Inflammation.

I’m sure you’ve heard a magazine, health blog (hi!), crazy hippie aunt, or a yogi friend rave all about the wonders of anti-inflammatory foods. Apparently anti-inflammatory things are the bee’s knees. So like any health-food fad you go wild and load up on chia seeds, broccoli, beetroot, and anything else with an anti-inflammatory sticker in order to better your body. But what the heck is really happening in your body? Why do we need anti-inflammatory foods in our diet anyways?

Let me break it down.

Inflammation is a naturally occurring process in our body. In short, inflammation is caused when the body needs to heal itself – whether from injury, germs, or a nasty paper cut. The problem with inflammation arises when it decides to target its own tissues, (found in type-1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus) or in chronic, low-level inflammation which can mount into degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. Whole body, low-level inflammation can be brought on by a number of factors including chronic stress, low activity levels, genetics, processed foods and poor diet, and environmental toxins. The good news is that so many whole, tasty foods in our diet do a number on reducing negative inflammation. Which brings me to one of my favorite tropical goodies: the pineapple.

Oh how I love delicious, sweet, pineapple. In Thailand, I swear I had pineapple senses while wandering around beach and city streets. No walk was complete without cold, refreshing slices of juicy and local pineapple dripping down my hands. Of course, one of my favorite reasons for being wholeheartedly in love with pineapple is that is has crazy anti-inflammatory properties. Pineapple contains a mixture of protein-digesting enzymes called bromelain, found in its stem and fruit. Bromelain is noted to reduce inflammation and coagulation of blood, aid in digestive health, and be beneficial towards arthritis and stress fracture treatments. Of course – to reap these benefits on a high level, you would need to consume a heck of a lot of pineapple. The amount in this smoothie won’t heal you overnight, but it will go hand in hand with living in the most whole and anti-inflammatory lifestyle. Eating plenty of pineapple of course, will dose you up on all sorts of other goodies like tons of Vitamin C, manganese, fiber, folate, and some B Vitamins to keep you feeling radiant.

Along with the pineapple in this smoothie you’ll also reap anti-inflammatory benefits from the chia seeds, turmeric, orange, and ginger. If you want to learn more about anti-inflammatory foods, I would suggest Dr. Andrew Weil’s anti-inflammatory food pyramid or the book The Anti Inflammatory Diet by Annette Goodman.

Sweet and bright pineapple, creamy banana, juicy orange, zippy ginger + crunchy chia + earthy turmeric + smooth nut milk = your favorite new way to get anti-inflammatory.

Anti-Inflammatory Pineapple Dream Smoothie

Makes 1 large serving, or 2 small

1 ½ cups chopped pineapple
1 banana, frozen
1 orange, peeled and roughly chopped
Small thumb of fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup unsweetened almond, hemp, or flax milk

Method:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Top each glass with a sprinkle of bee pollen, turmeric, and chia seeds if desired. Enjoy!