Even More Good News

Funny thing--people are still reading the bad news post about 2 to 1 to the good news post. To catch us all up I decided to give you a little more good news, and this time I'm going to try my best not to spoil it with anything negative. I'm sure I'll fail, but now you know my intentions at least.

Most of the bad news had to do with certain foods causing inflammation. Today's good news will be focused on all the delicious foods, spices, and seasonings that modulate inflammation. And by "modulate" I mean "make not as bad." Which is good. See? Good news!

I'm going to give you a list of these anti-inflammatory tasty treats first, and then, if you want to geek out on the why you can keep reading. And the list, my friends, is long. You see, most of the culinary traditions of the world have in their respective arsenals a virtual menagerie of inflammation fighters. They also have their bad news fare, so the strategy is to delve into the good, and leave the bad behind, or at least eat less of the bad.

Let's get on on with it: spices are where the party is. This is good, because there are practically unlimited combinations of  flavors that can be derived from the spice pantries of the world. Take ginger for instance. It's prevalent in many Asian and Indian dishes, but it's also known to pop up in plenty of other culinary hot spots. It's also one of your new go to modulators of inflammation. Speaking of Indian--many of the spices that frequently show up in Indian dishes are potent anti-inflammatories. turmeric (which gives many Indian dishes and yellow mustard their characteristic yellow tint) and garlic, which frequently show up in curries, are on my list of things to eat as often as you can. Meet you at the buffet.

Cinnamon is also one of the most important spices to add to your flavor enhancement repertoire. Cinnamon, by the way, goes great in meat dishes. Find yourself a Greek cookbook and start exploring. The Greeks figured that last one out a long time ago, and if it weren't for some valuable time I spent teaching at Annunciation Orthodox School in Houston, I may not have ever figured this out. So thanks, AOS!

The reality is, we're just getting warmed up. Other common ingredients from the herb section of the store that pack a healthy punch are basil, mint, rosemary, and thyme. And all of you Tex-Mex/Indian food lovers should be happy to hear that cilantro makes the list as well. The best part is the fact that not only do these spices greatly enhance flavor, they are also virtually calorie free as well as low carb. What's not to love?

Another class of foods that control inflammation are the flavanoids.  You know them as the compounds that give many foods their colors. Examples of flavanoid rich foods are berries, dark chocolate, green tea, dark beer, and red wine. How's that for a list? See? it's not all gloom and doom around here!

(Geeks only from here on out...)
You may remember medications known as "select COX-2 inhibitors," some of which were taken off the market because people were having some serious side effects. Celebrex and Vioxx are two that come immediately to mind (Celebrex is still available, but not Vioxx, just to be clear). COX, short for cyclooxygenase, is an enzyme that turns some of the fatty acids in your cellular membrane into either pro or anti inflammatory mediators.

When we eat too much of the wrong types of fats we make it far more likely that COX is going to be working on that type of fat, and consequently produce the pro inflammatory results we'd all prefer to avoid. All of the above mentioned items keep COX from working so hard to sabotage our biochemistry. The bonus comes with the fact that all that stuff tastes good, too.