Fixing Geo Part Two. Food As Medicine

Gotta get my shoulder functioning before Spring and the beginning of the cycling season so it's all about resting it as much as possible. The trade off will be trying to avoid weight gain by due diligence when it comes to my way of eating. I also will be focusing upon foods that promote anti inflammation and, conversely, avoiding foods that are inflammatory.

This process will be made easier by the fact my Primal way of eating already avoids many of the "bad" stuff and encourages the consumption of "good" food. So I googled the best foods to consume and came up with this consensus....

http://theconsciouslife.com/top-10-anti-inflammatory-foods.htm

 Blueberries(and all berries in general), sweet potato, broccoli and salmon are already part of my regular diet. I occasionally eat dulce (ie kelp). I prefer Rooibos tea over green and some recent research of the South African beverage indicates it is actually better than green tea.I also prefer the taste especially if it has been infused with a natural vanilla flavour. Delicious.

 Turmeric is unfamiliar to me but I do consume ginger. In fact I have acquired a taste for chewing slivers of raw ginger. I also eat cauliflower and spinach on a regular basis. I have never had papaya but use fresh pineapple and juice for smoothies. Shiitake mushrooms might just have to be added to my diet. I love mushrooms but usually just eat the normal white variety. I no longer consume olive oil as I now use real butter/coconut oil. Most still fear the stigma of saturated fats and unfortunately miss out on the benefits of real butter(preferably from pastured cream) and coconut oil.

"Coconut oil can also positively affect our hormones for thyroid and blood sugar control. People who take coconut oil also tend to have improvements in how they handle blood sugar since coconut can help improve insulin use within the body. Coconut oil can boost thyroid function helping to increase metabolism, energy and endurance. It increases digestion and helps to absorb fat-soluble vitamins......Coconut oil has a saturated fat called lauric acid, a type of MCT. It has been shown that lauric acid increases the good HDL cholesterol in the blood to help improve cholesterol ratio levels......Coconut fats have special fats called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs). It has been shown that breaking down these types of healthy fats in the liver leads to efficient burning of energy. "

Add the anti fungal,anti bacterial and anti viral properties of coconut to the benefits of coconut MCTs and it is truly a super food.One of my favorite uses of coconut is using unsweetened shredded coconut as a snack food.

http://kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2012/09/22/9-foods-that-cause-inflammation-and-9-that-fight-it/

 Avoiding inflammatory foods will not take much effort as I already avoid sugars, industrial seed/nut/vegetable oils, grains, legumes, corn and trans fats.In many cases processed junk/fast foods contain ALL OF THESE. No wonder people are sick. I do eat some dairy in the form of butter and coffee cream(which are basically fat) and fermented dairy like plain yogourt and cheese.I do not drink milk. 

Red meat is an issue as I am a carnivore. That said meat from grass fed, pastured animals is a far better choice so I will try and limit my consumption to grass fed beef and lamb.I will be adding more seafood to my diet, specifically salmon and sardines while scaling back my red meat consumption.

In retrospect I do not need to make any difficult changes but only tweak my diet to ensure there is balance between anti/pro inflammatory foods while encouraging my wonky shoulder back to full function.

http://rolfdevinci.blogspot.ca/2013/02/fixing-geo-part-one-upon-injured-reserve.html