16. The Anti-Inflammatory Diet Part 3: How to Put It Into Practice Every Day

In this final part (for now) of the anti-inflammatory diet series, Dr. Anikó brings everything together and shows how an anti-inflammatory lifestyle is more than just what’s on your plate; it’s about how you live, connect, and nourish yourself and your family. Instead of focusing on restriction, Dr. Anikó encourages us to start by adding: more whole foods, more vegetables, more community, more rest, and more joy. By adding these elements first, the less supportive foods and habits naturally take up less space in your life.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why eliminating ultra-processed foods is key and how to do it realistically.
• How movement, sleep, and community act as anti-inflammatory practices.
• Practical tips for involving kids and family 
• The truth about organic vs. conventional produce
• How cooking simple meals and choosing seasonal foods  create lasting health shifts.
• The importance of eating together 

Resource mentioned:

Thrive Market: https://thrivemarket.com and Thrive Gives™ - Every annual membership sponsors a free membership for a family in need.

If you missed the earlier episodes in this Anti-Inflammatory series, you can catch up here:

Episode 14. The Anti-Inflammatory Diet Part 1: Understanding the Benefits of Inflammation in your Body:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/14-the-anti-inflammatory-diet-part-1-understanding/id1812511962?i=1000721790312

Episode 15. The Anti-Inflammatory Diet Part 2: Small Lifestyle Changes with Big Health Benefits: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/15-the-anti-inflammatory-diet-part-2-small-lifestyle/id1812511962?i=1000722770814

Connect with Dr. Anikó:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.aniko/

Website: https://www.draniko.com/

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Disclaimer:
The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the guidance of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast.

Transcript

Dr. Anikó: [00:00:00] Hello. Hello y'all. Welcome back to Nourished with Dr. Aniko. So this episode is part three. The last part of our discussion of the anti-inflammatory diet, which by this point we know is a full lifestyle approach, an approach to life. Really, when we think about it, that is very different from our. Standard American Diet and Lifestyle, which we learned last week is called sad.

It's literally the acronym for Standard [00:01:00] American Diet is SAD, and that's very fitting because a lot of times we're not even consuming foods that are. Truly foods. I mean, they're technically edible, but they are not nutritious or nourishing at all. And a lot of times we're also not consuming them in a way that is nourishing to us.

Right? A lot of times we're eating alone in front of a computer, and that's kind of sad too, right? Our food and our lives and our bodies deserve more. And there is a reason that traditionally we eat socially,

We prepare food socially. Sometimes we gather or catch or grow our food. Socially we're meant to eat and exist in community, and a lot of times that's lost in our Western lifestyle. So this is a great opportunity to shift that and when we talk about incorporating the anti-inflammatory lifestyle factors into our lives.

What I like to recommend is that you [00:02:00] start adding first instead of taking away. Not only is that psychologically helpful because then it doesn't feel restrictive. It feels like you're giving yourself these extra wonderful gifts. It also. It means that you are immediately going to start having more nourishment by eating more nourishing foods in a more nourishing way, and that means that you're naturally going to start consuming less and less of the foods that might not be as good for you, and also doing less and less of the practices that aren't as nourishing or in this context as anti-inflammatory because again, in the last episode.

We talked about that it's not just the foods that you're consuming, it's the way that you're consuming them, and then also things like exercise and sleep that are also anti-inflammatory. So there's a reason that we talk about stress management and community because research has shown [00:03:00] that loneliness itself is pro-inflammatory.

So. This means that we have so many different ways that we can make small shifts that can become big shifts, that when working together, create lifelong habits that are better for us and for our families. 

Let's talk about what I recommend in terms of implementing the anti-inflammatory diet or lifestyle into your or your family's life. So as we said earlier, it's about adding things in and there is no one size fits all anti-inflammatory diet food-wise. There's also no one size fits all way to start it.

So you just start where you are. A lot of people ask me. What's the food or food group that you need to avoid, and though my typical recommendation is everything [00:04:00] in moderation. This group is one that you want to minimize as much as possible if you can eliminate it even better Psychologically, I think it can be tough to eliminate something because that can sometimes make you want it more and more if you can just reserve it to maybe when we go out to eat or when we're on a road trip or something that just doesn't happen that frequently in your or your family's life.

That can be sort of the most realistic way to eliminate this group. And the group that I'm talking about, perhaps unsurprisingly, is the ultra processed foods. So anything with artificial colors, artificial flavors, that ultra processing that makes it last forever on the shelf, which is great for like wartime, but at this point, even that's not that great because it's literally just empty calories.

You're not getting any nutrition and in fact. We know already from lots [00:05:00] and lots of research that all those ultra processed foods are very pro-inflammatory. So you're gonna wanna eliminate the high fructose corn syrup as much as you can. So what falls in those categories are like sodas, candy is that are, you know, use artificial colors and artificial flavors and all of those things.

We are wanting to go back to nature and all of those ultra processed foods are antithetical to that. But again, one of the best ways to start pushing these foods out is to start filling our life with foods and beverages and practices that are actually nutritious because again.

The research that we talked about in the previous episode that people who are stressed already tend to make dietary choices that are more pro-inflammatory, meaning that they choose foods that are not as good for them when we are improving our life [00:06:00] experience through being in community, through exercise, through sleep, through all those things.

Our dietary choices will naturally follow into areas that are more nourishing. And I think a lot of us have had that experience where you start exercising more in a way that's supportive. Right? Because exercise too can be. Used in a way that's not necessarily good for us or loving, but when we talk about movement, one really lovely thing to do that you can do with a friend or a neighbor, or your kids or your partner or whoever is in your life or with yourself.

With the amazing person that is you. But again, we're talking about connecting with communities. So it is nice to have other people join you in this, but taking a walk either at that transition of when the day ends, right, the workday ends, whether you work inside the home or outside the home, whether you work.

Outside the home, from home, whatever configuration is your reality. To have the [00:07:00] demarcation of the end of that day be a walk with people that you care about, can be so nourishing. And again, we know that movement and exercise is anti-inflammatory. We know that being together in community is anti-inflammatory.

 So that's what I'm talking about. That's the natural momentum that we're wanting to harness here, is we start adding More nourishing practices, and then our choices just sort of naturally start falling into that more nourishing lane.

So what this looks like practically is you start putting more vegetables on your plate. Quite simply, right? Michael Pollen eat food not too much. Mostly plants. So you're wanting to add more and more plants to your diet so that the other things are taking less space on your plate and just having a plate that is an other really easy visual to think about what you wanna fill your plate.

With, and you [00:08:00] want it to be mostly vegetables. Now, that definitely does not have to be boring, and if you have kids that you know only want to eat. Potatoes. I can't tell you how many kids have told me. 'cause part of my assessment when I meet a new family and I talk to the kids is, what's your favorite vegetable?

Right? We talk a lot, as you can imagine with me, we talk a lot about what you eat, how you eat, all those things. I can't tell you how many kids have told me that french fries are their favorite vegetable, which just a great opportunity for more education for the kids, sometimes for the families as well, but.

You would be amazed at how many different vegetables your kids will eat if you involve them in the process, right? So a really great way to do this is to take them to the grocery store, let them pick out a vegetable, look up a recipe together. Let them help you cook it. When they have some agency around it, and especially when they have been a part of preparing it, they're [00:09:00] naturally gonna be more interested in it.

And so, you know, there's like purple cauliflower, all of those things. If your kid already likes cauliflower, expand it to purple cauliflower. Expand it to the pagoda cauliflower. Right. You can maybe even expand it to broccoli because they kind of look alike. Obviously they taste a little bit different, 

 just start where you are and expand from there. Spices can be another great place where you can get people more engaged, whether that's adults or kids, right? Smelling the turmeric, smelling the cumin, smelling the ginger, seeing how it affects your recipes. Again, a real fundamental part of this is cooking.

And

something that I want to make sure to emphasize is that this is not an all or nothing situation. If you are eating according to anti-inflammatory principles, you are winning. I mean, that is fantastic. Over the top, fantastic. If you are starting to incorporate some of those principles, that's winning too.

So [00:10:00] again, you start where you are,

but you also don't have the goal of perfection because perfection gets in the way And I promise you the goal is to eat according to these principles about 80% of the time. And if you get to that point. That is profound health benefits.

The other thing Is that there is sort of a myth that fresh fruits and vegetables are always really expensive, and that's just not the case. In fact, we spend so much more money when we get pre-packaged items or highly processed items because you're paying for that processing and packaging, right?

So fresh fruits and vegetables should not be expensive if you're buying in season, that doesn't mean that you're gonna get the exotic. I don't know dragon fruit necessarily, but if you're buying local and you're buying in season, fresh produce is actually quite affordable. Certain ones more than others.

Some of you may have listened to the My Story episode, which is episode two, [00:11:00] where I talk about how I learned to cook different foods when I was living in Europe. And one of the things that I learned to cook was beets. And one of the reasons that I learned to cook them was 'cause they were very inexpensive.

So things like beets. Cabbage. They tend to be really, really affordable. But again, if we don't know how to cook them, sometimes we don't even think about them. We kind of have the few fruits and vegetables that we home in on. The store and we may miss all the other things. So again, you wanna buy seasonally, if possible, that's gonna be the most affordable.

The other thing is organic versus conventional. So one of the reasons I really don't ever use the term clean eating. Is because it implies that to not eat in that way is dirty and no kind of eating is dirty. So I wanna be clear about that. That's why I don't like the words clean in regards to eating very much.

And the other thing that it does. Is that when we talk about organic versus conventional, if we're using words [00:12:00] like clean and dirty, it starts to make people feel like they shouldn't have that conventional banana, right? And if bananas in particular doesn't matter as much if it's organic or not, of course it matters for the earth and all of those things, but in terms of the pesticide residues that you may be exposed to 

 Fruits and vegetables whose skins you consume are going to be more contaminated by pesticide residues than those that peel. And do we typically eat a banana peel? No, not really. Right. So what ends up happening sometimes when we make these organic versus conventional really hard lines is that people start to feel like they can't eat conventional produce.

And I promise you that conventional produce is going to be World's better for your body than eating a pack of highly processed, ultra processed foods, right? There's still tons and tons of nutrients in all produce, but we do wanna be mindful of eating organic when possible, and especially [00:13:00] if it's going to be those fruits and vegetables whose skins we consume.

So things that are typically at the top of the list of the ones that are most. Contaminated by pesticide. Residues are typically things like strawberries, spinach, things like avocados and bananas tend to not be as contaminated by pesticide residues. And 

The other place that you wanna think really hard about organic is with herbs and spices, because that is typically dried and is typically a really concentrated form of that plant material, right? So any pesticide residues that are found on it are going to be amplified. So that's another area where I really would recommend buying organic if possible.

But if it's not possible. It's still really, really nourishing. So I think that organic versus conventional conversation is important, but not if it's making you start to turn away from produce and foods that are actually [00:14:00] really, really good for you. So if you don't cook, this is the perfect time to start learning healthy recipes. Are you gonna go from no cooking at all to cooking three meals a day? Absolutely not. You start where you are and every single. Hero's journey starts with the single step, right? So you start where you are. You're not comparing yourself to anybody else here.

But I think a lot of times we underestimate our palate. We underestimate our capacity to enjoy a variety of foods, and also to cook a variety of foods because maybe you only cook broccoli, for example. You can probably cook cauliflower the exact same way, or you can cook broccolini the same way. Or you can cook kale the same way, right?

So if you. Don't cook at all. This is a place where the internet is your friend. You literally search how to learn to cook, and there are classes. There are videos, obviously. There's also home [00:15:00] delivery services where they'll deliver all the ingredients to your house with the recipe. Those can actually be pretty reasonable places to start because they're so step by step and you have all the ingredients, but you don't need to sign up for anything like that.

You can literally learn how to cook on the internet with these basic videos. If you have kids, this is a perfect place to get them involved because cooking is a gift and it's also just like a. Basic human skill at this point, right? There's a reason that so many of our cultural practices revolve not just around eating, but about cooking and about growing your food, right?

That's another step that many people are inspired by is they start a little backyard garden. Maybe they start with herbs or something like that. You can have herbs in a pot on your windowsill, for example. Now, I also want to acknowledge the absolute inequity

 in many parts of our country. there are genuinely.

Food deserts [00:16:00] So this isn't super accessible advice to everybody, right? Millions of people in our country are impacted by food deserts, and a way that we can all make a difference is donating to organizations that are looking to change that. So there's many organizations, both nationally and locally.

One example is Thrive Market, which is an online membership based market. And for example, when you purchase an annual membership at Thrive Market, a free membership is sponsored for a family and financial need.

And as you rack up savings, you can choose to donate those dollars to support different initiatives like grocery discounts. So that's just one of many, many ways that we can support. Are communities who don't have access to this kind of food because there are people that actually do not, they don't have produce sections in the store [00:17:00] that they have access to.

So I just wanted to name and acknowledge that before moving on, because this isn't a reality for everybody. But if you do have access to a farmer's market or a community garden, Community gardens are other amazing initiatives that are started to help people's access to organic, local, healthy, nutritious foods, and also to teach people how to garden and how to farm.

That is a basic skill that so many of us really don't have anymore.

So in addition to incorporating more plants, right, more vegetables, a bigger variety of them. So it's not boring, right? Who wants to eat broccoli every single day? Probably not. Most of us. The other thing to do is to move to the most natural form of the food that you're consuming, right? So maybe you're doing quick cooked.

Sweetened like pre unsweetened oatmeal, right? Lots of typically added sugar and sometimes even artificial colors and flavors and all kinds of [00:18:00] that. So you just take the step towards more natural. So maybe you're doing stuff with a bunch of artificial things in it. Maybe you do the ones with natural flavoring.

Then you step to just quick cook coats, or maybe you go straight to rolled oats, right? then you go to steel cut oats. And I didn't know, I didn't think much about oatmeal for most of my life. And then I had a class with a wonderful, wonderful person, who may be a guest on the show, relatively soon.

But she was talking about steel cut oats and how the rolled oats, the oat is steamed and then rolled. That's why it's flat. I hadn't really put much thought into this before this, and then steel cut oats, they're sort of cut horizontally, right? So. They make little pieces of the oat, but the natural form of the oat is the oat groat, right?

So you have all of this space to move more and more and more towards the most natural form of the food, and we're aiming towards the most natural form of the [00:19:00] food. But at the very least, if you're getting prese. Pre flavored stuff, then just step to the unsweetened, unflavored one, and then you sweeten it yourself.

Because typically when you add honey or whatever your sweetener of choice is, you add less. And sometimes when you start adding less, you actually are also able to cut down on how much sugar you're consuming. Not that sugar in itself is something bad, but we're not meant. To be consuming as much of it as we are.

There's a reason that we get so into sugar is because our bodies evolved to really hone in on sugar when we found it, because it was supposed to be found in scarce amounts, we do not find sugar and scarce amounts in our lives or in our diets anymore.

And as you add more and more of these nourishing foods and practices, you will find that you are craving the ultra processed foods or the highly [00:20:00] sweetened foods or highly artificial foods. Less and less and less beverage of choice is gonna be water, of course. Lots and lots of water. We typically under consume water as much as our water bottles are so.

Ubiquitous. We don't always drink all the water. so you know, having a water bottle for your kids, making sure that everybody's consuming water. We talked about the Ayurvedic. Sort of philosophy around how much you eat around The moderation of eating is that the belly is supposed to be a third full of liquid, a third full of food, a third full of air.

Again, we're not doing this from a restrictive or punitive or controlling place. We're doing it from a place of listening to our bodies and finding what that right balance amount is. That leaves us feeling invigorated instead of totally sluggish and over full and just. Heavy, you know, after a meal. And then there's the lifestyle practices that are around food, right?

We want to eat socially, so if you [00:21:00] already aren't, if everyone is eating separately in front of a screen, for example, the first thing to do is cut out the screen, right? The second thing to do is bring the family together. If you're already eating together, let's say one night a week, try to make that two nights a week.

Again, you're just starting where you are. The. Hope, I won't call it a goal. It's a hope. It's a mission statement, is that you're eating communally at least once a day. If you're eating in front of your computer and you have colleagues. Go eat with your colleagues. Take 10 minutes if that's all you have, or five minutes and just sit down and make time to eat your food, right?

Don't have your food. Be your secondary activity. Have your eating. Be the primary activity. Enjoy your food. Some people, when they eat alone, if you don't have other colleagues to eat with, make that an opportunity for mindful eating where you're really noticing your food. In fact, in certain places. People will go away from [00:22:00] people and have time for silent eating experiences so that you can really experience your food and really notice your body's responses to eating food.

And then of course, we're wanting to move our bodies and we're wanting to rest our bodies. Right. And like we talked about in terms of the blue zones, the other things that. The blue zones have in common, in addition to what they eat and how they eat, is that they have typically a very robust religious or spiritual life.

They feel that they have a purpose to their life.They're typically very active in their communities, right? And there's a lot of multi-generation, older people, living with younger people. So all of this is a call to get out in the world, to connect with your neighbors, have a neighbor potluck.

You know, it's not just what you're putting on your plate, it's who is surrounding you when you're eating that plate of food. So I hope this inspires you to start to make those changes that [00:23:00] basically just get us. Back to our communities and back to ourselves, and back to our bodies, and back to a place where we're nourishing our bodies from a place of love and

delight and of true, genuine nourishment. So take good, carry all. I'll see you next time and stay nourished.

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