The 14 Day Anti-Inflammatory Plan: AFTERCARE
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Print
As the 14 day plan comes to a close I hope you are all feeling lighter, less bloated, more focused, and rejuvenated! Now is a great time to slowly and steadily start reintroducing foods one thing at a time. E.g. scrambled eggs in the morning and maybe a coffee after lunch. It’s really important for you to be mindful of how these things are making you feel.
When it comes to reintroducing the foods we haven’t been consuming in the last 14 days, the more mindful you are, the better – the great feeling you have will last and last if you take care of it!
DAILY TIPS
– Start with consuming fresh fruit and veg everyday and reintroduce one food a day, and see how your body deals it, doo you feel bloated, tired, brain foggy in which case that food maybe worth leaving alone for now and doing some work on your digestion to get the fire going.(Unless of course there is a true allergy present).
– Add more complicated foods as you go along, make sure you do include lots of fibre and hydration and as I say keep it simple, lots of plants!
– Take a course of probiotics to help keep your gut with its newfound calm, I recommend Symprove, Renew Life, VSL3. This will leave you physically and mentally sparkling and your energy levels be balanced as you will have reset your blood sugar levels.
– Keep a little journal and note how foods are making you feel. If bloating/gas/itchy skin/runny nose (whatever it maybe) has returned then perhaps it would be wise to cut it out altogether.
– Reintroduce things slowly. Remember you’ve given your body a rest and chance to recover this past 2 weeks reintroducing everything in one go will be a shock to the system and also doesn’t allow you to identify anything that maybe not making you feel great.
– Keep hydrated. Don’t go back to sugary drinks and lots of alcohol, keep herbal teas and lemon water part of your day and your skin and digestion will thank you.
– I would recommend keeping gluten to a minimal. Especially how it’s processed here in the UK it can be very disruptive to our guts causing serious inflammation over periods of time. If you enjoy some yummy toast like I do opt for organic sourdough, rye (both with small traces of gluten) or try a seeded homemade loaf or millet bread (found in health food stores and waitrose!)
– Focus on wholefoods! Breakfast, lunch and dinner- all should be centred around fresh whole foods – An abundance of veg and fresh fruits, healthy fats, organic eggs, pulses, organic free range meat, sustainably caught/wild fish, healthy fats and gluten free grains. A mindful anti-inflammatory diet is one that can be followed all year round with plenty of room for the occasional treat or cocktails. It is a tool you can use to get back on track if you have drifted and is just super useful knowledge to have.
– Continue to be wary of added sugars! Now that it’s caught your attention and you’re aware of where it is sneakily added into so many foods, you can continue making small swaps throughout the year.
LIFESTYLE TIPS
– Inflammation can be triggered from our environment and lifestyle choices and habits so here are a few of my pointers to help you focus on that element.
– Start your day with hot water and lemon
– Sprinkle an extra anti-inflammatory dose wherever you can e.g. cinnamon in your porridge, turmeric in your latte, dried oregano and garlic flakes on your roasted veggies.
– Breathing deeply is one of the fastest and simplest ways to help reduce inflammation in the body. When you breathe deeply (known as belly breathing) you activate your vagus nerve which, stimulates the release of acetylcholine. This neurotransmitter works to turn off inflammatory processes in the body.
– Reduce your stress levels… Stress in all its forms has a very powerful inflammatory effect on the body. Stress will activate your adrenal glands, which will excrete your stress hormones, which are cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones work wonders for you in cases where you need therm, but if you are in a state of constant stress, where your body is continually producing these hormones you will be causing lots of tissue damage and inflammation. When you are constantly producing stress hormones, cortisol specifically, your cells will start to lose their sensitivity, which means that they will become less responsive to its action and this can lead to a runaway inflammatory process.
– Enjoy a night time routine to help you unwind. Stress can play a huge part in increasing and decreasing inflammation and sleep can massively help us relax and feel restored.
