Inflammatory foods are all around us and can cause us so much pain without realising it.
I struggled with stomach pain, bloating, period pain etc before I realised foods were part of the problem.
I have a condition called Endometriosis which means my periods suck way more than most people, they are very heavy and any additional inflammation my body incurs makes me physically sick.
I was diagnosed with IBS after having a laparoscopy which didn’t show anything apart from some ‘normal’ scarring. I was put on IBS tablets which made me feel very sick and basically I felt like I had been fobbed off.
My mother has Celiacs disease and is Lactose intolerant. I was told I wasn’t Celiac, but I decided to try and cut out various foods to see if I felt better. Even though they said I wasn’t Celiac when I cut out gluten and wheat from my diet I felt much better, and when I re-introduced it I felt noticeably worse. So clearly I had a problem with wheat and gluten.
Not long after this opporation I saw a couple of specialists who finally decided that even though they hadn’t seen it, my symptoms were true of Endometriosis (which is very hard to physically see).
I looked into the best kind of diet to have when you have Endo’ and I found that low inflammatory foods are best….to be honest they are best for more people but if you have ANY inflammatory condition it’s a must have.
I found this chart on Pinterest which is pretty useful:
So that’s a pretty good start, cut out fast food, anything deep fried, gluten and diary and white sugar/added sugar/refined sugar. Sugar I’ve found the hardest but I just limit the amount I have. It’s literally in everything! I used to think the same about gluten and dairy but actually those intolerance’s are so well known now it’s labelled very well and really easy to find free-from items. I find sugar is just much harder and you need to buy fresh fruit etc to get your natural sugar and be cautious of anything else. I am also Vegetarian and have decided to be dairy free as much as possible… I’m almost Vegan but I sometimes still have Organic Eggs. (non Organic Eggs are full of antibiotics which when consumed make you build up a tolerance to those antibiotics which is awful if you ever need to use them to fight off an infection etc…)
- Update – I went fully Vegan 2 months after this blog was published (Jan 2018) as I found out I was intolerant to eggs too!
Easy meal preps really help especially if you are a busy person.
Breakfast’s can be as simple as natural peanut/nut butter on Seeded / Brown Gluten Free Bread.
Gluten Free Porridge with banana, blueberries, nuts, chia seeds/flax seeds and cinnamon. (I sometimes add a little Agave syrup s it’s a natural sweetener).
Organic Soy or Coconut Yoghurt with the same as above and some low sugar, Gluten Free granola (Can be found in Wholefoods type shops of even big supermarkets, just compare the sugar amounts).
A smoothie bowl – try my recipe here.
Or if you need a treat try my Protein Pancakes not as healthy as the rest but better than the normal kind.
Lunch/Dinner
I cook a load of spinach, chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, garlic all together and add some Cayenne Pepper and / or Paprika for flavour and a little sea salt. I boil some GF Pasta (pref’ brown) and some broccoli. I mix the past and tomato dish together and put the broccoli on the side as an easy lunch or dinner. I can make about 3/4 at a go and put them in the fridge or freezer.
Sweet Potatoes Roasted in the oven with some dairy free margarine, humous, and veg on the side is great. I sometimes fry up some Tofu with Garlic in Coconut oil (not deep fried). Or you can make a tofu scramble like eggs using Turmeric and I usually add chia seeds to up the protein and nutrients.
Lentil Currys are a great dinner and also easy to batch make.
Avocado on toast is great for brunch / lunch. Add a little sea salt, pepper and chia seeds and squeeze half a fresh lemon to get the the most out of the anti-inflammatory properties, and also the flavour!
Cakes
I bake a lot of my own cakes…when I have the time. I use either un-refined brown sugar (but half the amount they usually say to) or natural sweeteners like Agave syrup to replace white sugar. Sometimes I just use bananas and other fruits and they are sweet enough.
Try my recipe for healthy chocolate, peanut butter brownies here.
Drinks
Lemon in everything is the best advice I can give you.
Lemon is loaded with vitamin C, citrus bioflavonoids (vitamin P), live enzymes and potassium. It is one of the best foods to help the liver and kidneys to detoxify and it improves circulation and cellular oxygenation. It detoxes your body and it tastes great. I slice it and put it in water, and I also put it in tea.
I make fresh lemon tea with lemon slices, hot water, a tea spoon of apple cider vinegar, a tea spoon of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon. This is a great way to either start or end the day and help boost your digestive system.
In regards to alcohol and coffee, I don’t really drink coffee, very rarely and alcohol… well I didn’t drink for two years and now I drink sometimes. But that sometimes can easily become a few nights a week in my life at parties with free drinks. I’m thinking about cutting it out completely again… Watch this space. But generally if I have two glasses of wine in a week I feel fine…. anymore and I can notice the difference. FYI!
That’s all I’ve got for now!
So this is an ongoing journey for me which I’ve been on for a few years now. I thought I should share it with you incase it is useful to anyone.
Good luck and please let me know if you have any feedback, questions etc. You can reply on here to this blog or on my social media.
