Recipe: Ginger Sesame Turkey Burger // The Anti-inflammatory Turkey Burger

Sometimes living an anti-inflammatory life is hard. You fall of the wagon. You eat things that you wish you hadn't because your body reacts badly to them. When those times happen, you have to start with little steps. Little steps will get you back to fighting inflammation.

So, in an attempt to get back on that anti-inflammatory wagon, I've used some of the items from the Delicious Arthritis pantry to get me going. 

Ingredients:

Ground turkey

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Directions:
1. To begin, get out all ingredients. Place ground turkey in a mixing bowl.

2. Add in ground ginger, garlic powder, and onion powder.

3. Mix ingredients.

4. Add in the toasted sesame oil.

4. Form in to patties.

5. Cook with olive oil or coconut oil on low in a skillet for 7 minutes on each side.

6. Serve with or without a bun and enjoy!

These turkey burgers are anti-inflammatory because they includes seeds (sesame oil), garlic, onion, and ginger.

***Tip: for extra flavor, add in green onions and/or BBQ. Enjoy!

Inflammatory Foods To Avoid // Part I: Nightshades

Quite often, I come across claims reporting that I should not eat this food or that food because of my autoimmune arthritis. This is extremely frustrating because these claims are rarely substantiated. Why should I cut out a completely delicious food, if you're not even going to tell me why? So, dear readers, I am going to tell you why certain foods are not great for autoimmune arthritis or for living an anti-inflammatory life. Because I want to research and get you the best info about each category of food that should be avoided to live your best anti-inflammatory life, I will be writing a few introductory lists of foods to avoid. 

To begin with, many of our food problems are going to fall in to one food family in particular: Solanaceae. This food family is more commonly known as "nightshade." 

General nightshade to avoid:

1. Tobacco (Seriously folks, it isn't just bad because of lung cancer!)
2. Modified Food Starch
3. Starch
4. Yeast

Nightshade fruits to avoid:

1. Tomatoes
2. Goji Berries
3. Jerusalem Cherries
4. Tamarillo
5. Gooseberries

Nightshade vegetables include:

1. Potatoes (Though, sweet potatoes are okay.)
2. Eggplant
3. Sweet Peppers
4. Chili Peppers
5. Banana Peppers
6. Cayenne
7. Habanero
8. Paprika
9. Pimentos
10. Tomatillos
11. Wax Peppers

Alkaloids are the big problem in nightshade plants. Alkaloids are thought to be the cause of many health problems including morning stiffness, acid reflux, insomnia, muscle pain, gallbladder problems, arthritis, and other inflammatory problems.  There are 4 primary types of alkaloids: steroid alkaloids, tropane alkaloids, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, and indole alkaloids. Basically, the biggest issue alkaloids cause is that they interfere with calcium metabolism. One theory suggests that nightshades remove calcium from bones and deposit that calcium in to soft tissue. Another theory is that nightshades are pro-inflammatory substances, provoking immune and inflammatory reactions in the body.

Just like with sugar, you don't have to fully cut nightshades out of your diet, but it is good to limit them. I'll tell you though, cutting out nightshades (just like cutting out sugar) is hard. Everyone loves french fries and potato chips. Many of us enjoy peppers. Tomatoes seem to be in everything. But, you can do this. You can lower how many of these you eat. I still have some of these from time to time. You won't notice how much they are affecting your inflammation until you cut them out for a little while. One day after cutting them out, you'll let yourself have a tomato or potato or pepper and you'll realize how much eating that nightshade plant has affected your inflammation and pain.

Delicious Arthritis Step #1: Cut Out Added Sugars

Sugar triggers inflammation. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition warns that process sugars trigger the release of inflammatory messengers called cytokines.  

Let me break it down for you. There are basically two types of sugars:

1. Natural sugars - These are foods that naturally contain sugar, along with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. These are foods like dairy products (which I personally can’t eat), vegetables, and fruits. These are fructose, glucose/dextrose, and galactose. The white table sugar we are all used to is sucrose; a combination of fructose and glucose.
2. Added sugars - These are foods that have sugar added in, on top of their natural sugars. These are included in many processed foods, such as soft drinks and candies. These foods are high in sugar but have very low levels of vitamins, minerals, or fiber. Unfortunately, added sugars seem to be in almost everything.

Though some people worry about ALL sugars, I know that cutting out sugars entirely would be impossible for me, so I’m just trying to minimize how much added sugars I intake.

How I began cutting out added sugar: 

1. I began reading nutrition labels. 
• 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon
• The daily recommended amount of sugar for women = 20 grams (5 teaspoons)
• The daily recommended amount of sugar for men = 36 grams (9 teaspoons)
• The daily recommended amount of sugar for children = 12 grams (3 teaspoons)
2. I cut out any sweetened drinks.
• If I drank one can of soda a day (which contain approximately 44 grams of sugar each) for a whole year, that would equal 83.6 CUPS of added sugar per year.
• Even though natural fruit are okay, I cut out most fruit juices as well.
3. I cut out added “healthy sugars” too. All sugars are sugars, just because one is processes more than another doesn't take way from the fact that you're still adding in extra sugar that was not pre-existing, in to your meal. The added "healthy sugars" that I'm referring to are:
• Agave nectar
• Raw honey
• Raw sugar
• Molasses
• Maple syrup
• Coconut palm sugar
4. Because sugar seems to be added to EVERYTHING I am making most of my foods and sticking with a primarily paleo & clean eating diet. I eat a lot of vegetables, eggs, lean meats, and olive oil. I use loads of spices and I promise you that I do not eat boring food! If I am going to restrict my eating so much, it better as hell taste good!
5. I cut out most desserts. Even though I initially felt like this was a fate worse than death, I have found a way to still have some desserts that are VERY LOW in added sugars and I have some general rules about the desserts I do eat:
• I will not eat chocolate that is below 80% cocoa. In addition to there being less sugar added in the more cocoa there is, I find that I am more satisfied with smaller amounts of chocolate because the small amounts that I get are so intensely chocolatey.
• I am beginning to learn how to make sugar free desserts. (I’ll be sharing some awesome recipes soon!)

Lets not lie to ourselves: we love sugar. For most of us, a treat means a freshly baked batch of cookies, a rarely indulged in candy bar, or even a fancy cocktail drink. This doesn’t have to be the absolute end of those treats, but it does need to be a re-framing of how we think of treating ourselves. The worst part about added sugar is that it seems to be in EVERYTHING. Cutting out added sugar can seem really intimidating. The thing that has gotten me through it though is to know that on the rare occasions that I do have sugar, I can definitely feel the difference. My arthritis flares up and that is certainly not a treat. Treating myself now means doing things that make me feel good, not just in the moment, but in the future as well.

***Confession: Because I'm not perfect and I am still working towards being my best inflammation fighting self, I still allow myself sugar one day a week. I call it Celebration Saturday and on that day I can have some - though still not an excessive amount of - sugar. Full disclosure though, I almost always regret it because the flare ups that follow are never fun.

Additional Resources on SUGAR:

• If you haven't yet watched Fed Up (on Netflix) or That Sugar Film, you definitely should.
• If you're having a hard time finding That Sugar Film then check out this clip about breakfast and this clip about Jamba Juice.
• Take a moment to check out I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson.
• You can also check out Jamie Oliver's TED talk which not only talks about teaching children about the food that they eat, but also talks about how much sugar children are consuming in America and Britain.
• Or read this article about 11 Ways Sugar Messes With Your Health.

10 Essential Items for Your Delicious Arthritis Pantry

In my Delicious Arthritis journey, I've settled on 10 Essential Items I need in my anti-inflammatory pantry. Having these around really helps me to make sure I keep my inflammation in check and my food delicious. 

1. Nuts!

Walnuts, Cashews, Almonds, Pistachios, Hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts are so delicious and have the added benefit of fighting inflammation through healthy fats. Nuts are loaded with antioxidants which help your body repair the damage caused by inflammation. Almonds in particular are rich in vitamin E, calcium, and fiber. Walnuts have high amounts of alpha-linolenic acid, a type of omega-3 fat.

2. Seeds!

Hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, etc have been shown to be immune balancers that help bring your immune back to a steady place. Seeds are also high in vitamins B1, B3, E, magnesium, zinc, calcium, and iron.

3. Turmeric!

This awesome yellow spice has been shown to help the body turn off NF-kappa B, which is a protein that causes a trigger in our bodies that causes inflammation. This delicious spice can be found in most yellow curries, though you can add it to anything really. You can also take it as a supplement in pill form (which is what I do).

4. Ginger!

This delicious spice has been shown to reduce inflammation. Add it into your food for delicious flavor, or drink it as a tea!

5. Black pepper!

Even though peppercorns share the name pepper with bell peppers and chili peppers, they are not nightshade plants. So, don't worry! Continue to keep black pepper as a table spice! Black pepper is considered anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic because of the piperine that causes the pungent flavor of black pepper.

6. Organic Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar!

This sweet vinegar is a natural anti-inflammatory agent. It is best to consume 1 to 2 tablespoons each morning. I highly suggest mixing it in with something. I tend to mix it with something a little sweeter like 4-6 oz of fruit juice and about 4-6 oz of water. This usually makes the process of getting the vinegar down, a lot easier.

7. Coconut Oil!

This healthy fat melts at a very low heat. It is great for cooking and adding a little extra  flavor to your meals.

8. Lemons and Limes!

These tart and sour golden beauties are filled rich with vitamin C, which is super important in the synthesis of collagen, which helps repair and build blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, and bones.  It also is full of antioxidants!

9. Onions & Garlic!

These two wonderful gems make any dish taste 1,000 times better. The answer to the question “what is the secret ingredient?” is always either onions or garlic. Not only that, but onions help your body produce sulfenic acid which is an anti-inflammatory chemical. Both onions and garlic have been shown to boost your immunity and have similar effects to NSAID pain medications like Naproxen and Ibuprofen. 

10. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil!

This healthy fat is delicious and the amazing compound that makes it taste the way it does, oleocanthal, has been shown to have similar effects to NSAID pain medications like Naproxen and Ibuprofen. (Looks like it is time to make something with extra garlic, onions, and olive oil. Yum!)