Anti-inflammatory menus should include especially fruits and vegetables, whole grains, vegetable proteins such as legumes and nuts, spices and fresh aromatic herbs.

The quality of the fats we consume is of vital importance to control inflammation, since manipulated or modified ones stimulate proinflammatory prostaglandins. Unprocessed natural oils are the healthy alternative, but as long as we eliminate harmful fats from our diet, especially those modified with trans configuration.

It is not so much about prohibiting certain foods but rather ensuring that, if they are consumed, they constitute a very insignificant part of the diet. If you suffer from a chronic illness, you have to be much more careful. But if the body is in shape, it can fight mild processes of low-grade chronic inflammation and maintain balance. How to achieve anti-inflammatory breakfast, lunch and light dinner menus? We are going to show you the keys to preparing your own anti-inflammatory menus.

In the following video you have the 5 keys to the anti-inflammatory diet.

What foods have anti-inflammatory properties?

• Fruit: cherries, currants, blueberries, blackberries, grapes (better if they are black and eaten with skin), berries and forest fruits.
• Healthy fats: oils cold pressed virgin olives, flax, walnuts or sesame.
• Nuts: pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, sesame, chia or wheat germ, for their richness in fats of good biological quality and their excellent protein.
• Avocado. Contains up to 15% fat rich in oleic acid, palmitic and linoleic, of excellent quality. But, be careful, because it is a very caloric food.
• Broccoli, kale and cabbage. They contain vitamin K, indoles and isothiocyanates with anti-inflammatory and detoxifying properties.
• Papaya and tropical pineapple. They contain proteases such as papain and bromelain, which exert anti-inflammatory action. In dried fruit form they are also interesting.

• Green tea. Contains polyphenols and catechins with antioxidant action. Without sugar and without milk, It is a very healthy drink, especially when compared to a coffee with milk, for example.
• Shiitake and mushrooms in general. Some mushrooms are marketed in pharmaceutical form as anti-inflammatory. They are excellent for preventing low-grade inflammation. The shiitake mushroom is possibly the best known, but mushrooms, chanterelles and chanterelles are also anti-inflammatory.
• Spices: turmeric, ginger, cloves… You can add them to your rice and soups to give them an exotic and healthy touch.
• Tomato. It is very rich in lycopene, a powerful fat-soluble antioxidant. That is why cooking tomatoes, for example in the form of tomato sauce, improves lycopene activity. Tomato juice (natural, not bottled) can also be anti-inflammatory.
• Cocoa. The flavanols in cocoa protect the endothelium, the thin inner layer of the arteries, from inflammation, which improves cardiovascular health. We are talking about pure cocoa, not milk chocolate. A chocolate of more than 70% Cocoa has quite a few flavanols, but the other 30% also counts. Avoid sweeteners and refined fats.

What are the foods that cause the most inflammation?

• Sugar. It is an energy bomb devoid of other nutrients. Its high calorie content makes it unsuitable for metabolic diseases and induces low-grade cellular inflammation. Avoid any product with added sugar.
• Refined or highly refined flours such as cookies, pastries, crustless white bread, etc. They are foods with a very high glycemic index, which are more similar to sugar than unrefined carbohydrates. They give a lot of energy and therefore have certain addictive power.
• Foods with trans fats (margarinized). They are manipulated fats, notably pro-inflammatory. French fries, pastries, margarines, prepared sauces, pizzas, snacks, milk creams for coffee… may contain them in high quantities.
• Ice cream. Industrial ones contain fats and other elements of very little interest to health. They are also pro-inflammatory.

• ultra-processed foods, to which coloring agents, flavoring agents, preservatives or other additives have been added. Fast food dishes, frozen preparations and processed meats have been linked to a increased C-reactive protein, linked to inflammatory processes.
• Fried in general, especially if we don’t fry them, well We cannot guarantee the quality of the oil.
• Alcohol, sausages and dairy products. If you consume them, they are inflammatory.

What can an anti-inflammatory breakfast include?

• Muesli. Prepare your own muesli mixing ingredients such as cereal flakes (especially oats, also granola), dried fruits (walnuts), grated fruit (for example apple), apple juice and some raisins or dried fruit. First soak the flakes in the yogurt or juice, so that the flakes soften, and then add the rest of the ingredients. It is an energetic, complete and delicious breakfast, which allows numerous combinations of the foods that make it up.
• Fruit. No piece should be missing from every breakfast. You can even have exclusively fruits for breakfast. Choose them from time to time and, even better, if they are local.
• Compote. Cut some apples without skin or seeds, or some pears, into quarters. You can also mix them. Boil them for about 15-20 minutes with a lot of cinnamon sticks, organic honey or syrup, the peel of a lemon and a little water. Add any dried fruit, such as papaya, pineapple or blueberries, to the compote. When it has been cooked, it will be ready to consume, or to put in the refrigerator and eat it another day. Invent different models of compote by changing the fruit, dried fruit and sweet spices (cumin, anise, cloves…).

• Whole wheat toast with olive oil or avocado. Many people need a starch for breakfast, and toast or a sandwich is a good solution. If you want to eat cookies, read the ingredients carefully (it is better that they are made from whole grains) and pay special attention to the type of fats they are made with. Avoid hydrogenated ones and preservatives, colorants and flavor agents.
• Unsweetened cocoa drink. Pure cocoa mix with some sweetener (stevia or xylitol, for example), Stir well so that there are no lumps, add milk (rice or oatmeal, for example) and, if you wish, a little cinnamon powder.

What does an ideal anti-inflammatory food menu look like?

• Varied salad. Try to dress your table with color, with varied foods: lettuce, radishes, cucumber, onion, celery, tomato, carrot, sprouted sprouts, corn, sunflower seeds, nuts…
• A good sauce for salad It can change everything, so investigate ingredients such as tahini (sesame cream), mustard, oil, vinegar (local, Modena, rice or cider), aromatic herbs, turmeric, etc.
• Some main dishes made with ingredients that reduce inflammation They are rice with mushrooms or chanterelles (add a good amount of turmeric and black pepper or curry), lentils with rice and spinach, and chickpea stew with roasted pepper.

What is the ideal anti-inflammatory dinner?

• First, you can have boiled broccoli with potatoes. Let it cook for a minute and season the broccoli (or cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts) with a light garlic sauce. The cabbage family provides sulforaphane, responsible for its intense smell and partly for its spicy flavor, a true blessing for the body.
• Complete dinner with a mushroom and pepper omelet.
• For dessert, a apple compote.

What sauces or condiments can I add to anti-inflammatory menus?

In anti-inflammatory menus it is essential to avoid packaged sauces (they may have trans fats) but you can enrich meals with preparations such as guacamole, hummus and pesto sauce:

Ingredients: 2 ripe avocados, ½ clove of garlic, 1 medium tomato, 1 green Italian pepper, ½ onion, cilantro or parsley leaves.

Preparation: Extract the pulp from the avocado and mash it with a fork. Add the rest of the chopped ingredients, not broken down. Also add, if you wish, a chilli to give a spicy flavor.

Ingredients: 1 ½ cup of cooked chickpeas, 1 clove of garlic, 4 tablespoons of tahini (sesame cream), the juice of half a lemon, extra virgin olive oil, parsley, some cumin
ground or fresh cilantro.

Preparation: Mix the ingredients with the blender and season with a generous splash of olive oil and some parsley or cilantro leaves.

Ingredients: 1 or 2 cups of fresh basil leaves (buy a small pot, thick leaves are better), two tablespoons of pine nuts (and walnuts, if you wish), two tablespoons of nutritional or brewer’s yeast, one or two cloves of garlic, 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt (if you consider it necessary).

Preparation: Chop in the mortar or with the blender until you obtain a creamy sauce. It is important to consume it quickly, since it may lose medicinal and gastronomic qualities. Ideal for pasta.