Hey all, looking for some natural anti-inflammatories that I can take over long periods of time, i.e.when the training mileage really starts to pile up.
I just read some information on tart cherry juice concentrate. A study out of the University of Michigan (Journal of Natural Products, 1999) supported the anti-inflammatory properties of cherry juice.
The “Natural Remedies” book here in the library also lists pineapple juice as a natural anti-inflammatory.
I’d be interested in other natural foods/herbs that have anti-inflammatory properties that I can incorporate into my diet during heavy training.
Can’t give you specific recommendations, but check out the book “Healing with Whole Foods”; it is a fantastic resource for triathletes looking for naturopathic remedies and diets.
What a coincidence…isn’t Michigan the leading producer of cherries?
Edited:
Supply: Tart cherries
Tart cherry production in the United States totaled 213 million lb. on 36,950 acres in 2004. Total U.S. production of tart cherries in 2004 was 106,500 tons. Less than 1 percent of tart cherry production in the United States is for fresh use. In 2004, three states produced 90 percent of the harvest. The top producing states were Michigan with 70 percent (149 million lb.) of total production, followed by Utah (22 million lb.) and Washington (17.5 million lb.). The total value of U.S. tart cherry production reached $70.8 million in
Omega-3 fatty acids… fish oil is the best source (EPA and DHA fats) but after that, flax seed oil.
You might want to explain whether you need anti-inflammatories for a specific area (like a joint issue) or you are concerned about general inflammatory responses which the body creates during hard training.
What I listed above re: fatty acids is for a general inflammatory state. Any specific issues needs specific information from you.
in general, clean whole foods will keep your body’s inflamation down. there are some naturopaths that feel cancer is basically a by-product of inflamation. it is my opinion that this will be a bigger topic in years to come.
but anyway here is quickie list, just some foods that are said to soothe tissues and provide a balancing effect in the body:
-organic chicken broth with celery, green onion, and asparagus
-olive oils
-egg whites
-salmon
-tomatos
-rolled whole oats
-dark leafy greens
-papaya
-omega 3’s (as mentioned in another post)
-mushrooms, onions, asparagus, brussel sprouts, and other pungent vegetables
-beets, turnips
-lemon
-green tea, black tea
-nuts, preferably straight out of the shell
-red potatos (boiled or steamed)
the whole foods book really is the best recommendation, you can see for yourself all of the foods and what they do.
also don’t forget herbs and other seasonings. cinnamon is becoming a popular power food. Try to eat spicy additives, like crushed red pepper flakes, chilis, fresh ground black pepper, ginger, ginseng, etc. all of these are good for circulation, get the heat up in the body, are effective in fighting off infection, and keep the fluids moving. you can even add them to a hot bath to get your circulation up (but read about it first, so you don’t overwhelm your body).
Good topic. How do they measure the level of inflammation in the body? With that measurement established, it would be fairly simple to quantify the anti-inflammatory effect of various foods.
This is a guess, since it’s been about 18 years since I was sitting in a nutrition lecture, but isn’t the stress hormone cortisol produced/released during inflammation?
I think it is pretty accepted that anti-inflammatories are dangerous, especially to filter organs like Kidneys, Pancreas, Liver, etc. Seems like cancers in these organs of highly trained athletes (Sean Elliott, Alonso Mourning) are attributed to prolonged usage of anti-inflammatories at high doses.
If the inflammation is localized, invest in some good refreezable ice packs. Ice immediately after strenuous exercise on problem joints or muscles can virtually eliminate inflammation and the problems associated with it, and nothing get’s put into your body to digest, filter, break down, or alter body chemistry. Ice baths following strenuous workouts and games are the norm at the professional level of contact sports, and with the money they have invested in them I think they are probably on to something.
“there are some naturopaths that feel cancer is basically a by-product of inflamation.”
Interesting. And I just read an article about how recent research is causing cardiologists to rethink heart disease as well. They are now saying that it has more to do with inflammation of the arteries, and total amount of food consumed, rather than with cholesterol.
The article also pointed out that most processed foods are inflammatory, and most whole foods (though not all) are anti-inflammatory.
If so, then the replacement of whole foods with processed foods in the Western diet, plus the general increase in portion size, might partly explain both the cancer epidemic and the heart disease epidemic in the US and parts of Europe.
I agree with Kittycat’s list. I have a couple of tablespoons of ground flax seed with my oats every morning. Also Salmon is good an if you eat Indian food, then Turmeric (sp) is supposed to be really good (that is the spice that makes the food yellow).
I’ve not read that natural/whole foods are anti-inflammatory, but processed foods are absolutely inflammatory to just about every system in the body. Eating should not elicit a stress response IMOP. But processed foods taste so damn good:-(
well, i forgot all about the curries! see, i’m in such a food rut lately.
but also, anise (particularlly for women), oregano (for lungs and respitory), parsley (overall cleansing), celery seeds, garlic (everyone knows this), cranberries, watermelon (for the gut), organic prunes, pumpkin.
basically whole colorful foods. i am not familiar with thai spices, but is something i’m going to research soon and start using. alot of them have health properties and are very tasty.
To answer some questions, no I am not seeking to treat any specific ailment. My thinking was that if I can make a conscious effort to eat more of these natural foods with some (however small) anti-inflammatory properties during peak training it can only help with recovery.
Every year I make a short list of small, postive changes that I want to make to my diet. Over the past couple of years I feel that these small changes have significantly improved my overall health as well as improved my training/recovery.