Chocolate Sauce » inflammation http://www.antioxidantalley.com/blog Healthy chocolate and all things antioxidant Tue, 10 May 2011 04:00:27 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= Top Foods for Heart Health http://www.antioxidantalley.com/blog/2009/01/05/top-foods-for-heart-health/ http://www.antioxidantalley.com/blog/2009/01/05/top-foods-for-heart-health/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:38:36 +0000 admin http://www.antioxidantalley.com/blog/?p=138 You’ve probably seen that the RealAge site is a favorite of mine. Once again they have an article regarding antioxidants and their action to decrease inflammation. They also mention dark chocolate!

Here’s a link to the original article:

YOU Staying Young Center — Top YOU Tip #1: Feed Your Heart

I don’t think you’ll see [...]]]> You’ve probably seen that the RealAge site is a favorite of mine. Once again they have an article regarding antioxidants and their action to decrease inflammation. They also mention dark chocolate!

Here’s a link to the original article:

YOU Staying Young Center — Top YOU Tip #1: Feed Your Heart

I don’t think you’ll see anything you didn’t already know, but as a wise man once said “The key to learning is repetition.” And he just said it again!

The article points out that the following foods are heart-healthy and anti-inflammatory:

  • Fruits and vegetables
  • Garlic
  • Olive oil
  • Fish
  • Alcohol
  • Foods with magnesium (whole grains, soybeans, lima beans, avocados and beets)
  • Dark chocolate

I know over the last couple of months I’ve slipped somewhat on the number servings of fruits and vegetables I eat each day. I’ve committed to eating more veggies. I’ve done a pretty good job of replacing unhealthy fats with healthy ones. Between eating fish and  taking pharmaceutical-grade fish oil, I get at least the minimum recommended amount of Omega-3 oils. We use olive oil almost exclusively in our house now. I eat small amounts of dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao) daily. I rarely eat white bread.

The article recommends 25% of your diet to come from healthy fats. Since the guideline is for total fat consumption to be 30% or less, there isn’t much room for anything but healthy fats!

]]> http://www.antioxidantalley.com/blog/2009/01/05/top-foods-for-heart-health/feed/ 14 Seven Steps to Fight Inflammation http://www.antioxidantalley.com/blog/2007/08/20/seven-steps-to-fight-inflammation/ http://www.antioxidantalley.com/blog/2007/08/20/seven-steps-to-fight-inflammation/#comments Mon, 20 Aug 2007 22:47:25 +0000 jbchristensen http://chocolatesauce.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/seven-steps-to-fight-inflammation/ I subscribe to a newsletter from Harvard Medical School. The most recent issue reminds us that inflammation, while an important part of our body’s healing system, can be dangerous, if there is too much of it. Inflammation is involved in atherosclerosis, heart disease, strokes and even some types of dementia. Below is a link to [...]]]> I subscribe to a newsletter from Harvard Medical School. The most recent issue reminds us that inflammation, while an important part of our body’s healing system, can be dangerous, if there is too much of it. Inflammation is involved in atherosclerosis, heart disease, strokes and even some types of dementia. Below is a link to the on-line version of the article.

Harvard Medical School: 7 simple steps to fend off harmful inflammation

The article lists seven dietary steps that will help fight inflammation. Quoting from the article -

Simple changes

What you eat may fan the fires of inflammation. With some small changes — no crazy new foods involved — you can douse them. Here are some suggestions:

  1. Get an oil change. Eating a lot of saturated fats and/or trans fats is linked with higher levels of inflammation. Swap them for olive oil, which has potent anti-inflammatory properties, or polyunsaturated fats, especially omega-3 fats from fish.
  2. Don’t be so refined. The bolus of blood sugar that accompanies a meal or snack of highly refined carbohydrates (white bread, white rice, French fries, sugar-laden soda, etc.) increases levels of inflammatory messengers called cytokines. Eating whole-grain bread, brown rice, and other whole grains smooths out the after-meal rise in blood sugar and insulin, and dampens cytokine production.
  3. Promote produce. The more fruits and vegetables you eat, the lower the burden of inflammation. Why? They contain hundreds, perhaps thousands, of substances that squelch inflammation-rousing free radicals; some act as direct anti-inflammatory agents.
  4. Go nuts. Adding walnuts, peanuts, almonds, and other nuts and seeds to your snacks and meals is another tasty way to ease inflammation.
  5. Cocoa lovers rejoice? In laboratory studies, cocoa and dark chocolate slow the production of signaling molecules involved in inflammation. The trick is to get them without too much sugar and fat.
  6. Alcohol in moderation. A drink a day seems to lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a powerful signal of inflammation. Too much alcohol has the opposite effect on CRP.
  7. Spice it up. Herbs and spices such as turmeric, ginger, garlic, basil, pepper, and many others have anti-inflammatory properties.

If you adopt an anti-inflammatory diet, you probably won’t see or feel any different. Angina won’t suddenly disappear or heart failure reverse itself. But you will be doing your heart, arteries, and the rest of you a huge favor that will pay off in many ways.

If you are interested in subscribing to the newsletter, here’s a link to the subscription form:
www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat

Just a warning – each issue of the newsletter will hit you up to buy a report regarding the subject matter of the newsletter.

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