You feel that your body is speaking to you, but you don’t really know how to listen to it anymore. A creaky knee, temperamental digestion, strange fatigue… What if it wasn’t just the weather or stress?
The star anti-inflammatory spices
Forget overpriced supplement treatments. Certain basic spices have real power over inflammation.
Start with turmeric, this intense yellow powder found in curry. Its active compound, curcumin, acts directly on inflammatory mechanisms. To make it better absorbed, consider combining it with a pinch of black pepper and a fatty substance.
Another essential: ginger. It helps relieve joint, muscle and digestive pain. You can add it fresh in an infusion, grated in a vinaigrette or even in a homemade juice.
Even cinnamon, which we would rather imagine on a compote, has documented anti-inflammatory properties, particularly for chronic low-grade inflammation linked to poor diet.
These oils and seeds you should use more often
If you’re still cooking everything with sunflower oil, it’s time to make a change. Certain vegetable oils are real allies against inflammation.
The best? Extra virgin olive oil. Rich in polyphenols and omega-9, it is one of the pillars of the Mediterranean diet, known for its anti-inflammatory effects.
But don’t neglect flax and chia seeds, which are full of plant-based omega-3s. You can grind them and add them to yogurt or a smoothie.
Also think about nuts, especially walnuts. Eating a few regularly can have a measurable impact on your inflammation markers.
Fruits and vegetables to favor every day
No need to make it complicated. You just need to give more space to the right plants.
Put red fruits at the top of the list: blueberries, raspberries, blackcurrants… Their richness in anthocyanins gives them their intense color and their anti-inflammatory properties.
As for vegetables, make room for leafy green vegetables like spinach, arugula, kale. They are packed with vitamins, fiber and protective compounds.
Tomatoes, rich in lycopene, are also interesting provided they are cooked, which increases the bioavailability of their protective compounds.
Fermented foods not to skip
We talk about it a lot, but not always for good reasons. Yet fermented foods can modulate the inflammatory response via gut health.
Kefir, raw sauerkraut, miso, tempeh or kimchi provide natural probiotics. By rebalancing your intestinal flora, they act indirectly on chronic inflammation.
But be careful: avoid pasteurized industrial products, they are often emptied of their benefits.
Practical summary: 10 anti-inflammatory ingredients to always have at home
- Turmeric (with black pepper and oil)
- Oily fish (sardines, mackerel, wild salmon)
- Fresh ginger
- Virgin olive oil
- Ground flax or chia seeds
- Red fruits (fresh or frozen)
- Leafy green vegetables
- Cooked tomatoes
- Nuts (in small quantities)
- Unpasteurized fermented foods (kefir, miso, raw sauerkraut, etc.)
Start simple: pick one or two and add them each day. Your body will thank you.
