The Inflammation Cure Cookbook

A one year old boy’s mother who fancied herself an expert in healthy cooking made his birthday cake of wholesome, healthy ingredients. One hundred percent rice flour was used. Instead of sugar, the cake was sweetened with dried apricots that were as hard as shoe leather. There was neither fat nor yeast. The boy’s uncle took one bite of the dense dry concoction and remarked, “When this boy gets his first bite of chocolate cake, he’s going to run away from home.” Healthy eating when properly done can be fine cuisine, as the recipes gathered here prove. Combining wholesome ingredients to create a delectable dish is no harder than cooking unhealthy foods. The Inflammation Cure, published in 2003 by the Contemporary Books Division of McGraw-Hill, discusses the role of inflammation in chronic and degenerative diseases including the aging process. It outlines five lifestyle components that have been scientifically proven to reduce one’s risk of developing diseases related to inflammation. These are: What we eat What we do Where we live What medications can do Mind body solutions What we eat was discussed first and foremost because of the immense importance of diet in overall health. The Inflammation Cure Cookbook presents recipes for healthy eating that will reduce one’s risk of diseases related to inflammation, ranging from heart disease and stroke to obesity, asthma, and diabetes. In addition, it updates the explosive growth of knowledge of the role of inflammation in disease that has occurred since The Inflammation Cure was published. In Part I, the rationale for the inflammation cure diet is presented, including the burgeoning evidence that there are healthy fats and unhealthy fats, essential fatty acids that must be balanced in the diet, protein requirements that are essential to manufacturing proteins that perform essential body functions, and the different types of carbohydrates and which should be eaten in moderation. We must be compulsive label readers who know what we are getting in every prepared food that we buy and have the knowledge to avoid prepared foods that attempt to rope us in with unhealthy ingredients, such as too much sugar, too much salt, and the wrong types of fat. Part II presents the inflammation cure recipes. The bulk of these recipes stem from the culinary genius of Dr. Kimberly Heidal, who in addition to being a creative cook, has a PhD degree in human nutrition and is a Registered Dietitian. Dr. William Meggs, a physician with a strong interest in diet and health, contributed some of his favorite recipes. Eating healthy foods is not sufficient for good health. The whole grains wheat, barley, and rye contain health promoting fibers, proteins, and energy sources of carbohydrates along with vitamins and minerals. These grains, however, can be devastating for individuals with an intolerance to gluten. Lactose, the sugar in cow’s milk, is split into glucose and galactose by the enzyme lactase in our small intestine. People who lack the ability to produce lactase can have a devastating intolerance to milk and other dairy products. All foods contain a host of organic chemicals which have biological activity in the human body, ranging from caffeine to naturally occurring insecticides that plants use to ward off destructive insects. Just as a person can have adverse reactions to drugs, food chemicals can cause highly individualized adverse reactions. Part III of this book is a manual for those with health problems to determine if specific foods can be the source of these problems. Many cases of chronic illness have gone into remission with dietary modifications. The problem addressed in Part III is very different from the problem addressed in Part I for which the recipes given in Part II are helpful. The recipes in Part II address the problem of eating a diet that reduces one’s risk of chronic diseases related to inflammation and aging such as heart attacks and strokes, while the dietary recommendations in Part III are for a different problem; that is, specific food intolerances which do not affect everyone. Eating a healthy diet is not enough. For example, a chain smoker could eat the healthiest of diets and still have accelerated aging and suffer heart attacks and strokes at a young age. The air we breathe can modify our health, so tips on avoiding unhealthy air will be presented. Mind states can be deleterious to health, as can a stressful job or life style. Tips to handle stress will be discussed. When all else fails, there are medications that those of us cursed with certain genes have to consider. As we age, genes are switched on and off as part of the aging process, so we have to be cognizant of that and intervene appropriately with medications.