Foods that cool inflammation

Love Fest 2021, this year’s free music extravaganza out of Chardon, Ohio, is being held virtually on June 26, streaming live on YouTube. Now that’s something to love that’s loving you in return — just what Dr. Mike says is the dynamic that makes for a perfect meal plan. You want to love the foods that love you back.

Quick check: Do you have sore joints, headaches, dry skin patches, bleeding gums, frequent muscle cramps or digestive and stomach woes? Well, chances are you’re loaded with chronic inflammation that’s triggered by belly fat, lack of physical activity, chronic stress, smoking (anything) and or excess alcohol intake. Maybe even a lack of soul-soothing music!

The hyped-up state means that your immune responses, designed to protect you from disease, are instead causing you to rust from the inside out. White blood cells, which fight off infection, can turn on you and attack nearby healthy tissues and organs. Yikes! But you can turn that around.

Tune into foods that love you and help cool chronic inflammation: salmon, sea trout, sardines, turmeric, olive oil, walnuts, broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, berries, chili peppers — and coffee. You can find ways to prepare these nutrition powerhouses that’ll make you a broccoli lovin’ foodie. Check out the recipes in Dr. Mike’s “What to Eat When Cookbook” for tasty treats like Smokin’ Baba Kalamata and Vegetable Ragout. On DoctorOz.com there’s Bright Butternut Squash Noodle Bowl with Broccoli & Chicken and Grilled Chicken with Walnut Pesto Zoodles (zucchini noodles) and many other inflammation fighters.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare. com.