Reducing inflammation
The 5 R Approach for Gut healing
As it is widely accepted that inflammation begins in the gut, this is a good place to start.
This approach comes from Functional Medicine- an evidence based, individualised and holistic approach to medicine aimed at discovering and addressing root causes of illness.
Remove
Pathogens, excess yeast, parasites and so on. There are comprehensive gut tests that can tell you about this or questionnaires that can shed light on it.
Also remove environmental triggers that you are aware of including foods you are sensitive to. (See elimination diet below)
Replace
Digestive enzymes or hydrochloric acid that might be lacking. Again symptoms can indicate whether this is the case for you.
Reseed
With good probiotic bacteria or beneficial yeast as well as prebiotics to feed them in order to help rebalance your gut flora.
Repair
With gut healing foods and supplements including zinc, glutamine, vitamin D, bone broths.
Rebalance
This is all about lifestyle changes and stress management to ensure that your gut stays healthy.
What is an anti-inflammatory diet?
A general approach would involve eating a ‘clean’ diet of natural whole foods, grass fed or free range meat and organic animal products, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.
As a general rule one could say remove junk food, fast food, processed meats, and processed refined carbs (i.e biscuits, packaged cakes & sweets) containing trans fats, additives, sweeteners and sugar. This is the base line.
One then eliminates common dietary triggers such as gluten containing grains like wheat, rye and barley whilst adding in specific anti-inflammatory foods.
What is inflammatory for one person may not be inflammatory for someone else. This is why an elimination diet can be helpful.
Elimination diet
This is the gold standard for identifying food sensitivities.
As a very minimum you would remove gluten, dairy, sugar, and alcohol. If you wanted to be more thorough you could remove soy, corn, eggs, caffeine, peanuts, and yeast for a period of time as they can all be inflammatory. You would also remove those foods you knew you were personally reactive towards.
Also good to pay attention to foods you eat a lot of or tend to crave as they can be inflammatory too. OMG! Yes, this can seem impossible. This is why it’s best to start small and achievable and with the support of friends and family and a nutritional therapist.
How Long for?
As short as 3 weeks (some say a minimum of 23 days is ideal) and as long as 6 weeks or more. One normally experiences an improvement in symptoms. If not one needs to think about eliminating other food groups. One then slowly reintroduces the foods back in one at a time and notices symptoms or reactions after a couple of days.
This can help facilitate gut healing if also following the other steps of the 5 R approach and can also shed light on your particular food intolerances.
As mentioned, for some people this may not be enough and they will need to go further and remove nuts, seeds, nightshades and even all grains and legumes (AI paleo diet) if they have an auto-immune condition.*
There are of course nuances as some people are intolerant of seemingly healthy foods. This applies to those with amine, salicylate, oxalate or FODMAP sensitivities.
*Please don’t attempt this without the support of a qualified nutritional therapist
Anti-Inflammatory foods
Omega 3s- Alpha linolenic acid or more specifically EPA and DHA are highly anti-inflammatory. They can be found in organic eggs, oily fish such as sardines, mackerel, anchovies, salmon and herring, grass-fed beef or in seeds such as flax and hemp. Also found in walnuts.
Olive, hemp, linseed, walnut oil- though do not heat!
Turmeric- powdered or fresh. Curcumin is the active anti-inflammatory compound. See turmeric latte recipe here.
Ginger- as above
Avocados- Contain healthy mono-unsaturated fats and other beneficial nutrients.
Whole foods- this means minimally processed ie no white flour products like pastries, biscuits and so on. Instead try cooked brown rice, quinoa etc.. Remember though that for some people with very damaged guts, all grains can be inflammatory and are best removed during the gut healing process or at least the gluten containing ones.
Most vegetables - Unless you are sensitive to them usually because of some kind of gut imbalance/dysbiosis. *Nightshades such as aubergines, peppers and tomatoes can be inflammatory for some people. Cruciferous veggies like broccoli and cauliflower are particularly good.
Berries- especially blueberries tend to be less sweet than other fruits and are high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.
Fiber- High intake of dietary soluble and insoluble fiber is associated with lowering levels of inflammatory cytokines. Good sources are linseeds, oats, pulses and vegetables and fruits in general.
Mung beans- Rich in flavonoids. A traditional food and herbal medicine known for its anti-inflammatory effects.
Magnesium is known to be a very anti-inflammatory mineral. Mg rich foods are spinach, chard, cashews, soybeans, black beans, quinoa, sesame seeds.
Green Tea- Is known to be full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds and is a good alternative to coffee if you are more sensitive to caffeine.
Other ways to keep inflammation at bay:
Keep your blood sugars balanced. Eat a low glycemic diet. Read this blog post.
Don’t cook with refined vegetable oils- use ghee, butter, avocado or coconut oil.
Support your body’s natural detoxification pathways. Read more here.
Manage your stress. Read this blog post.
Exercise regularly- at least 30 mins three times a week.
Make sure you get enough sleep- aim for 8 hours a night and practise good sleep hygiene.
Avoid smoking- Cigarette smoking is associated with lowering the production of anti-inflammatory molecules.
Eat slowly and mindfully and only until you are 80% full
Manage your weight- obesity is associated with the release of inflammatory cytokines from the fat tissues themselves.
Take anti-inflammatory supplements such as fish oils or algae based Omega 3s, N-Acetyl Cysteine, Curcumin & Ginger.
Address thyroid health
References:
https://www.ifm.org/news-insights/5r-framework-gut-health/
The Functional Nutrition Cookbook, 2013. Nicolle & Bailey. Singing Dragon: London.
Pahwa R, Goyal A, Bansal P, et al. Chronic Inflammation. [Updated 2020 Nov 20]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493173/
Fasano A. All disease begins in the (leaky) gut: role of zonulin-mediated gut permeability in the pathogenesis of some chronic inflammatory diseases. F1000Res. 2020;9:F1000 Faculty Rev-69. Published 2020 Jan 31. doi:10.12688/f1000research.20510.1
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12540/the-simple-elimination-diet-that-could-change-your-life-forever.html
Calder PC. Omega-3 fatty acids and inflammatory processes. Nutrients. 2010;2(3):355-374. doi:10.3390/nu2030355
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-anti-inflammatory-foods#TOC_TITLE_HDR_15
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=75
