This ‘Asian Food’ BATTLES Chronic Disease
Helps fight rheumatoid arthritis, IBD, lupus, and more
It’s Labor Day here in the US, and I hope you’re able to enjoy it surrounded by friends, family, and good food.
But if you struggle with a chronic condition, like type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, it can be difficult to enjoy these kinds of holidays to the fullest.
Luckily, there’s something you can do to get relief from each and every one of these ailments.
See, all of these conditions – though different — have one major thing in common:
Inflammation.
The inflammation spreading through people’s bodies in this day and age is more widespread and damaging than any wildfire in California or Oregon.
Strong words, yes, but if you consider the toll on quality of life, the mortality rates, and the healthcare system, you’ll see that the effects truly are devastating.
That’s why identifying ways to combat inflammation is one of the most powerful weapons you can have in your health arsenal.
This is one of the best:
Eat more fermented foods.
Fermented foods are part of the regular diet in places like Korea (where they eat kimchi), Japan (natto), Korea (miso), and China (kombucha).
You can add other fermented foods to this list as well, like bagoong, puto, dhokla, and kefir.
If none of these foods sound familiar, then you’re probably not getting nearly enough of these superfoods in your diet… a deficiency that could be contributing to the rise in chronic inflammation.
And putting you at a greater risk.
A study published in the journal, Cell, divided adults into two groups: One ate a high-fiber diet (fruits, whole grains, legumes), and the other loaded up on fermented foods.
After testing stool and blood samples, researchers found that the individuals who ate fermented foods had less activation of four types of immune cells, and decreased levels of inflammation proteins like interleukin-6.
IL-6 is increased in chronic inflammatory disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and inflammatory bowel disease.
They also had increased gut diversity in their microbiome.
The findings were dose-dependent, meaning the more fermented foods that were eaten, the better the test results.
Fermented foods are powerful health promoters because they contain probiotics, which are live microorganisms that help improve the diversity of your gut microbiome.
A less diverse microbiome, which occurs when bad bacteria outgrow good bacteria in your gut, is associated with chronic inflammatory conditions.
The bad guys secrete enzymes that promote inflammation (among other things).
Fiber-rich foods are still beneficial because they contain prebiotics that feed the probiotics.
But a key way to keep body-wide inflammation under control is to focus on your gut.
And adding in more probiotic-rich foods to your diet is a good place to start.
Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D. (rgerhauser)
P.S. Looking for more ways to combat inflammation? Go here and learn about 7 inflammation-fighting foods that you’ll want to add to your grocery list.
