Three recipes with anti-inflammatory effects
Get rid of pain with the right diet – this is how it can work!
A diet rich in fresh vegetables and fruit and low in processed foods prevents inflammation.
Eating without any problems – is that possible?
From arthritis to bladder infections to intestinal problems – the number of people suffering from recurring inflammatory diseases is constantly increasing. Many of these complaints are based on an unbalanced diet. The right foods can help us to get chronic pain under control. How can this be done? We explain.
Which foods promote inflammation
Millions of people in Germany live with chronic pain. For a long time, one of them was Saskia Johanna Rosenow. At the age of fifteen, she contracted the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which attacks the body’s immune cells and can lead to the outbreak of glandular fever. From that point on, the young woman suffered from constant inflammation throughout her body and the resulting pain. The medication she took to combat it caused her intestinal problems.
To escape the vicious circle of pain, medication and the side effects they cause, she decides to take her fate into her own hands. In her book “Anti-Inflammation Kitchen”, the state-certified nutritionist and holistic health therapist explains how she got her chronic pain under control with a balanced diet and changes to her lifestyle.
The fact is that not only allergies, but also stomach, intestinal and thyroid diseases, neurodermatitis and osteoporosis have their origin in inflammatory processes. “Infections caused by bacteria or viruses can be considered as the main triggers, but also other pathogens (disease-causing agents) such as fungi or parasites,” summarizes Rosenow. In addition, non-specific factors such as foreign bodies, physical stimuli such as heat or harmful substances can irritate the tissue and trigger inflammation.
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We have significant control over the risk of chronic inflammation
Whether an inflammation causes long-term problems or is quickly over depends largely on our immune system: if it is fit, it fights inflammation immediately and causes it to subside. If our body’s own defense system is weakened, it is not able to fight inflammation sustainably. It continues to smolder as so-called “silent inflammation” and promotes the development of chronic diseases.
In addition to a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise, moderate sport, good stress management and avoiding stimulants such as cigarettes or alcohol, diet in particular has a significant influence on our immune system: Regular consumption of white flour products, highly processed foods and red meat weakens the body’s own defenses: “This is because an unbalanced diet puts a strain on the intestines, where our defenses are located, and also leads to us accumulating a very high proportion of omega-6 fatty acids in the body,” explains the nutritionist. Both of these increase the risk of inflammatory processes. While omega-3 fatty acids prevent inflammation, omega-6 fatty acids, which are found in animal products such as meat, butter, cheese and eggs, promote it.
If anti-inflammatory foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables and healthy fats are missing from the menu, inflammation has an easy time.
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These symptoms indicate silent inflammation
According to Rosenow, silent inflammation can manifest itself through the following signs:
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persistent fatigue and lack of motivation
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higher susceptibility to infection
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Food intolerances and digestive problems
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poor sleep and sleep disorders
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Night sweats
The good news: To the same extent that certain foods promote inflammation, others can have an anti-inflammatory effect in the body. Foods that contain a lot of vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, selenium and zinc in particular have an anti-inflammatory effect.
If you eat a balanced diet with lots of fresh, unprocessed foods and eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, you don’t need to worry about getting enough of the vitamins and minerals mentioned. Only vegans should supplement vitamin B12, as it is only found in animal products. The following recipes show that enjoyment and optimal nutrient intake do not have to be mutually exclusive.
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Recipe: Warm breakfast casserole with fruit
The delicious breakfast casserole with fruit is easy to digest, provides energy and keeps you full for a long time thanks to its high fiber content. The anthocyanins contained in the berries also have an anti-inflammatory effect.
Ben Fuchs, Edel Publishing Group GmbH
Ingredients for two servings:
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1 ripe banana
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200 ml cashew milk
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3 tbsp apple sauce
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2 tbsp date syrup
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1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon powder
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Pulp of a vanilla pod
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100 g oat flakes
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200 g fruit and/or berries (e.g. apple, raspberries or blueberries)
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1 tbsp ground almonds
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C top and bottom heat.
- Peel the banana and mash it in a bowl with a fork. Mix with the cashew milk and apple sauce. Fold in the date syrup, cinnamon, vanilla pulp and oat flakes. Spread the finished mixture in a baking dish.
- Wash the fruit, remove the stones if necessary and cut into bite-sized pieces. Sort the berries, wash them and pat them dry. Spread the fruit and/or berries over the mixture and sprinkle with the ground almonds.
- Bake the casserole in the oven for about 20 minutes and serve warm.
Video: This diet helps prevent silent inflammation
Recipe: Salad with baked sweet potatoes
Ingredients for four servings:
For the dressing:
To garnish:
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1 handful of chopped walnuts
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some freshly chopped chives
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20 g feta from sheep or goat milk
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C top and bottom heat.
- Clean the sweet potatoes, wash them thoroughly and cut them into two centimetre cubes. Mix the olive oil and paprika powder in a bowl and toss the sweet potato cubes well. Then spread them out on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in the oven for around 25 minutes.
- In the meantime, sort the lamb’s lettuce, wash it and spin it dry. Clean the radicchio, wash it and cut it into strips. Also cut the beetroot into thin strips.
- Mix lamb’s lettuce, radicchio and beetroot in a salad bowl.
- Mix all ingredients for the dressing and pour over the salad.
- Spread the sweet potatoes, walnuts and chives over the salad. Finally, crumble the feta over the top.
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Recipe: Feel-good pizza with cauliflower dough
Pizza is not synonymous with fast food: if you make it yourself, you know what is in it and can reduce the amount of animal ingredients such as salami and cheese in favor of vegetables.
Ben Fuchs, Edel Publishing Group GmbH
Ingredients for four servings:
For the dough:
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3 tbsp ground linseed
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1 garlic clove
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½ cauliflower (approx. 450 g)
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Salt
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60 g ground almonds
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1 tsp dried oregano
For covering:
To garnish:
Preparation:
- For the dough, mix the linseed with six tablespoons of water and leave to soak for 15 minutes. Peel and chop the garlic. Clean and wash the cauliflower, divide into florets and chop very finely in a food processor or with a knife.
- Boil salted water in a pan and cook the cauliflower in it for eight minutes. Drain in a sieve and squeeze out the liquid with a spoon or wrap the cabbage in a kitchen towel and squeeze it out. Leave to cool in a bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C top and bottom heat. Knead the cauliflower with linseed, almonds, garlic, a teaspoon of salt and oregano and spread on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, for the topping, wash the eggplant and tomatoes. Peel the onion. Clean the mushrooms. Chop everything into small pieces.
- Spread the tomato puree on the dough, sprinkle with herbs and top with mushrooms, onion, eggplant and tomatoes. Bake for five to ten minutes.
- In the meantime, sort the rocket, wash it and spin it dry. Top the finished pizza with it and sprinkle with hemp seeds.
Even small lifestyle changes can make a big difference
In her book, Saskia Johanna Rosenow shows ways to rethink your own work-life balance and to address a variety of issues in order to positively influence your lifestyle. The fact is: even small changes can have a big impact on our immune system and therefore on our health.
However, everyone is different. What is easy for one person is a big challenge for another. Start with small changes. For example, try out what you can do without (alcohol? cigarettes?) or what positive foods you can add to your diet on a permanent basis. Ideally, you can swap a bad food for a good one.
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In general, we have a lot of control over our risk of chronic inflammation through our lifestyle. A plant-based diet with lots of whole grain products, fruit and vegetables, low-fat dairy products and healthy fats provides us with all the necessary vitamins, minerals and secondary plant substances. This not only protects us from being overweight and the resulting secondary diseases such as type 2 diabetes, but also boosts our immune system. And that is ultimately the best protection against inflammation and chronic inflammatory diseases. So what are we waiting for?
This article was originally published in March 2023 and has been slightly revised since then.
