Anti-Inflammatory Foods

As I sit here in pretty immense back pain, already having taken an NSAID prescription (for the shoulder,) muscle relaxants, and Tylenol, I’m thinking ok, maybe I really need to get more anti-inflammatory foods. Yes, I know they have whole recommended diets, and books, and so on. I’ve read numerous articles off and on, and since that isn’t sinking in, I switched it up and watched a youtube video. As if that would be more convincing. It was not, but probably because I didn’t choose a great video. Here were some of the highlights they suggested.

Ginger, garlic, and omega 3s I’m more likely to get from pills than actual food. A few years ago I had high cholesterol and got that warning to do something about it. I already love garlic and used large quantities in food (actual garlic, not merely powder). I tried taking a garlic supplement religiously. I dropped 20 points in 3 months. I figured ok, diet is fine, but the supplement probably has more than I could realistically eat. Same with ginger. I used to eat ounces of dried ginger daily, at first because I thought it might be cheaper than pills. But in order to make it palatable, sugar is the usual go-to, and sugar causes inflammation. So again, taking a high dose pill seemed more straight-forward than eating it.

Broccoli. I’ve gotten so broccoli-ed out lately. It’s not evil, but . . . can we put it in a blender with all those other things like kale and somehow transform it into something I don’t mind ingesting? I jest, because I’ve been taught so adamantly that one should never drink their calories if trying to lose or maintain weight loss. Maybe I can do cauliflower sometimes. That’s still in the cruciferous category.

Chia Seeds. See above, but even more so. I know one can mix them into other things, but I haven’t found a desireable mix-in strategy yet. Still, I ate a spoonful today after being reminded that inflammation is one the reasons it's good or me.

Avocado. I can do that. Expensive, but not disgusting.

Leafy greens. Sure, I can do that (already am).

Berries – YES. I could do berries all day long, every day, if I could afford them and not get lightheaded due to lack of protein.

Of the options available today, I took my supplements for ginger, garlic, omegas, had some chia seeds, berries, and cauliflower. I know there are more foods out there; this is just what I looked at today. Still in enough pain that it is difficult to concentrate right now. Probably time for more biofreeze or salonpas or something.