I have been suffering from intense physical pain in my joints and muscles for the last couple of years. It doesn't seem to be your typical arthritis per say but the Doctor didn't know what else it could be. I had heard that certain foods agravate inflammation in the body but didn't know much about it. I found these articles the other day by Dr. Weiss describing something called Metabloic Syndrome. From the sounds of the diagnosis, I belive this is what is wrong with me.
What is Metabolic Syndrome? Please read this article by Dr Weiss where is describes the diagnosis,symptoms,causes and treatments.
This information is taken from another article from Dr Weiss where he describes the diet and treatment of Metabolic Syndrome.
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet is not a diet in the popular sense - it is not intended as a weight-loss program (although people can and do lose weight on it), nor is it an eating plan to stay on for a limited period of time. Rather, it is way of selecting and preparing foods based on scientific knowledge of how they can help your body maintain optimum health. Along with influencing inflammation, this diet will provide steady energy and ample vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids dietary fiber, and protective phytonutrients.
You can also adapt your existing recipes according to these anti-inflammatory diet principles:
General Diet Tips:
- Aim for variety.
- Include as much fresh food as possible.
- Minimize your consumption of processed foods and fast food.
- Eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables.
- Most adults need to consume between 2,000 and 3,000 calories a day.
- Women and smaller and less active people need fewer calories.
- Men and bigger and more active people need more calories.
- If you are eating the appropriate number of calories for your level of activity, your weight should not fluctuate greatly.
- The distribution of calories you take in should be as follows: 40 to 50 percent from carbohydrates, 30 percent from fat, and 20 to 30 percent from protein.
- Try to include carbohydrates, fat, and protein at each meal.
- On a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, adult women should consume between 160 to 200 grams of carbohydrates a day.
- Adult men should consume between 240 to 300 grams of carbohydrates a day.
- The majority of this should be in the form of less-refined, less-processed foods with a low glycemic load.
- Reduce your consumption of foods made with wheat flour and sugar, especially bread and most packaged snack foods (including chips and pretzels).
- Eat more whole grains such as brown rice and bulgur wheat, in which the grain is intact or in a few large pieces. These are preferable to whole wheat flour products, which have roughly the same glycemic index as white flour products.
- Eat more beans, winter squashes, and sweet potatoes.
- Cook pasta al dente and eat it in moderation.
- Avoid products made with high fructose corn syrup.
- On a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, 600 calories can come from fat - that is, about 67 grams. This should be in a ratio of 1:2:1 of saturated to monounsaturated to polyunsaturated fat.
- Reduce your intake of saturated fat by eating less butter, cream, high-fat cheese, unskinned chicken and fatty meats, and products made with palm kernel oil.
- Use extra-virgin olive oil as a main cooking oil. If you want a neutral tasting oil, use expeller-pressed, organic canola oil. Organic, high-oleic, expeller pressed versions of sunflower and safflower oil are also acceptable.
- Avoid regular safflower and sunflower oils, corn oil, cottonseed oil, and mixed vegetable oils.
- Strictly avoid margarine, vegetable shortening, and all products listing them as ingredients. Strictly avoid all products made with partially hydrogenated oils of any kind. Include in your diet avocados and nuts, especially walnuts, cashews, almonds, and nut butters made from these nuts.
- For omega-3 fatty acids, eat salmon (preferably fresh or frozen wild or canned sockeye), sardines packed in water or olive oil, herring, and black cod (sablefish, butterfish); omega-3 fortified eggs; hemp seeds and flaxseeds (preferably freshly ground); or take a fish oil supplement (look for products that provide both EPA and DHA, in a convenient daily dosage of two to three grams).
- On a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, your daily intake of protein should be between 80 and 120 grams. Eat less protein if you have liver or kidney problems, allergies, or autoimmune disease.
- Decrease your consumption of animal protein except for fish and high quality natural cheese and yogurt.
- Eat more vegetable protein, especially from beans in general and soybeans in particular. Become familiar with the range of whole-soy foods available and find ones you like.
- Try to eat 40 grams of fiber a day. You can achieve this by increasing your consumption of fruit, especially berries, vegetables (especially beans), and whole grains.
- Ready-made cereals can be good fiber sources, but read labels to make sure they give you at least 4 and preferably 5 grams of bran per one-ounce serving.
- To get maximum natural protection against age-related diseases (including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative disease) as well as against environmental toxicity, eat a variety of fruits, vegetables and mushrooms.
- Choose fruits and vegetables from all parts of the color spectrum, especially berries, tomatoes, orange and yellow fruits, and dark leafy greens.
- Choose organic produce whenever possible. Learn which conventionally grown crops are most likely to carry pesticide residues and avoid them.
- Eat cruciferous (cabbage-family) vegetables regularly.
- Include soy foods in your diet.
- Drink tea instead of coffee, especially good quality white, green or oolong tea.
- If you drink alcohol, use red wine preferentially.
- Enjoy plain dark chocolate in moderation (with a minimum cocoa content of 70 percent).
- Vitamin C, 200 milligrams a day.
- Vitamin E, 400 IU of natural mixed tocopherols (d-alpha-tocopherol with other tocopherols, or, better, a minimum of 80 milligrams of natural mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols).
- Selenium, 200 micrograms of an organic (yeast-bound) form.
- Mixed carotenoids, 10,000-15,000 IU daily.
- The antioxidants can be most conveniently taken as part of a daily multivitamin/multimineral supplement that also provides at least 400 micrograms of folic acid and 2,000 IU of vitamin D. It should contain no iron (unless you are a female and having regular menstrual periods) and no preformed vitamin A (retinol). Take these supplements with your largest meal.
- Women should take supplemental calcium, preferably as calcium citrate, 500-700 milligrams a day, depending on their dietary intake of this mineral. Men should avoid supplemental calcium.
- If you are not eating oily fish at least twice a week, take supplemental fish oil, in capsule or liquid form (two to three grams a day of a product containing both EPA and DHA). Look for molecularly distilled products certified to be free of heavy metals and other contaminants.
- Talk to your doctor about going on low-dose aspirin therapy, one or two baby aspirins a day (81 or 162 milligrams).
- If you are not regularly eating ginger and turmeric, consider taking these in supplemental form.
- Add coQ10 to your daily regimen: 60-100 milligrams of a softgel form taken with your largest meal.
- If you are prone to metabolic syndrome, take alpha-lipoic acid, 100 to 400 milligrams a day.
- Drink pure water, or drinks that are mostly water (tea, very diluted fruit juice, sparkling water with lemon) throughout the day.
- Use bottled water or get a home water purifier if your tap water tastes of chlorine or other contaminants, or if you live in an area where the water is known or suspected to be contaminated.
here is a link to Dr. Weiss's interactive, anti-inflammatory food pyramid, click on the items for more info about each group
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02995/Dr-Weil-Anti-Inflammatory-Food-Pyramid.html
What therapies does Dr. Weil recommend for metabolic syndrome?
- Dietary changes: The conventional medical recommendation of a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet to lower triglycerides and bring down cholesterol is dead wrong in his opinion. Eating a diet high in the wrong kinds of carbohydrate and fat may actually elevate triglycerides and cholesterol. Instead, Dr. Weil recommends following an anti-inflammatory diet. This is a not a diet in the popular sense - it is not intended as a weight-loss program (although people can and do lose weight on it), nor is it an eating plan to stay on for a limited period of time. Rather, it is way of selecting and preparing foods based on scientific knowledge of how they can help your body remain optimally healthy. Along with influencing inflammation, this diet will provide steady energy and ample vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and dietary fiber. The following suggestions incorporate the principles of this way of eating:
- Eat small, frequent meals to keep blood sugar in a healthy range. Eating large meals can flood the bloodstream with glucose and insulin. Experiment until you find that you feel your best.
- Keep refined starches and sugars to a minimum, instead choosing those with a low glycemic index. (Sweet potatoes, winter squash and beans are examples of better carbohydrates.) You should also be aware of glycemic load in assessing dietary choices.
- Keep saturated fats and trans-fats to a minimum, but consume moderate amounts of monounsaturated oils, such as olive oil and some nut oils.
- Eat fish several times a week, emphasizing wild, cold-water fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon and sardines. Or take omega-3 supplements.
- Eat generous amounts of non-starchy vegetables, like cucumbers, bell peppers, dark leafy greens, zucchini, eggplant, squash, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, beans, radishes and spinach.
- Eat foods high in magnesium, which research has linked to lowering the incidence of metabolic syndrome. One gets magnesium by eating plenty of whole grains, leafy green vegetables (spinach is a great source) as well as almonds, cashews and other nuts, avocados, beans, soybeans, and halibut.
- Cut back on alcohol, avoiding beer especially. (Even small amounts of alcohol can elevate triglyceride levels.)
- For more information on the anti-inflammatory diet, check out Dr. Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid.
- Exercise: Getting regular exercise is vital but too many people quit, become injured, or simply find the process less enjoyable than they should. Follow Dr. Weil's advice for making aerobic exercise an ongoing, safe and rewarding part of your life.
- Mind/Body: It is important to attend to stress in positive ways. Rather than using alcohol, tobacco, or television, try breathing exercises. They are simple, free, and right under your nose. Dr. Weil has compiled ten ways to reduce stress and promote relaxation, calm and peace within yourself. Some techniques take practice, and most require some commitment on your part to achieve results. However, the results are well worth the effort.
- An antioxidant supplement and multivitamin-mineral supplement.
- You can take additional magnesium if you do not think you're getting enough in the diet. Dr. Weil recommends magnesium citrate, chelate, or glycinate. Avoid magnesium oxide, which can be irritating, and take half the amount of magnesium as the calcium you take in supplemental form. If you do not take any supplemental calcium, watch out for taking large amounts of magnesium, which can cause diarrhea.
- If you are not eating oily fish at least twice a week, take supplemental fish oil, in capsule or liquid form, 1-2 grams a day. Look for molecularly distilled products certified to be free of heavy metals and other contaminants.
- Take alpha-lipoic acid, 100 to 400 milligrams a day. Note that this could potentially lower glucose levels too much if the person taking medication such as metformin - patients should work with their physicians so safe and proper dosages are employed.
I personally recently bought an infra-red sauna which has been nothing short of miracualous when it comes to treating my physical pain. I will do a more in-depth article on infra- red next time.
- I think that with rising obesity plaguing our world these days that more and more people will suffer from chronic inflammation. I hope you find this information helpful!
