6 Top Anti-Inflammatory Foods You Can Eat !

Food can become our friend or enemy, the right foods can heal us, and faulty foods are the leading cause of all diseases. My husband’s grandmother who was an authority in home remedies used to place so much importance on how the food was prepared, the season it should be consumed, and also the proper way to consume it. She lived till the ripe old age of 96, and we miss her dearly every day.

One thing that amazed me about her was the way she followed the traditions, I have never seen her break the traditional habits even once. It is from her I learned that food can indeed become medicine and can be used to treat all minor illnesses and prevent major ones very effectively at home.

Anti-inflammatory Diet:

Nowadays we are hearing a lot about anti-inflammatory diets but if you notice carefully, most of our traditional diets contain very powerful anti-inflammatory foods. In my humble opinion, we should learn and value these rich traditions and follow them in our daily life along with passing them on to our children.

Though we didn’t call them that, we have been using anti-inflammatory recipes to heal illnesses for centuries. For instance, if we fall or get injured, the first thing that our elders used to give us is turmeric milk, turmeric is a wonderful anti-inflammatory ingredient.

Our Experience With Anti-Inflammatory Food:

I still remember the day my niece who is living abroad called me about her knee pain, she said she suffered from intense knee pain often, and since she was having her exams, she didn’t have the time to book an appointment with the doctor. I asked her to consume turmeric milk and within half an hour her pain had reduced considerably. Even ginger tea, garlic milk, tart cherries juice, and barley water all have wonderful anti-inflammatory properties too.

6 Best Natural Anti Inflammatory Diet Food Recipes List That We Should Get To Know:

Though many herbs have anti-inflammatory properties, most of the time many won’t be able to get them easily, and searching for herbs when we are suffering from intense pain is also difficult. So it is a good idea to get to know the list of anti-inflammatory recipes that can be made with common kitchen ingredients, it will always come in handy. The anti-inflammatory recipes that are given below are the ones that we regularly use at home with great results.

1. Turmeric Milk:

The first anti-inflammatory recipe is turmeric milk. Turmeric milk is popularly called haldi doodh in India as turmeric is called haldi and milk is called doodh in Hindi. This milk is a very famous home remedy for many minor illnesses and it is also very easy to make at home.

Since this milk is made with pepper powder, it also aids in digestion, and above all, it is so very comforting to drink this milk. To make this turmeric milk recipe, milk is warmed with sugar and turmeric powder. We always use organic, grass-fed whole milk from our farm so I used that. You can use any type of milk you prefer.

We always grind our turmeric powder but if you could get organic turmeric powder, please use that. Once the milk is warmed, remove and add fresh pepper powder. This milk tastes good but don’t add too much turmeric powder, just 2 or 3 pinches will do, or else the milk will have a strong raw flavor of turmeric.

2. Ginger Tea:

Ginger is a very powerful anti-inflammatory ingredient that has been used in ayurvedic medicine for more than thousands of years. Not only internal consumption but externally applying ginger paste also treats the inflammations very very well. One of the best ways to consume ginger is by making tea out of it.

You can either use fresh or dry ginger at home we use dry ginger for making the tea. This tea is very very tasty and we make it regularly at home. It can be used often without any side effects. To make the tea, pound 1 tbsp of coriander seeds and a 1-inch piece of dry ginger together in a mortar and pestle.

Boil 250 ml of water along with palm candy (add according to your taste), and pounded spices till it reduces in quantity. Strain and enjoy your tea. Please don’t use milk in this recipe, it will curdle. Ginger and coriander seeds in this tea aid in digestion and palm jaggery also helps in treating anemia. This tea also prevents indigestion and will prevent the bloated feeling in the stomach.

3. Barley Water:

Barley water is another great recipe that we should try making at home often as it has wonderful anti-inflammatory properties. It flushes out the toxins very effectively, and drinking lemon barley water regularly also increases immunity. My maternal grandfather used to drink barley water every single day and he used to say that it kept him very healthy. Barley water is especially useful for treating all urinary tract diseases and it can be easily made at home.

Barley water can be used to treat skin diseases like acne too. Drinking barley water often and applying it topically on the acne-affected area reduces the inflammation and has a soothing effect. Try to make a thicker concentrate if you are applying it on the skin.

To make the barley water, wash the barley in water and soak it in water for at least an hour. Add water to it and start boiling till the barley is cooked. I like to add a slice of ginger while boiling. Switch off, strain and if desired chill, add a few drops of lemon juice, and your homemade barley water is ready!

4. Amla Juice:

Most of us must have heard the famous quote about amla “முன்னே கசக்கும் பின்னே இனிக்கும்” meaning it will be bitter first but will give sweet results later. Amla is regarded very highly in India and you will find amla being sold in all the nooks and corners of India.

There is a reason amla is loved so dearly, it treats all inflammations well, gives glowing skin and hair and prevents infections, prevents anemia as it helps in iron absorption and it also effectively removes toxins. It is best to make amla juice at home instead of buying it from the shops.

To make the amla juice, take 1/8 tsp of cumin seeds and a small piece of ginger in a mortar and pestle and crush coarsely. This makes it easier to grind. Pound 5 fresh amlas and remove the seeds from them.

Grind pounded amlas and crushed cumin seed mixture along with a pinch of salt in a mixer as finely as you can. Add the required amount of water and grind everything together. Strain and sweeten with pure honey. Your delicious homemade amla juice is ready!

5. Garlic Milk:

Garlic is a wonderful anti-inflammatory ingredient and we should make use of this wonderful ingredient. Though we can consume garlic in many ways, I love garlic milk. It is made by boiling garlic along with turmeric powder in milk, a wonderful anti-inflammatory recipe to fight off the pain and inflammation!

To make this garlic milk, boil finely pounded 3 garlic cloves in 1 cup of milk till it is cooked well. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp palm candy, and pepper powder to it and switch it off. Cool, mash it well and your healthy garlic milk is ready. This wonderful garlic milk fights cold and flu and it also can be consumed by feeding mothers to increase the breast milk supply.

6. Tart Cherry Juice:

Tart cherry juice is also a wonderful anti-inflammatory recipe, especially for diseases like gout. We have a tart cherry tree on our farm that produces ample fruits and I love to make tart cherry juice with them. People suffering from gout, a disease characterized by high levels of uric acid will greatly benefit from tart cherry juice.

Tart cherry juice has been found to reduce uric levels in the body and greatly reduce inflammation and pain. Tart cherry juice is also recommended for weight loss, constipation, and for preventing kidney stones.

If you have tart cherries at home, you can easily make fresh juice daily by blending the cherries with little water and honey or you can make a concentrate too. If you don’t have tart cherries at home, you can buy the tart cherry concentrate available in the shops. You can find the recipe for the concentrate here.