Anti-Inflammatory Eating for Arthritis, Autoimmune Disease & Health

"As Hippocrates said, ‘Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food’.  Now, more than any other time in history, research is indicating that he was, and still is, correct. Certain foods can assist with reducing inflammation, whilst many others may in fact promote it. 

As dietitians who specialise in working with people that suffer with inflammatory conditions, in particular inflammatory joint conditions and obesity, the most requested resource by far we get asked for are recipes. So, we thought it was time we put together a collection of quick, easy and most importantly, tasty meal and snack ideas that aim to reduce the inflammation burden within the body.”

That’s the introduction to a resource our BJC Health dietitians have been working on and which you need to know about:

We feel that everyone can benefit from understanding the rationale for anti-inflammatory eating, and specially if:

• you are interested in following a mostly plant-based, whole-food diet aiming for long-term good health,
• you suffer from one of the many forms of arthritis, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and gout,
• you have an autoimmune condition such as systemic Lupus Erythematosis,
• or you have common health issues that may result in or from inflammation, such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

As a rheumatologist, patients often ask about diet and nutrition, about what they can do to improve their condition.

It’s hard for most doctors to provide detailed, useful, practical advice and it’s harder still for patients to just search the net for this advice given what is on the internet can often be quite contradictory when it comes to anti-inflammatory eating for arthritis and autoimmune disease.

Dietary modification is difficult, and our patients have differing levels of motivation. There’s also conflicting evidence about which dietary strategies work best for a particular arthritis and/or autoimmune condition.

So, it’s important to try and make things easier.

• The recipes you’ll find in the book are based on wholefoods that are fresh and seasonal. To make life as easy as possible, foods were chosen which you can easily buy at your local farmers market, green grocer or supermarket; avoiding ingredients that you will probably only ever use once or twice! 
• The book provides a quick summary of the evidence for the role that nutrition can play in managing some of the most common conditions we specialise in treating. 
• The focus is on foods that people need to eat more of rather than telling patients/ clients not to eat something. There are sections on: Vegetables & Fruit, Grains & Legumes, Fish & Seafood, Nuts & Seeds, and Herbs & Spices. 

Our dietitians have worked hard on this resource to make it relevant and as balanced as possible using a blend of experience and the literature. 

Kudos to Chloe, Kate & Monica!

We’d love any feedback you’d like to share.