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Writer's pictureCarissa McAllister

Food to fight Infertility, Joint Pain, Depression, ADHD and ASD

To fight inflammation and get your body into an anti-inflammatory state to make sure these foods are staples on your weekly shopping list:


Salmon



Eating salmon twice a week can help you meet your omega 3 fat needs. This may sound expensive when feeding a family, so I try to at least have salmon once a week for the family and include another meal for me at another time to help manage my health conditions. Having a portion each baked in the oven or the frypan with a plate of colourful vegetables is my family’s favourite, but the taste isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and may require some development, so try adding a sauce or dip may be an option. Some other ideas to increase salmon every week could be to add it to quiches, salads, fritters, risottos, or pasta and rice dishes.


Tuna



Tuna can be one of those easy ready to go protein add on and the good news is they have omega 3 d=fats too. If the tuna is canned, looked at the ingredient table and choose one that has the highest EPA and DHA values as these are the important omega 3 fats, and trust me, the levels do differ amongst the brands. Have tuna on wraps, salads, crackers, pasta, or rice dishes, or have a go at making tuna patties.


Chia seeds



Chia seeds puddings, or added to smoothies, porridge, and baked treats are our favourite way to have chia seeds into our food every day. A chia fresca is a drink made with chia seeds that Aztec warriors drank before war for an energy boost. See how a chia fresca can be a gut-healing snack on my blog https://www.carissamcallister.com.au/amp/gut-healing-snacks .


Walnuts



Are not usually everyone's favourite or go-to for nuts. However, making sure you have some on hand and eating them a few times a week will increase your omega 3 fats intake. Add walnuts to your baking or salads and have as a snack with a piece of fruit are easy places to start including walnuts in your diet. My favourite is spinach and roasted pumpkin salad with walnuts and feta …omg…yum!


Flaxseeds



Add flaxseeds to your smoothies, porridge, granola, pancakes, and chia puddings. Think of flaxseeds or flaxmeal as another pantry staple that you add to whatever you can.

Eggs enriched with omega 3

Choose eggs that have been enriched with omega 3 fats. How? The chickens are fed flax! This is an easy one to get more omega 3 fats into you. Oh and …eat more eggs. Our baking always has three eggs per cake/muffin/pancake mix – it is one of the ways to make gluten-free cooking taste good!


Inflammation


Getting your body from an inflammatory state into an anti-inflammatory state is the goal. Inflammation occurs from your body’s attempt to heal itself from fighting against things that cause it harm such as infection, injury, and toxins. When cell damage occurs, chemicals are released to trigger your immune system to mount an appropriate response. Over time, chronic inflammation may harm your tissues and organs affecting how your body is functioning.


Many of today’s diseases and illnesses, including infertility, arthritis, depression ADHD, and ASD are inflammatory by nature. Adapting to anti-inflammatory foods is one way to address disease prevention and disease management.


Studies have proven Omega 3 fats are anti-inflammatory and are a crucial part of every cell’s membrane and as I have seen in the clinic with my patients they are effective at managing inflammatory conditions. They are also an essential fat, meaning they cannot be made in your body and needs to be obtained from your diet or supplementation.


Omega 3 Testing


Testing by way of an Omega 3 Index Test is a simple and easy test, done with a finger prick of blood that measures the omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA in your red blood cells. It is a validated and exciting way to test and measure what is going on with your blood and correlate to the state of your inflammatory condition. It is also great to use in conjunction with monitoring diet adaptations and supplementations with your symptoms.


What to do now?

Add these foods to your shopping list and include them and get into the habit of eating them regularly. You can book an appointment to work with me to reduce inflammation, improve your fertility, disease management or prevention, or for omega 3 testing on the link https://www.carissamcallister.com.au/book-online . Keep an eye out for my upcoming blog on the foods to avoid to assist your body into an anti-inflammatory state.


How is Infertility, Depression, Joint Pain, ADHD and ASD Inflammatory?

References & Links:


Infertility

Endometriosis and PCOS are common causes of infertility in women, and both are inflammatory conditions.


Depression

Studies have found the intake of omega 3 fats improves depression scores.


Joint pain from Arthritis

Clinical studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids may have a modulatory effect on disease activity, namely on the number of swollen and tender joints.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7362115/pdf/MJR-31-2-190.pdf


ADHD/ASD

In a 2019 study of young people with ADHD and low omega 3 levels, when supplemented with omega 3 an improvement in focused attention and vigilance was found.

Supplementation of omega 3 fats, in particular, DHA, in people with ASD has strong evidence to reduce ASD symptoms.

https://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13063-016-1428-8


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