Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Omega-3 fatty acids-found in fish oils-seem to increase the number of PPARs, which will help reduce your inflammation. We recommend you get omega-3s in the form of three four-ounce servings of fish per week or a 2-gram fish oil capsule a day or an ounce of walnuts a day. (Saturated fats, by the way, increase inflammatory properties, and trans fat undermines the effects of omega-3s.)
Green Tea: The thinking is that catechins in green tea inhibit the breakdown of fats and also inhibit production of NF-kappa B. Studies have found that drinking three glasses of green tea a day reduced body weight and waist circumference by 5 percent in three months. It also increased metabolism (all nonherbal teas have substances that increase the metabolic rate).
Substances we think may fight inflammation:
Beer (in moderation, Tiger): The bitter compounds that come from hops derived from beer seem to activate PPARs in animal studies. But you have to get them in the form of only one drink a day. People who drink twenty-one eight-ounce beers, or twenty-one glasses of wine, or twenty-one shots of whiskey a week have a clear correlation predisposing them to belly fat independent of all other risk factors.
Turmeric: A gingerlike plant that has curcumin as its active ingredient, turmeric seems to activate more PPARs to reduce inflammation. Just add the right dose-a pinch ( of a teaspoon). Add any more and your food will taste like mustard.
Jojoba Beans (They are really seeds): They’ve been shown to tune up the system in the ways we want like increasing good cholesterol levels and raising leptin levels to curb hunger. The supplement jojoba extract (the supplement simmondsin is also made from jojoba) seems to work by stimulating CCK. The dose is about 2.5 grams to 5 grams for most people (50 milligrams per kilogram of weight).
The Main Ingredients
Though the effect is not completely proven, there’s some evidence that the following substances and ingredients have a meaningful anti-inflammatory effect:
Substance
Found In
Isoflavones
Soybeans, all soy products
Lignans
Flaxseed, flaxseed oil, whole grains such as rye
Polyphenols
Tea, fruits, vegetables
Glucosinolates
Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower, plus kale
Carnosol
Rosemary
Resveratrol
Red wine, grapes, red or purple grape juice
Cocoa
Dark chocolate
Quercetin
Cabbage, spinach, garlic
Drink Java. Coffee is Americans’ largest source of antioxidants (aside from caffeine, which has its own antioxidant properties). It is chock-full (pun intended) of polyphenols and is a great low-calorie fluid when you have cravings. You can drink decaffeinated versions to avoid the side effects. The second-biggest source of antioxidants? Bananas, which have seven times less than coffee.
Go through the Process of Elimination. To change the way you feel, the way you process food, and the way you store fat is to get at the root of the system: You need to figure out what foods may be causing you GI trouble, no matter how subtle your symptoms may be. The best way to do that is through the food-elimination test. What you’ll do is completely eliminate certain groups of foods for at least three days in a row. (Sometimes, the elimination of a food takes two or more weeks to show its benefits in how you feel.) During that time, take notes about all the different ways you feel: your energy levels, fatigue, and how often you go to the bathroom. Take notes when you eliminate foods and when you reintroduce them-that way you’ll really notice what changes make you feel worse or better.
Here’s the order we suggest: wheat products (including rye, barley, and oats), dairy products, refined carbohydrates (especially sugar), saturated and trans fats, and artificial colors (which are tough to get rid of because they’re in everythickg). While the experiment will help you ID your personal digestive destructors, it has an added benefit: Eliminating a group of foods for several days at a time will help train your body to eat smaller portions all the time.
Get Moving after a Big Meal. If you’ve made a mistake and gorged on a tub’s worth of food, make your body work in your favor. Stay awake for a few hours and take a thirty-minute walk to help your body with the breakdown of nutrients and so that it uses the food for energy, rather than storing it as fat. Once the calories are in your stomach, don’t try to vomit; vomiting can damage your stomach, burn your esophagus, and even discolor your teeth if you do it enough. Also, don’t eat sweets after gorging, because sweets will increase insulin and help deposit excess calories in your belly.
Pick Your Poison. High amounts of sucrose (sugar) cause inflammation; you can reduce the effect by using alternative sweeteners. Besides causing sudden spikes in blood sugar, foods with high sugar content have high calorie content and if not burned off or used as fuel, those calories will be stored as fat. While some sweeteners are low- or no-calorie, there is a downside: Sweeteners found in diet soft drinks, in diet foods, and on restaurant tables next to the sugar packets go unrecognized by the brain. They’re essentially invisible to your brain’s satiety centers, so it doesn’t count them as real food and still desires to be fulfilled by calories somewhere else. There’s no clear-cut proof on the effects of these sweeteners-either on a health level or on a weight-loss level-but we do know one thickg: Prehistoric man wasn’t putting Splenda in his water. Artificial sweeteners, while lacking calories, may have side effects like intestinal problems and headaches. If you’re having a hard time losing weight or don’t feel well, these are some of the first thickgs to cut out even though they can be an alternative to high-calorie sugars. There’s no clear-cut data on which sweeteners work most effectively, but here’s how we rate them:
Sweetener
The Scoop
Here’s the Skinny
Sucralose (Splenda)
Discovered in 1976 but not introduced for widespread use for many years. More than 500 times sweeter than sucrose, stored in body fats, suitable for baking, and does not affect levels of blood sugar.
The research is least complete on this one, but go ahead and keep it in the cupboard. Its widespread use is too new for us to know any of the long-term effects, but it appears the most promising—and it’s the best one to use for cooking.
Aspartame (NutraSweet)
Entered the market in 1981. Several studies have found that it has adverse health effects, but those studies were very limited.
It’s come under a lot of scrutiny and has basically stood the test of time. But it’s the sweetener that hangs around the longest in your body, and it cannot be heated—it turns into formaldehyde (which could help you save on funeral expenses). It’s also rumored to limit the brain’s ability to use certain vitamins, antioxidants, and the mineral magnesium.
Saccharin
Has been around since the early 1900s, and while some studies found a health risk, those studies have significant limitations.
It appears to be one of the safest sweeteners and the only one with real long-term data, even if some of the data is not positive. (If you consume
