Anti-inflammatory Eating: Unexpected Benefits
Were you aware there were many?
Part 2 of a 5 part series on adopting an anti-inflammatory way of eating. Last week covered “how do you know where to start?”
By the time I read the book, The Migraine Miracle, I’d been throwing the odd gluten free1 item into my shopping trolley. Becoming curious as my friend would say. Though it was recommended to cut out gluten AND sugar as the number 1 recommended change, I broke it down even further and chose to go sugar free first.
What a surprise it was to find that sugar was in baked beans, bread and crisps and not just the obvious chocolates, cakes and biscuits. Because of early initial mishaps and my disabled state, I allowed myself the grace to have bought items I didn’t know contained sugar. I’d already spent the money, so I ate it anyway then pledged not to buy that item again.
To ease any pressure on myself was very out of character. But it made for a smoother, easier, more manageable transition.
A couple of months in to quitting sugar and I was surprised to find no change to my skin, weight and health. I’d already cut out alcohol and caffeine 3 months before because I was too ill to drink it. But that is what I appreciate more fully now; just how significantly deteriorated my health was (physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually). To expect it to bounce back so early on is perhaps playing its part in why recovery is deemed unlikely. We expect an overnight quick fix and when there isn’t one, why continue on? Especially when we don’t know for sure. And at this stage, it felt like all I had was hope. Hope that if I made these changes (one at a time) that I might, just might get better2.
When I felt I’d really imbed going sugar free, I moved on to intentionally cutting gluten out of my diet. In reality for me, cutting down gluten still meant a couple of pieces of bread a week. I was suffering so greatly and was largely on my own in my endeavours. I needed to allow myself some freedom, some flexibility. It would be years before I realised that all I’d ever sought is freedom in my life. And that it was a quality that I could gift myself.
Sugar had to go completely. But I knew that about myself. And this is where its worth a mention that its really important to
Know thyself
I was a sugar fiend. Always maintained I was addicted. Back before we recognised addiction and it became a recognised thing. I wasn’t an open a packet of biscuits, have a few, kind of person. I was an eat the entire packet then have dinner and maybe even have a second dinner.
Noone was more gobsmacked than me when I broke the sugar rush cycle. Enjoying this way of eating is something I did not see coming. Within months I found myself feeling satisfied by food. I had never been satisfied by food – no matter how much I ate. I was always thinking about what was coming in to my cake hole next.
This is a habit I’d been in all my adult life (probably back to childhood).
To ease pressure even morrre, I allowed myself to eat what I wanted when I wanted. The only stipulation was that what I ate had to align with my one goal; to reduce inflammation in my body. The great advantage of allowing myself to eat what I wanted when I wanted was that it meant not having to deny myself. Not having to limit myself. I felt more freedom as a result. There was wayyy less pressure.
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What I also noticed adopting this approach was that the week before my period I would tend to eat more. Full meals and clean eating snacks too. Maybe several. Something I see missing from the science behind what to eat and how much is that women need to fuel their bodies during this time of their cycle. Perhaps not with sugar and caffeine and alcohol (Claire Baker (author of
) in 50 Things To Know About Periods recommends removing these for the week before your period). Replacing them with bananas, medjool dates and dark chocolate.Which reminds me. When I began to eat 85% dark chocolate, I would buy 2 blocks at a time and following my boundary of “eat what I want when I want” I would eat the whole bar at once in the early days and keep the other one for next time. I know, I know, portion control! But you see, it hasn’t been about control for me. My message to you is
“creation not control”
Creating new habits. Creating ways to reduce inflammation. Creating physical health. Creating mental health. Creating emotional health. Creating spiritual health. Creating financial health. Creating ways forward that feel nourishing to you. Creating the support that you need.
A few bars in and over time, I ate less and less of the chocolate in one sitting. Typically, I only eat one piece now. I’ve only ever known an empty packet in one sitting before I made these changes.
After a long while and once it was clear I broke the sugar rush cycle, I went on to allow myself the occasional ice cream. I went on to adopt the way of thinking that “if I want an ice cream, I’ll have an ice cream”. I became intuitive with my eating. Now I can look at a piece of cake and tune into my belly (instead of my eyes) and if my tummy feels it’s a yes I will enjoy a slice. More often than not, it’s a no. I never said no to food previously. Never. Not once.
Benefits to adopting an anti-inflammatory way of eating that you might not be expecting:
Feeling fuller for longer
Satisfaction
Improved taste buds – food tastes sooo much better.
Freedom
Increased intuition
Reducing anxiety
Over to you
Share what’s coming up for you.
Have you considered the journey of making dietary changes from this angle before?
If you’ve ever been down the gluten free isle and looked through the ingredients, you may have noticed that mainly porridge and nut bars are largely the only sugar free items on the shelf. I was shopping in Aldi at the time and there isn’t the privilege of a gluten free isle here so my search began small and my options included mainly whole foods. A blessing in disguise that I wouldn’t come to realise until much later.
I later came to realise I had belief as well as rebellious hope. A belief that “I matter. My health matters” which has since led to a fascination with the part our belief system plays in our wellness or lack thereof. Even though I wasn’t consciously aware at the time, on a deeper level I’d connected to it.
Your journey to a reduce inflammation diet was similar to mine.
Though the sugar one came as a colleague was doing sugar free February and I joined her. I now say I want my sugar in my sweet food and not in my tinned tomatoes (most tinned tomatoes have sugar in here in Spain!). I’m still a sugar addict I think but I’ve tried to swap for more complex sugars in honey or dried fruit.
Miguel’s dad once said to me that a sweet has zero nutritional value but if you had a slice of apple tart although there's sugar there are also other nutrients. I loved that thinking!
Keeping a food log helps. I wrote my version of gentle cooking philosophy and published the article last Friday, thank you for the inspiration.
Still experimenting with dairy (goat's milk instead of cow's due to different protein profile, less about lactose which I'm not intolerant anyway), gluten is my kryptonite, been over a year coffee-free, and almost 2 years alcohol-free, not missing any.
I used to eat a bar of choc in one sitting but I realised it was due to me undereating. Now I eat what I understood as low inflammatory, including very rarely red meat, gentle heating over deep fried, no UPFs kind of lifestyle.