Anti-inflammatory menus: ideal breakfast, lunch and dinner

Anti-inflammatory menus should include above all fruits and vegetables, whole grains, vegetable proteins such as legumes and nuts, spices and fresh herbs.

The quality of the fats we consume is of vital importance to control inflammation, since the manipulated or modified ones stimulate proinflammatory prostaglandins. Unprocessed natural oils are the healthy alternative, but as long as we eliminate harmful fats from our diet, especially those modified from trans configuration.

It is not so much a question of prohibiting certain foods but that, if they are consumed, they constitute a very insignificant part of the diet. If you have a chronic disease, you have to be much more careful. But if the body is fit, it can fight mild low-grade chronic inflammatory processes and maintain balance. How to achieve anti-inflammatory breakfast, lunch and dinner menus? We are going to show you the keys to prepare your own anti-inflammatory menus.

What foods have anti-inflammatory properties?

Fruit: cherries, currants, blueberries, blackberries, grapes (better if they are black and eaten with skin), berries and forest fruits.Healthy fats: oils olive cold-pressed virgins, flax, walnuts or sesame.Nuts: pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, sesame, chia or wheat germ, for its richness in fats of good biological quality and its excellent protein.Avocado. Contains up to 15% fat rich in oleic acid, palmitic and linoleic, of excellent quality. But, be careful, because it is a very caloric food.Broccoli, kale and cabbage. They contain vitamin K, indoles and isothiocyanates with anti-inflammatory and detoxifying properties.Papaya and tropical pineapple. They contain proteases such as papain and bromelain, which exert anti-inflammatory action. In the form of dried fruit they are also interesting.Green Tea. Contains polyphenols and catechins with antioxidant action. Without sugar and without milk, It is a very healthy drink, especially when compared to a latte, for example.Shiitake and mushrooms in general. Some mushrooms are marketed in pharmaceutical presentation as anti-inflammatory. They are excellent for preventing low-grade inflammation. The shiitake mushroom is possibly the best known, but mushrooms, chanterelles or chanterelles are also anti-inflammatory.Spices: turmeric, ginger, cloves… You can add them to your rice and soups to give them an exotic and healthy touch.Tomato. It is very rich in lycopene, a potent fat-soluble antioxidant. For this reason, cooking tomato, for example in the form of tomato sauce, improves the activity of lycopene. Tomato juice (natural, not from a bottle) can also be anti-inflammatory.Cocoa. Cocoa flavanols protect the endothelium, the thin inner lining of the arteries, from inflammation, which improves cardiovascular health. We are talking about pure cocoa, not milk chocolate. A chocolate of more than 70% cocoa has quite a few flavanols, but the other 30% also counts. Avoid sweeteners and refined fats.

What are the foods that cause the most inflammation?

Sugar. It is an energy bomb devoid of other nutrients. Its high calorie content makes it unsuitable for metabolic diseases and induces low-grade cellular inflammation. Avoid any products with added sugar.Refined or highly refined flours such as cookies, pastries, white bread without crust, etc. They are foods with a very high glycemic index, which are more like sugar than unrefined carbohydrates. They give a lot of energy and have for it certain addictive power.Foods with trans fats (margarinized). They are manipulated fats, markedly proinflammatory. French fries, pastries, margarines, prepared sauces, pizzas, snacks, milk creams for coffee… can contain them in high amounts.Ice creams. The industrialists carry fats and other elements of very little interest for health. They are also pro-inflammatory.ultra-processed foods, to which colorants, flavoring agents, preservatives or other additives have been added. Fast food items, frozen meals, and processed meats have been linked to a increased C-reactive protein, linked to inflammatory processes.Fried in general, especially if we don’t fry them, well we cannot guarantee the quality of the oil.Alcohol, sausages and dairy. If you consume them, they are inflammatory.

What can an anti-inflammatory breakfast include?

Muesli. Prepare your own muesli mixing ingredients such as cereal flakes (oats especially, also granola), dried fruit (walnuts), grated fruit (for example apple), apple juice and some raisins or dried fruit. First soak the flakes with the yogurt or juice, so that the flakes soften, and then add the rest of the ingredients. It is an energetic, complete and delicious breakfast, which allows numerous combinations of the foods that make it up.Fruit. A piece should not be missing in every breakfast. You can even have exclusively fruit for breakfast. Choose them from time and, better if they are from proximity.Compote. Quarter some apples without skin or seeds, or some pears. You can also mix them. Put them to boil for 15-20 minutes with a lot of cinnamon sticks, organic honey or syrup, the rind of a lemon and a little water. Add any dried fruit, such as papaya, pineapple, or cranberries, to the compote. When it has been cooked, it will be ready to eat, or to put in the fridge and eat it another day. Invent different models of compote by changing the fruit, dried fruit and sweet spices (cumin, anise, cloves…).Whole wheat toast with olive oil or avocado. Many people need a starch for breakfast, and toast or a sandwich is a good solution. If you want to eat cookies, read the ingredients carefully (it is better if they are made from whole grains) and pay special attention to the type of fat with which they are made. Avoid hydrogenated and preservatives, colorants and flavoring agents.Unsweetened cocoa drink. pure cocoa mix with some sweetener (stevia or xylitol, for example), stir well so that there are no lumps, add milk (rice or oatmeal, for example) and, if you wish, a little cinnamon powder.

What is an ideal menu of anti-inflammatory food?

Mixed salad. Try to dress your table with color, with various foods: Lettuce, radishes, cucumber, onion, celery, tomato, carrot, sprouts, corn, sunflower seeds, nuts…A good sauce for the salad it can change everything, so do your research with ingredients like tahini (sesame cream), mustard, oil, vinegar (country, Modena, rice or cider), aromatic herbs, turmeric, etc.some main dishes made with ingredients that reduce inflammation They are rice with mushrooms or chanterelles (add a good amount of turmeric and black pepper or curry), lentils with rice and spinach, and chickpea stew with roasted pepper.

What is the ideal anti-inflammatory dinner?

First, you can have boiled broccoli with potatoes. Let cook for a minute and dress the broccoli (or cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts) with a light garlic sauce. The cabbage family provide sulforaphane, responsible for its intense odor and partly its spicy flavor, a real boon to the body. Complete dinner with a mushroom and pepper omelette.For dessert, one applesauce.

What sauces or condiments can I add to anti-inflammatory menus?

In anti-inflammatory menus it is essential to avoid packaged sauces (they may have trans fats) but you can enrich meals with preparations such as guacamole, hummus and pesto sauce:

Ingredients: 2 ripe avocados, ½ garlic clove, 1 medium tomato, 1 Italian green pepper, ½ onion, coriander or parsley leaves.

Preparation: Extract the pulp of the avocado and mash it with a fork. Add the rest of the chopped ingredients, not undone. Also add, if you wish, a chilli to give a spicy flavor.

Ingredients: 1 ½ cups of cooked chickpeas, 1 clove of garlic, 4 tablespoons of tahini (cream of sesame), the juice of half a lemon, extra virgin olive oil, parsley, some cumin
ground or fresh cilantro.

Preparation: Mix the ingredients with the blender and dress with a generous drizzle of olive oil and some parsley or coriander leaves.

Ingredients: 1 or 2 cups of fresh basil leaves (buy a small pot, thick leaf is better), two tablespoons of pine nuts (and walnuts, if you wish), two tablespoons of nutritional or brewer’s yeast, one or two cloves of garlic, 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt (if you consider it necessary).

Preparation: Chop in a mortar or with a blender until you get a creamy sauce. It is important to consume it quickly, since it can lose medicinal and gastronomic qualities. Ideal for pasta.