in this issue:

• How diet affects inflammation

• Eating your way around
the store

• Cookbook recommendation

Hello again!

Spring is officially upon us in Portland, OR. The daffodils and tulips are blooming and we have a mixture of sunny warm days with cooler rainy days (and even some hail). This is an exciting time of year here! Our learning curve at Bambú Clinic is finally leveling out as we all settle into a somewhat more predictable routine (made possible by the awesome support given by Amber, our one and only office staff person). This month’s topic is diet and its relationship to inflammation in the body. Here we go!
The inflammation explanation...


Inflammation has become a hot medical topic in the past five years or so. These days, even conventional medical doctors agree that the pathology of most chronic diseases involves an underlying inflammatory process. Look up “inflammation and chronic disease” on the internet to get a glimpse of the current interest in this theory. Lucky for you, your physicians at Bambú Clinic have been working with an “Anti-Inflammatory Diet” for years. So, most of you are already one step ahead of the game.

But, how does this diet work??

The body has an inflammatory process, designed to serve a beneficial purpose. That being… when you slam your finger in a door, you mount an inflammatory response to heal the damage. Inflammation can be, then, a very healthy physiological process. But, healthy inflammation should be like the pilot light on a gas stove, lit low and steady, waiting to be ignited at a moment’s notice. It should not be a raging fire burning out of control.
The good news is that this internal mechanism for controlling inflammation can be influenced by the food choices we make. Some foods initiate a biochemical cascade which results in more inflammation while others decrease the levels of inflammation in our tissues.


The Anti-Inflammatory diet has been clinically designed to decrease inflammation. We have looked at the latest data on the physiological effects of food and produced this list of foods most likely to alleviate inflammation. On the other hand, we also provide a list of foods to avoid which generate MORE inflammation in the body creating increased pain, swelling, itching, immobility, and many other chronic symptoms. The foods we recommend in the Anti-Inflammatory Diet not only do not promote inflammation, but likely actually support the body’s natural anti-inflammatory defense.

Click here to see a picture of the body’s inflammatory mechanism with inflammatory biochemicals highlighted in red and anti-inflammatory compounds in blue.
Eat your way AROUND the store...


When it comes to diet advice, we often advise patients to shop around the perimeter of their local supermarket because anti-inflammatory foods are often found on the edges of the store. The layout of a typical grocery store places the fresh produce and fresh meats along the walls with the processed foods and non-perishable options down the aisles in the center. The other useful general dietary recommendation is to include a “rainbow of foods” in your diet. In other words, your food choices should represent all the colors of the rainbow including white, yellow, orange, red, green, blue and purple. If you can rotate all of these colors through your 21 meals each week, your diet will likely gain more balance, variety, nutrition AND your anti-inflammatory food quotient will likely rise.
Book Recommendation...

At Bambú Clinic, we are very fond of Dr. Jessica Black’s Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book. This informative book gives a much lengthier explanation of this important topic and also contains hundreds of delicious, healthy, anti-inflammatory recipes. We are proud to offer this book to the patients at our clinic. Those of you who do not live in Portland can easily find it online at amazon.com. Below we have attached a sample of an easy, yummy recipe taken directly from the book.

HONEY MILLET MUFFINS
The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book
 


We hope you found this information helpful. We strive to help our patients find a healthy way in the world. If you have topics you'd like us to address in future issues please let us know. We are always available for questions and comments.

Warm Regards,

The Physicians of Bambu Clinic

Bambu Clinic