When I graduated from chiropractic college in 1981 and started practice, I heard it all, and very little was positive. “You are a quack; you do not know what a subluxation is; you couldn’t get into a real health care program, so you chose the one that is slightly above a mail-order degree; you have no proof that chiropractic works; Are you really licensed?”, and so much more.
| Digital ExclusiveThe Anti-Inflammatory Diet, Part 1: Dietary Causes of Inflammation
In the past year, I have seen growing interest concerning "anti-inflammatory diets" from both patients and medical doctors who refer patients for nutritional consultations. The two most common questions are: "What do you think about this new anti-inflammatory diet stuff?" and "When I looked it up, nobody seems to agree on exactly what it is." My standard reply is that I first heard the term more than 15 years ago and at that time it was a concept, rather than a specific diet. I explain that instead of getting hung up on Web definitions (such as all-organic, free range, all raw foods or GMO* free vegetarian), they should focus on the basic underlying themes that fuel inflammation (Table 1) and see if patients have any areas that need to be addressed.
Table 1: Common Dietary Imbalances That Inflame |
Too many calories |
Too much saturated fat |
Too much sugar and refined carbs |
High omega-6 to omega-3 ratio |
High sodium to potassium ratio |
Table 2: Sources of Pro-Inflammatory Imbalances |
Too much fast food |
Too much fried food |
Too much junk food |
Too many soft drinks |
Too many meals out |
Too many servings per meal |
Too much processed food |
Too much high-fat animal food |
Too many desserts |
Too much alcohol |
Next time, we will continue to explore this topic, including looking at a pro/anti-inflammatory food list and how to apply the concepts of reducing inflammation in practical ways for normal, busy people.