A Basic Breakdown of Foods to Eat For an Anti-Inflammatory Diet
These general guidelines
The whole diet thing can be overwhelming.
I’m not a fan of dieting. I love my coffee with cream in the morning, and my diet coke in the afternoon. I love eating dessert with my husband. I love to salt my eggs, and sometimes I crave real meat—a burger and a beer is yummy. And yes, I have a huge sweet tooth.
I have done some strict dieting over the past four years, and without luck. What I didn’t know is that these fad diets—although good for quick weight loss for someone without Lipedema—did not help me control my weight. Instead of watching the scale go down, my weight slowly crept up over the past four years. I remember complaining to my husband how I was practically starving myself and not dropping even a pound from my efforts.
The other problem with the dieting bandwagon is I developed an eating disorder. I knew I was in bad shape last year when I started binging/purging. I was desperate and hopeless.
You can imagine how I felt when I learned that I had Lipedema and my weight gain was not because of my eating. I felt relieved!
I’ve learned the most helpful way to eat for Lipedema is with fresh, anti-inflammatory foods. Of course it’s a little more complex than this, and I’m not a dietician, but I’ve found some general dietary guidelines: eat lots of veggies, gear towards a more plant-based diet, cut down or eliminate meat and dairy products (with a couple of exceptions), and cut out things like sugar, excessive salt, and high carb foods (such as refined rice, or anything made with white flour).
Even though I have this knowledge in my brain, I still struggle with my diet, because, like I said, I’ve developed an eating disorder.
I don’t believe I’m alone. Many women with Lipedema have been told they are fat and to lose weight, only to diet and fail, diet and fail. We end up feeling hopeless and create an unhealthy relationship with food.
If you’re struggling with dietary issues and weight management, there’s an easy way to begin, and that’s to start incorporating healthy anti-inflammatory foods into your daily meals.
Here’s a simple start:
I’ve copied below some of the best anti-inflammatory foods according to Pharmacy Times:
Berries. These include blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries. Berries have a high level of antioxidants, which help prevent free radical damage to cells. They can also be a great alternative to sugar when we are craving something sweet. Top cereal, oatmeal, or yogurt with berries.
Cruciferous vegetables. These include broccoli, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower. Not only do these vegetables have fiber and vitamins, they have been shown to reduce the risk of certain cancers. Trying chopping up brussel sprouts, sprinkling chopped walnuts and dried cranberries, drizzling olive oil, and baking them at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes. This is a great healthy option for dinner, holidays, or parties.
Garlic, Ginger, and green tea. These 3 foods have anti-inflammatory properties that help with conditions such as arthritis, auto-immune conditions, and even diabetes. Green tea has been shown to help with weight management, too.
Oatmeal. Try this for breakfast with a scoop of pea protein powder. Oatmeal is filling and also contains soluble fiber to promote cholesterol management. Top it off with berries, cinnamon powder, or a drizzle of manuka honey.
Oily fish. Full of omega-3 fatty acids, albacore tuna, salmon, and sardines also help reduce inflammation.
Other anti-inflammatory foods include dark chocolate, flaxseed, and olive oil. Other quick tips to adapt an anti-inflammatory diet are choosing whole grains instead of refined breads and pastas, eating more fruits and vegetables, sautéeing food in olive oil rather than butter, and substituting a fish meal for red meat at least twice a week.
Of course, there are a ton of resources for following a Lipedema diet. Here are two:
Lymphedema and Lipedema Nutrition Guide although a little dry reading, this book lays out a scientifically studied nutritional outline specifically for us in particular.
The Completely New RAD Diet for Lipedema for Novices and Dummies RAD stands for Rare Adipose Disorder (although it’s not a rare disorder, but, whatever). This diet is a modification to a standard Mediterranean diet that helps you maintain a low glycemic index to limit the number of occurrences and levels your blood sugar spikes through the day. Blood sugar spikes cause inflammation, among other things.
If you don’t want to buy the RAD Diet Book, here’s a quick guide at Cure Lipedema.
At the most basic level, the goal with eating is not to lose weight, but to decrease inflammation. This can be done with colorful, whole, low-glycemic foods.
This part of conservative management should not be underestimated. It matters what we put in our body, so strive to moving towards an anti-inflammatory diet.
Michelle