If you missed my initial post, I jumped on the TikTok trend a few weeks ago and made a video about the 5 things I would never do as an allergist/immunologist and then turned it into a blog that was featured on KevinMD.com and his podcast last week! If you missed it, you can check it out here. 

I thought I would repeat this exercise from the role of an Sjogren’s and autoimmune patient and going into each one with a little more detail over the next few weeks. 

Last week I shared my favorite resources for sleep and this week, I am jumping into the topic that is ALWAYS the most popular and at times controversial. 

What the heck is considered anti-inflammatory nutrition?

Is it AIP?
Is it carnivore?
Is it vegan? Pegan? 
Is it all hummus and veggies? 

Well. Let me let you in on the big secret.

The term anti-inflammatory nutrition has no “official” definition. 
And there is NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL solution.

How could there be when each of us plays host to 38 TRILLION gut bugs?!!
BUT…

We do have good solid reproducible science to support particular eating patterns and approaches to decrease our systemic inflammation, improve inflammatory conditions like asthma, RA, and cardiovascular disease and optimize our gut health. 

What does this style of eating look like? 

• Prioritizes a variety of plants (a rainbow of fruits and veggies, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices) 
• Minimizes saturated and trans fats and increases healthy fats 
• Decreases our intake of refined grains and sugars & ultra-processed foods
• incorporates fermented foods 
• Only strictly eliminates foods that have proven to cause harm for that individual person (true allergies, Celiac, etc) 

In my book, the most important element to be truly anti-inflammatory mean that our way of eating shouldn’t be adding to our stress response. 

For me, this means not cooking separate meals for the rest of my family. 
Not having to buy stupid expensive ingredients just to be “compliant” 
Not being able to eat out. 
Not being able to eat a piece of cake or a bowl of ice cream on occasion. 
Not being able to feel fully engaged in family gatherings, holidays, and celebrations. 

If you want to learn more about an anti-inflammatory lifestyle including nutrition, I have pulled together my favorite resources from the 100+ books I have read over the years. These are the ones that I really digested and then incorporated in bits and pieces into my every day doing-- all listed in one place! (and with easy links for shopping :-) ) 

You all get to see it here FIRST! 

Introducing the Crunchy Allergist's
Anti-inflammatory Library Booklist! 

Taking a simple, sustainable, and holistic approach to our health and healing isn’t anything revolutionary.

Modern science supports these approaches while modern life actively resists their implementation. 

Dive into any of these resources and take the first step.

To download it for free today visit HERE.