieting & Weight Loss, Heart Health, Diabetes, Better Choices Diet, Glycemic Index, Fullness Factor, Fatty Acids, Food Additives, Effects of Processing Foods, Recipes and Nutrition News.

The Nutrition Data website is centered around making wise choices for eating healthier foods. You can choose to track your daily food journal and at the end the day view the complete analysis (as listed above) and see if the foods you are eating are a source of inflammation in your body. You can learn to explore new foods by selecting one of the epicurious recipes and immediately know whether it fits into your food plan or not, by the list of nutrients given with the recipe. You can make food planning fun again by visiting this website and clicking on the various buttons. Enjoy your day by treating yourself to this new tool.

Healthy Meal Planners

So many people with diabetes have trouble knowing how many carbs to eat, which food categories to choose them from and how to keep track of them. Why is this important? Because carbohydrates have the greatest impact on raising or stabilizing our blood sugars. Too much (or too little) sugar in the blood creates huge risks for diabetics. 

I was pretty excited when I found an online guide for a Type 2 Diabetes Meal Planner* (click here). This 2 page* planner shows 1,200 - 2,500 calorie plans with a defined number of exchanges for starches, fruits, milk, vegetables, meat (substitutes), and fats. It also has an extended food list for substitutions. Since I have followed a Weight Watcher plan in the past, food exchanges and substitutions make sense to me. Using the 1500 calorie diet*, I copied the basic guideline into an Excel document and added space for my own choices. (Sorry for the misalignment of the lines - it just won't format correctly in the posting section.)

1500 CALORIE DIABETIC MEAL PLANNER

1200 Calorie                                         1500 Calorie

 Exchanges        SAMPLE MENU      Adjustments          Write Down Your Food Choices

                                                                     (Per Page 1*)                     (Use Page 2* for Food Substitutions)

                                                               

BREAKFAST

1 Starch               1/2 English Muffin     Add 1 Starch     _____________________________

1 Fruit                  1/2 (med) Banana                                _____________________________

1 Milk                  1 pkg Hot Cocoa                                 _____________________________

LUNCH

1 Starch                1 oz Tortilla (6")       Add 1 Starch     _____________________________

2 Meat                  1 oz Chicken                                      _____________________________

                             1 oz Cheese                                        _____________________________

1 Vegetable          1/2 cup Green Beans                          _____________________________

1 Fruit                   2" raw Apple                                     _____________________________

1 Fat                     2 Tbsp Lite Ranch Dressing              _____________________________

SNACK

Nothing                (Unless you save an item from lunch)      

DINNER

2 Starches             1/3 cup Rice            Add 1 Fat          _____________________________

                             1 oz Corn Chips                                _____________________________

2 Meat                  2 oz Ground Chicken                        _____________________________

1 Vegetable          Chopped Onion                                 _____________________________

1 Fruit                   1/2 cup Canned Fruit                        _____________________________

2 Fat                     2 tsp olive oil or butter                      _____________________________

SNACK

1 Starch                 3 cups Lite Popcorn                         _____________________________

1 Milk                   8 oz Low-Fat Rice Milk                   _____________________________

GOAL:          Starches: 7        Fruits: 3      Milk: 2       Meats: 4       Vegetables: 2       Fats: 4

YOUR

DAILY          Starches: ___   Fruits: ___   Milk: ___   Meats: ___   Vegetables: ___   Fats: ___

TOTALS

Nutrition is such a complex science. Carbohydrates are found in grains, nuts, fruits, milks and even vegetables. Simple and complex carbohydrates along with fiber play a key role in the management of diabetes. Understanding how to break down the carb count into the various food categories is one thing. Deciphering endless nutrititional information along with controversial food theories of researchers and physicians is quite another. Diabetics must coordinate their food choices along with their insulin dosage or glucose-lowering medications to best stabilize their blood sugars. It's a confusing mess that can leave one with glucose readings which are either too high or too low, and thereby we end up feeling like a failure for getting results which are less than what we strived for. Sometimes we just want to throw up our hands in defeat and hopelessness.

My online research proved difficult in finding a diabetic meal planner with nutritional exchanges. I found this online guide at the Huntsville Pediatric & Adult Medicine Associates webpage. The reviews for this clinic were favorable to outstanding, so I was hopeful this would become a valued guide and useful tool.  

The American Diabetes Association website offers no meal planners or breakdown of food exchanges for carbohydrates. It does define a carbohydrate exchange as 15 grams. The ADA recommends each meal contain 3-4 carb exchanges in the range of 45-60 grams but also says this varies from person to person. The conversion of grams to calories is 1 gram equals 4 calories*. By this general recommendation we would consume somewhere around 180 to 240 calories of carbohydrate per meal. Snacks are suggested to be 4 exchanges or 60 grams of carbohydrate equaling 240 calories.  Taking  into account the 1500 calorie diet would provide 13-16 carbohydrate exchanges equaling 195-240 grams or 780-960 calories.  The carbohydrate servings would make up 52.0-64.0% of the total diet.

My calculation of the "online planner" shows that the 1500 calorie diet includes 12 exchanges of carbohydrate (at 15 grams per exchange) which totals 180 grams or 720 calories, resulting in a percentage of 40.8% of the overall diet. I will check with my nutritionist to see whether I should increase the number of carb exchanges in this planner, and if so, in which of the food exchange categories would this addition be the most beneficial to my health and well-being.

It took a lot of research to get to this point. I'm tired - and perhaps you are too. But if you are a diabetic, I hope this provides some valuable information to you! Thanks for checking in today. Take good care of yourself and keep track of your eating habits and log them in a journal to share with your healthcare provider. Tracking your exchanges gives insight and opportunity to make educated changes.