Inflammation

Inflammation is your body's alarm system. In a similar way to an ankle swelling when you twist it, other parts of your body swell in response to injury exposure to chemicals or attacks from viruses.

Doctors are just now beginning to understand that inflammation can have several other health consequences. Research has led experts to believe that inflammation plays a role in heart disease, cancer and diabetes. However, certain foods may help heal inflammation:

Berries and cherries: these sweet fruits help reduce inflammation by neutralising free radicals in the body and may also help stop issue inflammation.

Bran cereal: fibre from bran cereal is linked with reduced inflammation in women with type 2 diabetes.

Ginger: this pungent rhizome has been used for thousands of years to help with a variety of ailments, from stomachaches to arthritis to heart conditions. It may play a role in preventing and slowing down the growth of cancer by its ability to block inflammatory substances called prostoglandins.

Brightly coloured vegetables: choose deep orange, red or yellow vegetables which are packed full of carotenoids, a group of anti-inflammatory antioxidants.

Chamomile: Germans use chamomile as a universal healer, referring to it as "capable of anything". As an anti-inflammatory, chamomile works like an nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) - like nurofen or aspirin.

Chicken soup: when a researcher from Nebraska Medical Centre tested chicken soup in the lab, he found that it could reduce inflammation and congestion caused by virus-fighting immune system agents called neutrophils by about 75%. Canned chicken soup worked too.

Cloves: an aromatic spice common in Indian cooking, cloves contain an anti-inflammatory chemical called eugenol.

Citrus fruits: when researchers fed volunteers either glucose-sweetened water or orange juice, the sweet water triggered an inflammatory response but the orange juice did not.

Olive Oil, Nuts, Soy, Salmon, Linseed, Pomegranates, Green Tea, Sage, Turmeric are more to add to this list.

Inflammation can lead to chronic conditions including diabetes and cancer. Inflammation of internal organs and the circulatory system has been linked to heart disease. Many foods, including nuts, fruits and spices can help cool inflammation.

The words in this article are not mine and comes from Foods that Harm, Foods that Heal, Readers Digest