We need to respect and accept these changes with dignity and prioritise correct and balanced nourishment to the body on day-to-day basis so that our food becomes our medicine. The key to handle any adversity, which comes with age is the internal environment which we create by eating ‘quality food’ vis-à-vis ‘junk food’.

Food can have a profound effect on the internal environment as the raw material which we put in our body on a day-to-day basis serves as a base to produce a series of biochemical regulators which determine whether the body ‘s milieu is pro or anti inflammatory. So what kind of environ are we looking at? Yes, it is the anti inflammatory one!!

What are anti-inflammatory foods?

No single food would give all but emphasizing on quantity and variety of some class of foods in our daily intake can definitely add on to the protective environment.

Some of the anti-ageing mantras are :

Eat vegetable and fruits king size  To maximise on the oxidative potential of the vegetables and fruits the Do’s include:

• Consume a variety of vegetables and fruits. Variety in order of priority relates to green leafy vegetables, yellow, orange and red colour vegetables .Get the rainbow in your platter.
• Among leafy vegetables explore the variety available in the local markets. Do not be satisfied with just spinach and methi. Take a step further… look for cauliflower greens, mayalu, shepu, chaulai, mannathakali, colocascia leaves, ambadi ki bhaji, raddish leaves, mustard leaves, drumstick leaves, cabbage, lettuce, etc. They are full of important vitamins like beta carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, Vitamin C, folate, riboflavin, good quality fat, and non nutrient components like Indole 3 Carbinol, isothiacyanates, which are all potential antioxidants and stress busters.
• Make an effort to incorporate at least three medium sized bowl of raw or cooked vegetables every day. Take precautions to wash them well before cutting. Use in combination with pulses, curds, paneer, egg to make it nutrient dense. Use it in variety of preparations as part of thepla, stuffing for roti, rolls, raita, salads.
• The other coloured vegetables like tomato, capsicum, pumpkin, carrots and beetroot add lycopene, anthocyanins, cryptoxanthins, pthalides, and poly acetylenes. To maximise the availability of carotenoids subject them to heat treatment and accompany with a dash of fat. Cook the vegetables with their skin in order to preserve Anthocyanins (red and purple colour), as they are extremely water-soluble. Consume these vegetables as soups, juices, blends etc. especially tomatoes, carrots and beetroot.
• Any seasonal vegetable like beans, peas, cauliflower, brinjal or gavar are excellent sources of soluble fibres, which in turn acts as a substrate to favour creating good environment in the gastrointestinal tract.
• Addition of  ginger, garlic, onions add phytochemicals called allyl sulphides and flavonoids, which have the highest antioxidant potential. To derive maximum benefit they should be used fresh in a crushed form to favour formation of active substance.
• Fruit consumption should begin with a minimum of two to a maximum of four units or bowls per day. Fruits  preferably should be consumed with skin. All the juicy citrus fruits should be consumed as fresh juices to maximize on Vitamin C content. The peels and white fibres (albedo) of citrus fruit are rich in glucarates which are known to have an anti inflammatory effect
• All the coloured fruits are loaded with phytochemicals but be discrete in limiting the amounts of fruits with high glycemic response, especially black grapes, pine apple, watermelon, papaya. Uncommon coloured fruits like strawberries, cranberries, cherries, raspberries are also cardio protective but should be used in limited amounts.
• Limit the intake of starchy fruits like banana, chickoo, mango to one serving (medium size) a day.

Get the Omega 3

Besides fruits and vegetables, the other foods which have a potent antioxidant effect are Omega 3 rich fat sources (flax seeds, methiseeds, cow pea, black gram, fatty fishes etc).

The Add Ons….

Oilseeds rich in lignans like flax seeds, tilseeds high in good quality fat and vitamins and minerals; Isoflavones and saponin rich soya and soya based products; Plant sterols, phytoestrogens, tocotrienols, lignan and ellagic acid rich whole grain cereals, Conjugated linoliec acid rich milk and milk products especially in fermented forms, Gamma linoleic acid rich spirulina, Curcumin rich spice turmeric, flavanoid and anthocyanin rich red wine and grape juice, Epigallo –catechin-gallate in green tea are some of the ‘ add ons’.

Say no to saturated fats and refined sugars, which add to the inflammatory state. So cut down on bakery products – puffs, pattice, rolls, doughnuts, biscuits, kharis etc.

Pic: Francois Carstens