The best part about this blog spanning my entire post-pubscent life, is that we can see the evolution of topics - from my 2011 post titled "RPatz" that only includes a cheesy quote on "girls who read" to this one.... on inflammation. 

Two or three years ago (lord knows) when I began to take more interest in nutrition and gut health, it was interesting to learn about inflammatory foods. As the name suggests, these foods cause your body to become inflamed - which is our bodies' natural immune response to injury or infection. Unsurprisingly, they include the classic culprits; simple carbs, processed foods, vegetable oils, fast foods, fried foods, sodas, sweets, etc. After eating, they cause short term inflammation but long term abuse of these inflammatory foods can lead to chronic inflammation which can be a risk factor for cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases. 

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"Good" vs "Bad" food is drilled into our brains from childhood, so in theory this is nothing new. But, if you're a bit simple minded like me, it helps to try to tailor your diet with a purpose that is something other than just "healthy" - because, what does that even mean?? I find that making choices that align with the concept of "anti-inflammatory" just checks all the boxes on what I am looking for. If you're overweight, a diet of these foods will help with weight loss, they also have best nutrients, fiber, satiety, etc. And don't get me wrong, I 10000% still dabble in the Avoided foods section (and WAY more than I would want), because I am not perfect. And if I was perfect, my diet would still include ALL of the Avoid foods, but very rarely. 

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Inflammation is actually at the tippy top of my list these days, and not by choice. I had a surgery on my back earlier this year to remove a large fibroma. I have healed pretty well, thankfully, but there is a side where my skin is raised and I have felt it ache on and off for the last few months. When I went to my GP in September I brought this concern to her. I let her know I thought it was because my fluids didn't drain fully and I noticed it ached when I didn't eat well and thought it was because of high sodium content. I thought it made the site puffy from the salt and so it ached because it put a strain on my skin. After she took a look, she said I had the right idea, but it was not fluids/salt but that my body was still healing (sensitive) and when I ate the inflammatory foods, it, well, inflames. That made a lot more sense than my theory. I think a lot of us only notice inflammation when our face is a little puffy. But I have more than that right now . . . I have a built in inflammation-meter and it WILL let me know when my immune system is fighting for its life. Last night, I went to my moms house to eat taquitos dorados ..... I fucked up 7 of those with all the fixings. This morning, that little section is achhhinnggg. Not surprising since all of those are deliciously deep fried in corn oil. :-) :-(