What is Inflammation?

One significant component of pain is inflammation. For example, when the body experiences a physical injury, the immune system initiates an inflammatory response to begin healing the process. This natural response not only alerts the brain about the injury, but also sends specific agents to localized area of inflammation so healing can occur. In addition to physical injury inflammation can also result from an infection, irritation and even chronic diseases including strokes and heart disease.

Inflammation is an excellent indicator of both minor and major issues afflicting the body. Some of the common symptoms of inflammation include localized redness, swelling, pain and even in some instances, loss of function and/or movement of the affects areas.

In addition, as medical research and science improves, inflammation is being recognized as a common factor to a wide array of chronic disease and illness including diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, hay fever and even crow's feet around the eyes. So by eating anti-inflammatory foods are vital to reducing and eliminating inflammation in the body naturally.

Pro-Inflammatory and Anti-Inflammatory Foods

For the purpose of this article two types of food exist: pro-inflammatory foods and anti-inflammatory foods. Pro-inflammatory foods will increase inflammation and increase pain due to inflammation. In addition, pro-inflammatory foods may even increase your risk for chronic disease. Anti-inflammatory foods reduce inflammation and may reduce your risk for chronic disease.

Pro-inflammatory foods include but not limited to high-fat meals, junk foods, high sugar meals, processed and fast foods. These types of foods usually contain trans fats, nitrites and saturated fats and can contribute to increased inflammation in the body.

Below are some examples of anti-inflammatory foods that you should add to your diet. These include olive oil, soybeans, Omega-3 sources such as walnuts, oily fish flax seeds and pumpkin seeds. One anti-inflammatory food in particular that is catching the attention of many researchers and pain suffers is the tart cherry.

This ruby red fruit has a long history of fight inflammation pain caused by arthritis. In regards to arthritis and inflammation, Michigan State University was the first medical university to identify Anthocyanins in tart cherries and indicate these may naturally inhibit the COX 1 and COX 2 enzymes. According to research, tart cherries inhibit COX 1 and COX 2 (cyclooxygenase 1 and 2) enzymes and prevent inflammation in the body.

Tart cherries help the body to produce similar types of chemical process as non-sterodial anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). Some examples of NSAIDS drugs are ibuprofen and aspirin. Tart cherries contain natural COX 1 and COX 2 inhibitors that function in the same manner to NSAIDS. The inhibitors found in the tart cherries are of the flavonoids class. Unlike NSAIDS, research shows these flavonoids protect against stomach damage and don't upset the stomach. One source for additional information on the anti-inflammatory benefits of tart cherries is Traverse Bay Farms http://www.traversebayfarms.com

So if you are looking to fight inflammation in the naturally, consider adding anti-inflammatory foods to your diet, while eliminating pro-inflammation foods.