I shared on facebook
last week that I was learning about the anti-inflammatory diet at a
meeting of local Oncology Dietitians.Wow – I had a lot of interest!
Followers wanted to know more and find out what it is. This article will
at least get you started and we can explore together what it means and
how it might benefit you.
Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid
I
love this picture! I think it gives a good idea to how much of each
type of food you should be eating each day or week! If you want more
descriptions on each part, visit this page: http://www.drweil.com/drw/ecs/pyramid/press-foodpyramid.html. Scroll down below the picture and you will see short descriptions for each.
More information on nutrient needs and the anti-inflammatory, check this page out: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02012/anti-inflammatory-diet. You will notice that it is important that you get a variety of foods!
Yes – you need carbohydrates.
Yes – you need fats.
Yes – you need protein. (No, all of it does not need to come from meat!)
YES – you should boost your diet with extra phytochemicals that are only found in minimally processed plant foods.
This
shouldn’t be new news to any of my regular readers, but hopefully this
will help you think through what you currently eat and how you might
make some changes over time to cut back on your cancer (and other
disease!) risk and to live healthy after a diagnosis!
Greek Style Kale Salad from myrecipes.com
At
the same meeting, the Oncology Dietitian from Duke Cancer Center made
this recipe for us. It was very tasty and quite simple. It’s similar to
the Kale Salad Recipe I shared a month ago, only with a Greek flare!
Let me know what you think!
– Julie
Hey Julie (it’s Allysen) – love this post! I have a question though- does 7-9 servings a day of fruit and veggies seem like a lot to you?? I’ve been trying to do 4-5 of veggies and fruit.
Extreme delay on response!! It’s all about your perspective and what you’re used to! 4-5 cups (8-10 servings) of fruits and vegetables combined is what recommendations are pretty much across the board. AND it’s what we see among groups of people who have the lowest rates of disease. If you choose 1 cup of fruit at breakfast, 1 cup of veg at lunch, 1 cup of veg at dinner and fruit for dessert/snacks… it actually adds up pretty fast! But don’t try to overhaul all at once. Just pick one meal at a time to focus on and change some habits. Then move on to the next. 🙂