Apr 5, 2022 05:30 PM with Jan | https://vimeo.com/696329352 Password: 22Aprilhealth
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Persistent inflammation leads to chronic inflammation. So it’s key to tune into inflammation and make adjustments before it becomes persistent or chronic.
Chronic inflammation causes changes at the site of the inflammation or in the body and this t can lead to a host of health problems.
Chronic inflammation can come on forma myriad of reasons. Hormonal or immune system changes that create inflammation that affects the entire body. Other influences can bring on inflammation:
Smoking
Alcohol abuse
Chronic infections, like Hep B or autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, or exposure to chemicals or toxic substances.
And Chronic stresses
Certain foods Cause inflammation in the body- process foods, sugar, alcohol, Foods that increase inflammation include those that are high in omega-6 fatty acids. Yes, these fats are important to brain function, bone health, and also metabolism (the conversion of food to energy), But the problem is that we consume too many of them and they often are not high quality. All this can increase inflammation. Foods high in omega-6 fatty acids include:
Dairy products (such as milk, cheese, butter, and ice cream)
Margarine
Meats, from animals that eat grains
Peanuts
Vegetable oils (such as corn, canola, avocado, safflower, soybean, peanut, and cottonseed oil)
Balancing omega-6 fatty acids with your omega-3 fatty acids is key.
According to a 2016 study in the journal Endocrine, an anti-inflammatory diet led to a 37% decrease in inflammatory substances, such as C-reactive protein, in people with type 2 diabetes after just one year.
Omega-3 fatty acids are "good fats" that may help protect against heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and other conditions. Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids include:
Flaxseed
Oily fish (such as salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines, and anchovies)
Omega-3-fortified foods (including organic and pastured raised eggs and milk)
Avocados
The anti-inflammatory diet ( and exercise and good sleep) provides many benefits: Improvement of symptoms of inflammatory bowel syndrome, arthritis, l and other autoimmune disorders. The anti-inflammatory diet can decreased risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, depression, cancer, and other diseases.
An anti-inflammatory diet is thought to help prevent conditions like heart disease, arthritis, and even cancer by reducing the level of inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation is associated with an increased risk of all of these diseases.
Research suggests that people who eat a lot of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, healthy oils, and fish have a reduced risk for inflammation-related diseases. Substances found in certain foods, especially antioxidants and omega
Avocados
Berries (such as blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
Vegetables Like Broccoli Raabe, Broccoli, Bok Choy, Asparagus, Etc.
Cherries
Dark green leafy vegetables (such as kale, chard, spinach, and collard greens)
Purple and Orange Sweet potatoes
If you stick to the attached Pantry List, you will eat an Anti-inflammatory Diet.
Seaweed
Seaweed is a term that refers to marine plants that grow in waters around the world. Look for Eden, and
Wakame
Dulse
Kombu
Kelp
Sea lettuce
Nori
Arame
Chlorella
Most seaweeds contain nutrients such as:
Vitamin A
Vitamin B1
Vitamin B2
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Vitamin K
Calcium
Folate
Potassium
Iron
Manganese
Copper
Seaweed contains many antioxidants and protective pigments.
Some purple seaweeds, contain a good amount of B12 as well.
Iodine and thyroid
Seaweed is an excellent source of iodine. Iodine is a vital trace mineral that plays a critical role in thyroid health. The body doesn’t make iodine on its own, so you need to get it from food sources or supplements and the best way is through food.
Your thyroid is key to y9our overall health, and iodine plays a vital role in its ability to function properly. If you include Sea Vegetables in your diet weekly, you will be improving your health and is also good for your gut health.
How to use:
Add seaweed into your diet, please share with the group or send us your recipe how you use or used seaweed this week! Here are some simple ideas:
Make a veggie soup broth using dried kelp or kombu or add to your bone broth.
Rehydrate arame and wakame with water and them make a dressing with vinegar, sesame oil, scallions, and garlic for a seaweed salad
Top meals with a mix of ground nori, kombu, dulse, salt, black pepper, and sesame seeds
Snack on dried seaweeds
Add kombu to water when making kasha or rice.
Make sushi
Use dulse flakes liberally on salads and sauces
Asian Spring Chicken Soup
Of course this can be vegetarian. Start with a vegetable broth and skip the chicken.
Please use organic and pastured chicken.
PREPARATION
Season chicken thighs on all sides with salt and pepper. Put oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium high heat. Add thighs and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, reducing heat to keep meat from browning. Cook both sides for about 2 minutes. Add the 2 carrots, celery, leeks, bay leaf and water or stock . Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
Strain the broth, reserving the broth for your soup. Remove thighs and chop the meat into 1/2-inch chunks, then return meat to pot.
In a small pan, heat olive oil and add garlic and ginger and cook lightly. Then add the apple cider, tamari and vinegar and mix well. Add to the soup.
Bring the soup to a simmer. Add leaks, carrots and snap peas and simmer for 1 minute. To serve, reheat broth to just under a boil. Dilute miso with a little hot broth and whisk into soup. Add spinach and let wilt and serve!
Top each bowl with a little basil.
INGREDIENTS
For the broth :
1 ½ pounds chicken thighs- organic and pastured raised
2 carrots - chopped rough
1 stalk celery- cut in 2” pieces
Tops of leeks
Bay leaf
8 cups water or stock
For the soup
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 teaspoons grated ginger
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon tamari (GF) soy sauce
2 medium leeks, include the green part, diced, about 2 cups
8 ounces sugar snap peas or snow peas, trimmed
2 carrots thinly sliced
Just before serving
¼ cup white miso, or more to taste
6 ounces baby spinach, about 4 cups
A few basil or shiso leaves, julienned
Asian Cabbage Salad
This is an ambitious recipe with so many ingredients, but if you consider a meal that is loaded with nutrients, this could be it and it is also loaded with flavor! And there are a few techniques that will encourage you to make your own dishes building on these.
Begin with this salad and add an egg or a piece of wild salmon or lightly sauteed squid or even marinated flank steak.
Directions
Cut cabbage in half, and remove the core. Slice into super thin slices. Toss lightly in a bowl with 2 tablespoons lemon juice and set aside.
Slice the beets as thin as you can on a mandoline.
Season beets with a lit
Mix the cooked kasha in a small bowl with the toasted sesame seeds and, if using, the shio kombu. Salt to taste.
Make the salad.
Add 3 tablespoons of the sesame-anchovy dressing to the bowl with the cabbage and the beets, and mix well to combine. Add more dressing if necessary. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl, and sprinkle 4 tablespoons or so of the kasha furikake over the top. (Leftover kasha furikake may be passed at the table, or saved to eat over white rice.)
Ingredients
½ head red cabbage
1 medium-size beet,
2 cups cooked spinach, broccoli rabe, etc.
Juice of 2 lemons
½ cup kasha (buckwheat) cooked
2 tablespoons finely shredded nori
3 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon shio kombu or salted kombu, optional as it cooks with a portion of the minced garlic.
A few minutes before the end of cooking time, add a sprinkle of the minced garlic to each of the vegetables.
Wild Salmon Filet or Marinated Flank Steak
ABOUT Buckwheat AKA kasha sounds a little deceiving but there is no relation to wheat –it’s actually closely related to rhubarb. It’s definitely a healthier “grain” and scrumptious it is! I love it more than rice or quinoa. Of course it is gluten free, which is why we are on an anti-inflammation diet. Cook just like rice, bring your stock to a simmer, add butter and kasha, covered with a lid. This does not take long to cook. 10-12 minutes for buckwheat.
Bring stock to a boil, add butter and salt, add groats and simmer low for 10-12 minutes covered. Fluff with fork.
1 cup organic buckwheat groats- rinsed well
1 3/4 cups veggie stock or bone broth
1-2 Tbsp butter, to taste (optional)
1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
Flank steak is a lean, somewhat tough, especially grass fed. You always 100% grass fed meat. It is a very flavorful cut of beef that benefits from the tenderizing effects of a marinade. Like all meat, it is good to include acid in the marinade and cooking. Two, not more than eight, hours is a good time to marinate, as the flank is not so thick and it could toughen the meat if it is overnight marinated. The acid breaks down proteins, and when those proteins break down too much water is released and the muscle becomes tough. So don’t over marinate.
Sear it on a hot skillet about 7 minutes per side for medium rare. Allow it to rest about 10 minutes before slicing.
2-8 hours prior to cooking marinated the steak
Make a paste with grated fresh ginger and minced garlic.
Wish the ginger, garlic paste into the tamari and apple cider vinegar.
Cover and marinate for 2- 8 hours in the refrigerator.
Flank Steak 100% grass fed
2” piece of ginger
3 large cloves of garlic
1 cup tamari
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Shio Kombu
Shio kombu is a garnish for white rice or any dish that needs a little something. It is loaded with minerals, a good start to including seaweed in your diet! Use the kombu from your rice or broth.
And marinate, and cook it with acid and herbs. Then slices it super thin and sprinkle it on top of salads or soups.
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Juice from 2 limes about ⅛ cup
4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Directions for Dressing:
Cover hijiki with warm tap water. Allow to bloom for 15 minutes, drain well, and season with vinegar. Add miso, tahini, rice vinegar, shiro shoyu, the remaining lemon juice and the anchovies, and whisk to combine. Dressing should have a thick, almost mayonnaise-like consistency.
Dressing
1 teaspoon dried hijiki seaweed
1 teaspoon ume vinegar or apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sweet white-miso paste
3 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon shiro shoyu (GF) or tamari
8 anchovy filets, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil