Staying Healthy in the Fast Lane

staying healthy in the fast lane

Sea vegetation (algae) and seaweed rich in omega-3 fatty ac-
ids are also rich in trace minerals and are anti-inflammatory. Sea
vegetables are rich in iodine, which is good for your thyroid and,
possibly more important, may help detoxify (compete with) com-
pounds such as chlorine, bromine, and fluoride that may be harm-
ful to the body.
The basic elimination diet (BED; Appendix A) is an excellent
anti-inflammatory diet if whole foods and only the vegetables,
fruit, whole grains (non-glutinous), beans, nuts, seeds, and fish
off the list are eaten. In fact, the completely vegetarian version of
this diet has been used in trials treating rheumatoid arthritis with
success.^1

Anti-Inflammatory Diets: What are the Components?

The following is a list of components of anti-inflammatory di-
ets taken from medical studies that describe diets used to treat
very serious inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatoid arthri-
tis, lupus erythematosus, and other autoimmune disorders.^2 These
same components of anti-inflammatory diets can reduce the inci-
dence of all the chronic diseases of modern, industrialized societ-
ies caused by excess inflammation.

• Only whole, non-processed foods are consumed


• Reduced arachidonic acid (a pro-inflammatory fatty acid
  in excessive or imbalanced amounts) predominantly from
  meat, egg, and dairy fat


• Food elimination of “common allergens”


• Gluten- and dairy-free diets


• Vegan diet (no animal products) and gluten-free (no wheat,
  oat, barley, rye, couscous, etc.)


• Fish consumption, especially cold-water fish, if animal foods
  are consumed


• Nutrient supplementation used in some of these studies:
  vitamins C, D, E, B12, selenium, fish, flax, and/or bean oils
  (Note: Additional anti-inflammatory nutrients not used in