Inflammation is an important part of our immune system’s response to injury and infection. It is our bodies way of signaling the immune system to defend, heal, or repair itself against possible infection or bacteria. Without inflammation as a physiological response, our body would not heal properly, and many conditions would be deadly.
That being said, if our inflammatory process goes on longer
than needed or if it occurs in unnecessary places, inflammation suddenly becomes
an issue. Chronic inflammation has been linked to the development of numerous
diseases and health conditions.
Chronic, low-grade inflammation often does not have symptoms according to Mayo Clinic, but there are labs that can be ran to determine if inflammation is present. Besides looking at blood test results, your diet and lifestyle habits can contribute to your bodies inflammation. It’s important to maintain a healthy lifestyle to keep inflammation in check.
Starches, Fruits, Vegetables
Choose whole-grain starches, fresh whole fruits and vegetables.
Consume a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.
Limit refined starches (white versions) and added sugars (white or brown sugar, soda, energy drinks).
Meats
Limit high-fat red meat such as prime rib, bacon and sausage, as well as processed meats (ex: bologna, salami and hot dogs). These are higher in saturated fat, which if consumed in excess can increase inflammation.
Choose skinless poultry, fish, eggs, legumes.
Fat
Limit saturated fat. This includes butter, whole milk, cheese, high-fat red meat and skin on poultry. Our bodies only require a small amount so excess intake will increase inflammatory risk.
Be very cautious or avoid trans-fat altogether (ex: prepackaged baked goods, flavored coffee creams).
Choose monounsaturated and omega-3 fats, these are thought to neutralize inflammation. Found in olive oil, avocados and nuts.
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in salmon and tuna, walnuts, and ground flaxseed. Omega-3 is an essential fat that our bodies cannot make. We must obtain it from dietary sources or supplements.
Other suggestions
Flavor food with spices and herbs that have antioxidant properties such as garlic, green herbs, ginger, and turmeric.
Moderation in all areas, excess of any food (even if it has anti-inflammatory properties) is not a good thing.
An exact and strict diet plan for a patient with chronic inflammation is still lacking but we do know general healthy eating suggestions that help produce anti-inflammatory results over time. The suggestions above will come as no surprise, as it is information we have all heard numerous times. The key is to adapt these suggestions into your daily lifestyle.
Many people have noticed that one of the latest nutrition “trends” has been juicing and consuming beverages that claim to boost gut health, detoxify the body, and fill your body with tons of vitamins and minerals. Most recently, celery juicing has become a popular topic of discussion on social media and other news outlets. Some celery juicers have claimed that drinking this magic drink has cured them of mental health problems, infertility, and eczema. However, as a Registered Dietitian we are taught to look to the science based evidence to understand if the topic is a healthful practice or not.
After a search in the current scientific
literature on celery juicing we can conclude there is not enough information to
prove that celery juice lives up to all the claims. Majority of the studies
have been done on mice and not human subjects. There needs to be more research regarding
celery juice impact on human health.
Luckily, there are still benefits to
consuming celery. By eating fresh celery provides a source of vitamin K,
vitamin C, potassium, folate, manganese, and much more. It has a high percentage
of water which can help prevent dehydration. Celery is also a great source of
fiber, but only in its whole form. By juicing the celery stalks, you are stripping
the celery of all its fiber. Despite these benefits, there have not been
large human studies done using celery juice as a treatment for chronic
conditions.
One claim is that celery contains
phytochemicals and antioxidants associated with reducing inflammation to
possibly reduce autoimmune symptoms and disease risk. Nonetheless, so do lots of other vegetables, fruits, and herbs.
Compounds called flavonoids are in celery stalks but there are lots of other
foods with the same level of or even more flavonoids. If you were to puree 1 pound of any vegetable or fruit, you would
get similar potential “superfood” nutrient levels. There’s nothing particularly
special about celery other than it’s a vegetable, and most all need to be
eating more veggies.
As a registered dietitian counseling a patient who is or wants to try celery juicing I would tell the patient that celery juice is not harmful for most people, but check with your doctor if you take statins, blood pressure medicine, or blood thinning medication as there is always a risk of nutrient-drug interactions.
I always knew someday my consecutive exercise streak would end. I did not know how it was going to be, or the circumstances that would be involved. The one thing I knew for sure it that it would be because of something I would have no control over. It was not just going to be an “excuse” to say I could not do it that day. That day happened last Sunday. I will expand on this more in the next several weeks, but will briefly summarize by saying my life changed that morning. I developed a clot going to my right kidney, and I was losing my kidney. I also had a clot in my right leg, and found out later that it was brought on by my heart, and had what is a called PFO: Patent Foramen Ovale. 3 angiograms later, with 3 subsequent procedures, 5 days in the hospital, I was able to come home. My exercise streak however, stopped. Day # 4196. This is how far I went. This has been driving me for the last 12 years. Lead by example. Don’t just tell people, my patients, that they need to stay active. Show them! As the saying goes: Records were meant to be broken!
Sometimes, you do just need to go with the flow! Life is always changing. My world changed over night. But, I am here. For the next 6 months I will be on multiple blood thinners, and will be taking it easy. I can’t do any aerobic activity for the next month, and then will be very slow progressing. But, I still can!
Things will changes. Things are going to be different. But I will be able to run again later. It will then be time to start a new consecutive streak. I look back now and wonder how I went this long. Things come up, life throws curveballs. Most of the time it is just an excuse. An excuse your mind can take control of. You just need to take charge. Many different events, races, causes have been accomplished over this time period. Many of them with my Watertown Area Run Club (WARC) members. Working together to raise money for charity, FARA, and going somewhere different for a race just to have fun!
Last Fall, Jill, Amanda, Paula, Sarah, Tom, and I went to Denver to do the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. These 3 came up with a shirt they had printed: South Dakota Girls…and Dan! We had so much fun with this, and had so many comments on this!
That same WARC spirit carried on this last week as well. Here they had a large group together on Wednesday, and ran for me, which would have been day # 4200! Holding a sign, and peanut M and M’s (my favorite candy!)…it still brings tears to my eyes when I look at what they did for me! But this is what WARC is about. We go the extra mile for one of our own. This is why this group of people/friends are so important. It is not about running. It is about being there for each other, and we just happen to run at the same time! I can’t thank WARC enough for this! I was at a pretty low point that day, and just had the 3rd procedure done, and this just lifted me right up! Thank you!
I guess it is gonna come down to how tough am I? I have gone through adversities before. One thing for sure, I am not gonna let this be a excuse to not restart another consecutive streak. It did definitely put life in perspective. We are all human, and don’t know what tomorrow is gonna bring. Live today! I have been watching (too much) TV lately being down this week. A movie came up that is one of my favorites. Shawshank Redemption. It has a great line in it that opened my eyes once again: “Get busy living, or get busy dying!” Choose…
Sarah and I have done a lot of talking. The consecutive streak was not the goal. The exercise was not the goal. Being together is the goal. I am going to listen to her and recover from all of this because I want to be able to do more things/events with her later. My daughter is getting married in August…the first wedding for one of my kids. I do not want to miss that for anything. I will be back. I will start a new streak. In the process, maybe this will not only help motivate others, but also help motive me! Keep moving everybody!
Do you find yourself stopping at the coffee shop or gas station and picking up a sugary donut or pastry in the morning? Do you skip breakfast altogether? Here are some tips for making breakfast a healthy habit, whether you wake up on time, hit snooze a few times, have picky eaters, or running behind.
Make burritos, egg sandwiches, quiche that can be frozen and warmed up
Want fresh? Toast an English muffin and top with cheese, egg, ham, & spinach
Peanut butter toast with banana
Instant oatmeal with fruit
Yogurt with fruit and granola
String cheese and trail mix
Top pancakes or waffles with peanut butter and fruit instead of syrup Choose whole grains when possible to give you some extra fiber and adding fruit to breakfast is a great way to start your day!
Genetically modified organisms have attracted a large amount of media attention in past years due to the controversy that they can cause serious health risks. However, foods that have been genetically modified are regulated by multiple government bodies such as the Food and Drug Agency (FDA), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.1-3Yet, the public continues to be largely unaware of what a genetically modified plant is and what advantages and disadvantages the technology offers.
The demand for food due to the rapid growing population and changes in eating habits continues to cause an increase in the demand for more food.4Unfortunately, in the developing world there are about 840 million people malnourished, surviving on less than 2,000 calories per day and about 1.3 billion people survive on less than $1 per day and do not have secure access to food.1Therefore, making sure there is sufficient food to feed the estimated 9.7 billion people by 2050 and nearly 11 billion by 2100 is turning out to be one of the largest challenges of the era.4Genetically modified crops provide the ability to increase food and feed production by producing plants with higher yields in a shorter time period.4,5Most of the crops planted in South Dakota are genetically modified, including 96% of soybeans and 97% of corn.3Many South Dakota soybean farmers choose to plant genetically modified crops because it helps them use less resources such as water, fuel, and fertilizer while still growing an abundance of food to feed the growing population.3Overall, the nutrition content between genetically modified crops and non-genetically modified crops are the same, the difference is in the genetic makeup of the seed. The biotechnology adds naturally existing genes into a plant to obtain a characteristic such as the capability of preventing insects.3This technology allows farmers to save energy and resources assuring us that genetically modified crops are not harmful to human health or the environment.
Thankfully, most American’s are unaware of what starvation is due to living in a developed country. However, individuals from undeveloped parts of the world do not have the same luxuries us American’s are provided. Sadly, we are quick to judge and under educated on many of these controversial topics. Until we know what starvation feels like, many of us will not understand the purpose of genetically modified organisms and the benefits they provide to feeding our growing population.
References
1. Key S, Ma JK, Drake PM. Genetically modified plants and human health. J R Soc Med. 2008;101(6):290-298.
2. McKeon TA. Genetically modified crops for industrial products and processes and their effects on human health. Trends in Food Science & Technology. 2003;14(5-8):229-241.
3. Hungry for Truth. GMOs. 2019.https://hungryfortruthsd.com/topics/gmo/.
4. Kamle M, Kumar P, Patra JK, Bajpai VK. Current perspectives on genetically modified crops and detection methods. 3 Biotech. 2017;7(3):219.
5. Guardian. Plants modified to boost photosynthesis produce greater yields, study shows. 2016.
How do most people spend their birthday? Well, running with your friends, of course! Today is St. Patrick’s Day, and also my wife Sarah’s birthday! I want to wish her a very special birthday. We started off once again on Sunday morning running with our run club members, and then went to Tim and Jill Makepeace’s house to celebrate with breakfast! A great morning.
She got flowers sent to her at work on Friday. A great way to start the weekend!
A few weeks before this we got to have our vacation in Jamaica. A great place to relax, celebrate, and get away from the snow. It was in the mid 80’s everyday! We got to walk the beach every day as well. No matter what, vacation, work, whatever, we remain active! We always have, and hopefully we always will.
One afternoon when we came back to our room, they had this done on our bed! Perfect surprise! It was a great get away to spend some time together!
We are working on year 29 together. I wish you a very Happy Birthday, and love you very much!
I hope to have many more years to celebrate birthdays, and other special occasions with you. Just like our wedding day theme: “Two hearts that beat as one!”. Nothing has changed, except it means even more today than it did then! Spend time with the people you care about. Stay active, and keep moving everybody!
