\u201cWe are what we eat\u201d expresses the idea that food and drink have an enormous influence on health and wellbeing. Besides the macronutrients (carbohydrates, such as sugars and starches; fats; protein; and non-digestible fibre), foods contain a huge variety of other chemical compounds, most of which have never been identified or studied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
A huge problem with studying the biological effects of plant-based compounds is our lack of knowledge about how these compounds actually work. Research on the isolated chemical extracts often gives different results from what is found when the plant is eaten. One difference is in the prebiotic qualities of the plant (non-digestible fibre which is fermented by gut bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) including butyrate1<\/a><\/sup>, a powerful anti-inflammatory. Another difference is that eating the plant also involves ingesting its microRNA<\/a>; there is good reason to believe that this microRNA directly influences gut bacteria (microbiome). While the colon microbiome is relatively easy to study, examining the bacteria in the duodenum and small intestine is technically difficult in humans. But here is where plant microRNA might have a powerful effect, stimulating bacteria to take up and metabolize glucose from food. This glucose will no longer be available for absorption into the bloodstream and therefore will not trigger insulin secretion by the pancreas. Less insulation, so less inflammation (as well as all the other insulin-stimulated conditions such as cancer, dementia, obesity\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n But here is some of what is known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, turnips, kohlrabi, bok choy, or radishes, contain sulforaphane, which has been shown to regulate inflammation in mice2<\/a><\/sup>. It also lowers insulin levels3<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Inulin, a non-digestible carbohydrate, is a prebiotic<\/a> dietary fibre which can be fermented by gut bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) including butyrate4<\/a><\/sup>, a powerful anti-inflammatory. Inulin has also been shown to reduce insulin responses after meals5<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Appreciable amounts of inulin are found in vegetables such as plantain, burdock root, chicory root, garlic, Jerusalem artichoke, jicama, leek, or onion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Konjac is a south-east Asian plant whose edible corm can grow up to 25 cm in diameter and contains up to 40% glucomannan, another non-digestible carbohydrate. One use for the corm is to make noodles in a variety of shapes and styles. Again, gut bacteria ferment the glucomannan to produce anti-inflammatory SCFAs6<\/a><\/sup>. And as for inulin, insulin levels are decreased by glucomannan7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Fatty fish such as salmon, trout, tuna, mackerel, and herring, are good sources of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids which are necessary to make anti-inflammatory prostaglandins and leukotrienes (don\u2019t ask!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n At the same time, try to avoid foods rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which are building blocks for pro-inflammatory substances (prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and leukotrienes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Modern diets often contain appreciable amounts of medium-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Unfortunately, these are mostly omega-6 which interfere with the conversion of omega-3s to the long-chain versions. Thus, a double whammy: omega-6s are pro-inflammatory, and they prevent omega-3s from reducing inflammation8<\/a><\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n You can read more about omega-3 fatty acids in my summary<\/a>, or in my 2006 presentation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n A number of spices are believed to have anti-inflammatory effects9<\/a><\/sup>, including turmeric (containing curcumin<\/a>), cumin<\/a> (not to be confused with curcumin), ginger, cinnamon, and hot chili peppers (containing capsaicin<\/a>). The mechanism may be through insulin lowering, which has been demonstrated for curcumin10<\/a><\/sup>, cumin11<\/a><\/sup> ginger12<\/a><\/sup>, cinnamon13<\/a><\/sup>, and chili14<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Dark chocolate is one of a number of foods with anti-inflammatory properties15<\/a><\/sup>. Compared to milk or white chocolate, dark chocolate consumption decreased calorie consumption and lowered insulin levels16<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Traditional and indigenous medicine practices all over the world have identified certain foods that have anti-obesity and anti-diabetes effects, which suggests that they lower insulin. For example, bitter melon<\/a>, which originated in India, is widely used in China and in the Caribbean, and goes by a variety of names. Bitter melon extract has anti-inflammatory properties and markedly decreases insulin levels17<\/a><\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n There are varieties of vegetables and fruits which, because of a high content of desirable phytochemicals<\/a> shown to reduce inflammation18<\/a><\/sup>, may be worthwhile seeking out and consuming in preference to the regular supermarket varieties. This includes black rice<\/a>, purple cauliflower<\/a>, purple corn<\/a>, blue potatoes<\/a>\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n When starchy foods such as potatoes, beans, or white rice are slowly cooled after cooking, the links between the glucose molecules in the starch are rearranged, making the starch more difficult to digest; more of the starch becomes \u201cresistant<\/a>\u201d. This process, called retrogradation<\/a>, reduces the amount of insulin produced as a result of eating that starchy food19<\/a><\/sup> and may explain why fried french fries produced lower glucose and insulin responses in children compared to pasta, rice, or boiled mashed potatoes20<\/a><\/sup>. Additionally, the resistant starch acts as a prebiotic, in that it feeds gut bacteria which ferment the starch to butyrate and other short-chain fatty acids with anti-inflammatory properties21<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Please read instalment 3<\/a> of DIY:Inflammation, where I discuss what we should eat less of, and why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are what we eat\u201d expresses the idea that food and drink have an enormous influence on health and wellbeing. This instalment goes into the science of the foods we should eat more of to reduce inflammation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[535],"tags":[16,526,377,116,503,367,537],"class_list":["post-1772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diy-inflammation","tag-aging","tag-behaviour","tag-bitter-melon","tag-diet","tag-dietary-supplements","tag-inflammation","tag-pain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1772"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1919,"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1772\/revisions\/1919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Eat more of:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Cruciferous vegetables<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Vegetables containing inulin<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Konjac noodles<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Fatty fish<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Spices<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Dark chocolate<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Bitter melon<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Black rice, purple cauliflower, purple corn, blue potatoes<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Slow cooling of cooked foods<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
End of instalment 2.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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