Factors that can increase your risk of chronic pain and inflammation include:
A first step is to control your diet with many foods and spices that can be found in your kitchen pantry or fridge.
DO'S (Kitchen Pantry Cures):
Turmeric: is a rust-colored spice, lighter in color than paprika. Turmeric has a slightly earthy taste, and is commonly used in east Asian and Hungarian dishes. This spice is known not just for its aroma and taste, but also for its medicinal properties.
Turmeric, known as curcumin, reduces inflammation in the body, and recent medical studies indicate that men who eat turmeric consistently have lower levels of prostate cancer. It can be sprinkled on eggs, vegetables, fish or poultry.
Black Pepper: Black pepper is one of the most commonly used spices and can be used with every meal. Black pepper is known to improve digestion by stimulating the taste buds and thereby alerting the stomach to increase hydrochloric secretion. It's also an antioxidant, and has antibacterial effects. The outer layer of the peppercorn helps stimulate the breakdown of fat cells -- good news for those who struggle with their weight!
Cinnamon: Cinnamon with it's healthy dose of manganese also helps eliminate and prevent the clumping of blood platelets. Also the scent of cinnamon can boost brain function, yes, smelling cinnamon can improve your memory. It also helps stop the growth of bacteria and for people with type 2 diabetes researchers claim cinnamon can help them respond to insulin and thereby normalize their blood sugar levels. A great bedtime snack is cinnamon toast with a tiny bit of honey and butter.
Cayenne: Benefits of cayenne pepper are endless it seems. It fights inflammation, prevents stomach ulcers, boosts immunity, offers pain relief, has cardiovascular benefits, and helps clear congestion. No matter what ails you a dose of cayenne will help you out and it's full of vitamin A. Use Cayenne pepper every day, from eggs at breakfast to bean salad at lunch or stir-fry for dinner. You can also use the flakes especially in soups or on pizza.
Ginger: Researchers support the fact it gives relief to those who suffer chronic inflammation like Rheumatoid Arthritis. In one study +75 percent of those participating reported relief from both pain and swelling. Dosage will depend on your condition and advice from your health care practitioner. When pain flares up you can drink fresh ginger tea -- use fresh slices of ginger to hot water and let seep for about 5 minutes in the coffee pot, pour and add organic honey to taste. It's good for an upset stomach or digestive disorders too.
Licorice: This can work in the body like cortisone without harmful side-effects.
Parsley: Can use in your morning juice. It's added in with carrots, celery, garlic clove and beet slices. Parsley is effective in flushing uric acid from the tissues to ease pain in our joints. Use one handful per juicing. Never cook parsley, it's a garnish for my meals added as a topper.
Cherries: high in antioxidants, contain compounds that inhibit COX (inflammation) just like ibuprofen. Many people find that eating a few handfuls of cherries every day helps reduce their arthritis symptoms.
DON'Ts (Foods To Avoid):
Most polyunsaturated vegetable oils (safflower, sunflower, corn, peanut and soy): are high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid that the body converts into arachidonic acid, another omega-6 fatty acid that has a predominantly pro-inflammatory influence.
Refined sugar and other foods with high glycemic (sugar, soda, alcohol, bread): values jack up insulin levels and put the immune system on high alert.
Foods high in trans fats: snack foods, fried foods, crackers, candies, baked goods, cookies, vegetable shortening, some margarines, salad dressings and many processed foods, are particularly problematic.
They create LDLs or "bad cholesterol," which feeds inflammation in the arteries. Trans fats also create renegade cells called free radicals that damage healthy cells and trigger inflammation
Red Meat: If you eat lots of red meat you may be doubling your chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis, say researchers from the University of Manchester, UK.
Researchers say they are unsure exactly why red meat has this effect, speculating the high collagen content of meat may provoke an immune response in individuals with a predisposition for rheumatoid arthritis
Learn more about Dr. Teitelbaum:
>> www.jacobteitelbaum.com
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