Foods for inflammation

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

In my opinion it is more what you should avoid than adding something in to combat inflammation - less is nearly always more in this case.

So the foods to eliminate are:

• alcohol
• red meat
• refined grains
• sugar
• dairy
• saturated and trans fats

If you eliminate all of those to the degree that you can and you still have issues then consulting directly with an acupuncturist and receiving acupuncture (along with Chinese herbal medicine in some cases) will very likely help you the rest of the way. Adding in a bunch of foods/spices/supplements on top of a debatable diet isn’t going to accomplish much of anything.

Comment by Archived User

well, I am seeing quite a big and almost immediate impact (24-48 hrs) from adding in the herbs.

Mostly negative though… my joints get better, but also my yin deficiency symptoms get a lot worse.

Comment by Archived User

Hi McCloud, what are your yin deficiency symptoms and what causes do you suspect? I’m going through a similar challenge. There are other good anti-inflamatories out there besides the heating types that you are referring to. TCM generaly advises (as someone reminded me on this board) to treat the worst evil first. Since you have an underlying defficiency then that should be addressed first and your joint inflammation secondary. Problem is, many times there are many other layers that are not as evident and treating one aggravates the other, kind of what you’re going through. Check out CBD oil for inflamation. I’ve been using it for three months now and along with daily QiGong, and good diet it’s helped in a few ways.

Comment by Archived User

McCloud,
Chad_Dupuis is offering you very sound advice. Adopt an “anti-inflammatory diet” first and foremost:

1. Eat low on glycemic index (cut out 90% or more of flour, white rice, sweets, etc.)
2. Cut out intake of Omega-6 essential fatty acids (corn, soy, wheat), and boost intake of Omega-3 EFA’s (chia, flax, grass-fed beef/lamb, sardines, etc.)

Such a diet will typically take ~50% of inflammatory pain off the table, making what’s left a lot easier to treat/manage. Consider it a sine qua non foundation for recovery.

Upon this foundation you can reframe use of yang-ish anti-inflamm supplements/spices like ginger; or balance them with more yin food choices. As Dr. Chad said, you can then add a yin herbal formula to the mix.