Anyone familiar with the anti-inflammatory diet?

Hi all,

In an attempt to speed up the healing of my knee (still inflamed 4 months after I fell and banged it), I'm trying this "new" diet (seems to be flavor of the month as far as diets go, there are a bunch of books out there). I'm wondering if anyone else here's tried it, and how it's worked? It's pretty straightforward and common sense-

no sugar, no refined carbs, no potatoes, no dairy
lots of veg/fruit, particularly cooked spinach, canteloupe, pineapple
nuts and seeds are ok, particularly walnuts and pumpkin seeds
whole grains, beans and legumes are ok, except no wheat
lots of water
cold water fish and/or fish oil or flax seed oil
only olive oil or sesame oil
everything organic

It's not too hard as I'm a vegetable/whole grain lover, but the no sugar part is very hard for me (and I'm only on day 3 :eek: ).

Anyone have any experience with the effectiveness of this? It is certainly making some major changes on my digestive system.....

Thanks!
Amy

Hi Ace:

How is the A-IF eating going? I haven't tried it yet, but was thinking it might help me with a few health issues.

Hey there, I have nothing to add about the anti-inflam diet, per se

But my partner took processed sugar out of his diet to reduce cramping and it worked - so I guess there is a tenuous link there.

He had sugar cravings too, but after about 2 weeks they settled and i just made sure he has plenty of milk and fresh fruit to provide the "natural" sugars he needed.

Good luck

Hi BG-

So here's how it's going so far-

11 days on the diet (w/o sugar, dairy, wheat, refined carbs; eating lots of fish oil, fish, vegetables, no nightshade veggies, everything organic, lots of nuts, only oils olive oil and sesame oil, eating lots of canteloupe and pineapple)
Definitely the swelling in my knee is better
My energy is through the roof, almost too much because I think I was so sluggish from eating lots of sugar.
I've lost 8 lbs (but I weigh over 200 lbs to start with, so that's not a crazy amount for me)

I think the trick for me is moving to incorporate some of these foods back in without going crazy. I honestly think I might only have sugar very, very rarely, but I don't think dairy and wheat are such an issue for me, so I may try adding back small quantities and see what happens.

Let me know if you need more info, and good luck with your health issues.

too much refined sugar may be causing the sugar crash...

I know most tropical fruit like pinapple have an enzyme which is supposed to help your body recover. (Its also the same enzyme which keeps jello from setting up). Other tropical fruit would be kiwi. Not sure about bananna though. Mango and papaya should also help with inflamation.

Heck of lot better than getting cortisone shots. Major yeowee..

Mango salsa:

dice up about a cup of mango (fresh or frozen).
2 - 3 TBS of finly minced shallot or mild onion
juice of one lime
salt to taste

method:
combine all three in non reactive bowl (glass, ceramic or stainless). Let it set for 5-10 minutes. salt to taste if any. then refrigerate until ready to serve. If its too sour add more chopped mango.

serve it as a condiment for grilled/roasted chicken
topping for salad ...

Shawn

Bananas are not good on this diet for some reason.

As for the cortisone shots, I may end up having to get one ultimately. I'm going on my bike trip to Italy in 8 weeks, so if the diet doesn't fix me up, I think my doc is going to give me a shot.

So I will ignore your comment about "major yeowee," though it's probably accurate. The only way I'll be able to get the shot is not to think about how much it's going to hurt beforehand. :)

Fresh pineapple is such a pain for me...hard to find, hard to cut, just plain hard to stock in my kitchen (go ahead...call me lazy! :p )

What would recommend: canned or dried? to get the maximum benefits of the pineapple?

Thanks

Definitely canned over dried- just not canned in sugar!

Lots of groceries sell fresh pineapple, either cut up or just the core, and you can cut it up at home. Maybe you can find that?

DUH!...I rarely look at the pre-cut fruits cause most of what I eat is pretty simple to eat without alot of chopping (I did admit I am lazy right?)

I will browse that department on my next visit!

***is it Friday yet?


Glad to hear the diet is working for you!!! ...and thanks for the tip!

Both my local Whole Foods and Safeway sell it pre-cut....good luck :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bouncybouncy

DUH!...I rarely look at the pre-cut fruits cause most of what I eat is pretty simple to eat without alot of chopping (I did admit I am lazy right?)

I will browse that department on my next visit!

***is it Friday yet?


Glad to hear the diet is working for you!!! ...and thanks for the tip!

---

Bouncy-

Try GreenLife and Earthfare up there. Harris Teeter might have it too.

I'm also fond of the stuff in the plastic jars - on the shelf with canned, usually natural juice not syrup.

CA