Foods That May Help Decrease Inflammation and Pain

You may have heard that certain foods can increase or decrease inflammation in the body.  Physical therapy along with managing your diet may also help improve your outcome.  

Foods may lower or fight inflammation, and if added to your diet, they can help stabilize your disease and reduce symptoms. They include:

• Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines.

• Fruits, including strawberries, blueberries, cherries, tomatoes, and oranges.

• Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach and kale.

• Nuts like almonds and walnuts.

• Olive oil, particularly extra virgin olive oil.

Additionally spices may also help reduce inflammation.  Including these in your cooking along with anti-inflammatory foods will also be beneficial. These include:

• Turmeric, a yellow spice commonly used in South Asian cuisine, clinically proven to reduce inflammation.

• Ginger, made up of chemicals called gingerol and shogaol that block inflammation from occurring.

• Cinnamon, which contains antioxidants to help repair cells damaged by inflammation.

• Cayenne, a spice containing capsaicinoids, compounds that reduce inflammation.

• Garlic, which adds lots of flavor and fights inflammation.

Likewise avoiding foods which are known to increase the inflammatory process can be a crucial part of the healing process in your physical therapy journey.  

The following is a list of foods that are known to have inflammatory properties: 

• Alcohol

• Aspartame, an artificial sweetener found in many “sugar-free” products such as diet sodas.

• Mono-sodium glutamate (MSG), which adds flavor and is most commonly found in soy sauce and in Asian cuisine; however, it can also show up in processed foods, like deli meats.

• Saturated fats, found in foods such as pizza, cheese, red meat, and full-fat dairy products.

• Sugar, which may be listed on labels as fructose and sucrose.

• Trans-fats (partially hydrogenated oils), found particularly in fast food, fried food, processed food, margarine, shortening, and lard.

• Refined white flour and white rice, found in white breads and cereals.