Pair your food right to fight inflammation

Foods like leafy greens, citrus foods and tomatoes can help you fight inflammation. And with the right pairing, you can see amazing results.

You must have often heard the term inflammation being used to describe health conditions. But what exactly is it? This is nothing but the body's natural response to protect itself from harm. You may experience an inflammatory response when you cut your finger or graze your knee. The redness and swelling that occurs is an inflammatory response of your body. In case of many viral infections too your immune system induces inflammation to protect you. But sometimes, you may experience chronic inflammation because of toxins or an excess of fat cells. If left unattended, it can lead to conditions like atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes. Therefore, you need to control chronic inflammation to protect yourself from diseases.

According to a study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, chronic inflammation can lead to chronic diseases, but it can be reduced naturally through proper diet. According to researchers, anti-inflammatory foods like leafy greens, citrus foods and tomatoes help a lot in avoid this situation. Another study at the University of Liverpool identifies foods that can help prevent chronic inflammation. Researchers of this study say that diets rich in fruits and vegetables, which contain polyphenols, protect against age-related inflammation and chronic diseases. They also add that older people are more susceptible to chronic inflammation and as such they may benefit from supplementing their diets with isorhamnetin, resveratrol, curcumin and vanillic acid or with food sources that yield these bioactive molecules.

Here, let us look at a few food combinations that can help you fight off chronic inflammation.

Brown rice with onions and garlic

If you combine garlic and onion with brown rice and whole wheats, your body's absorption of zinc goes up by almost three times. Zinc is one nutrient that can bring down the risk of many chronic inflammation-related diseases like atherosclerosis, cancer, neurodegeneration, and immunologic disorders) by almost 66 per cent.

Sweet potatoes with cayenne pepper

Next time you have sweet potatoes, just sprinkle a generous helping of cayenne pepper on it. It will help your body absorb vitamin A in a better manner. This vitamin helps your body fight inflammatory skin conditions like acne and also bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Broccoli with olive oil

This is one of the best anti-inflammatory food combos. Olive oil contains antioxidants, phytonutrients and monounsaturated fatty acids. Broccoli is loaded with vitamins and minerals like potassium and magnesium. It is also a rich source of flavonoids and carotenoids, which fights chronic inflammation. Olive oil enhances the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins in broccoli and also antioxidants like lutein and beta-carotene.

Cauliflower with turmeric

Turmeric is the best anti-inflammatory food. It contains curcumin which has amazing anti-inflammatory properties. When you add this to vitamin C-rich cauliflower, the effects are amazing. Cauliflower is also rich in vitamins K and folate, which again help you fight inflammation.