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To Combat Inflammation in My Body, I Eat Two Superfoods and Avoid Three
Chronic inflammation is associated with diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease
Inflammation in our body is a normal, healthy response; it becomes a problem only when it is a long-term condition due to particular habits. According to Harvard Health Publishing (2019, 2020), inflammation is when our immune system fights off foreign invaders, but certain lifestyle (e.g., smoking or constant consumption of foods high in sugar) can evoke lingering immune responses that lead to serious illnesses like heart disease or diabetes, and one of the best ways to prevent or treat the condition is to eat foods with anti-inflammation effects.
Since I was a kid, adults would tell me not to eat too much of certain foods because they caused “fire” in our bodies to rise. This idea of “fire” within us, of course, is from Chinese medicine (e.g., Thomson Chinese Medicine, n.d.). Based on my quick research, I have a strong feeling that this “fire” idea is referring to inflammation; at least they should be related. For one thing, many websites in Mandarin (e.g., here, in case you use Google translate) explain that chronic “fire” can lead to heart disease and diabetes, same with inflammation.
