Understanding Inflammation: Start with What's on Your Plate

When a joint isn't moving the way it should, it creates friction. That friction irritates the surrounding tissues, triggering an acute inflammatory response: redness, swelling, and pain. A chiropractic adjustment restores proper joint motion, reducing friction and allowing the body to finally switch off that inflammatory signal and begin healing naturally.

But what happens between appointments matters just as much as what happens on the table.

To truly manage inflammation, it helps to think of your food and lifestyle as one unified system. Anti-inflammatory foods provide the raw materials for healing. Your daily habits determine how well your body actually uses them. And mindful cooking, approaching food as something that actively helps us heal, is where the two come together.

This is the first in a six-part series exploring exactly that. Let's start with the building block your body needs most.

Protein: More Than Just a Buzzword

Protein is having a moment right now, and for good reason. When it comes to an anti-inflammatory diet, high-quality animal protein plays a critical role in tissue repair and immune function, and provides your body with the nutritional fuel it needs to stop the source of irritation and support healing.

Here's a practical guide to the best options:

Fatty fish (sardines, mackerel, anchovies, herring, salmon)

Among the most powerful anti-inflammatory proteins available. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which directly reduce inflammatory markers in the body. Aim for two serves per week, fresh or tinned. If you're buying tinned, check the oil: avoid sunflower or canola oil, and look for extra-virgin olive oil on the label.

Chicken and turkey

Excellent sources of lean protein and Vitamin B6. This matters because low B6 levels are frequently observed in people with chronic inflammatory conditions. Easy to cook in bulk and endlessly versatile.

Beef and lamb

Choose grass-fed where you can, and lean cuts like fillet, rump, topside, or sirloin. These provide a strong combination of Vitamins B12 and B6, plus minerals such as zinc, selenium, and iron, as well as omega-3.

Eggs

One of nature's most complete foods. Each egg delivers around 6g of protein plus 17 vitamins and nutrients, including Vitamins B12, A, D, and E, as well as selenium. Eggs are also one of the few natural food sources of Vitamin D, which plays a key role in regulating the immune system and reducing inflammation.

Plant-Based Protein

Vegetarian is easy when you build your meals around legumes, beans, lentils, chickpeas, eggs, tofu, tempeh, and edamame. Soy milk and dairy products. Protein-rich vegetables: broccoli, sweet potato, spinach, mushrooms and eggplant. A simple combination of whole foods throughout your day to meet daily needs.

A Note on Chicken Bone Broth: Liquid Gold

In anti-inflammatory nutrition, chicken bone broth has earned its nickname. It's rich in Type II collagen, which specifically supports joint and cartilage health, making it a natural complement to chiropractic care.

To get even more from your broth, add turmeric. It's one of the most potent natural anti-inflammatories available, and pairing it with black pepper can increase absorption by up to 2,000%. That's not a typo.

Which brings me to one of my favourite things to make.

Rosa's Anti-Inflammatory Chicken Soup

This is the kind of soup that feels like it's doing something. Because it is.

Serves 4-6

You'll need:

The chicken:

Whole chicken, or 6 bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks

The vegetables:

2-3 medium carrots, 3 celery stalks, 1 medium brown onion, 1 medium sweet potato, 1 zucchini, 450g pumpkin (all roughly chopped), 4 cloves fresh garlic (crushed)

The broth:

2L water combined with chicken bone broth or vegetable stock

The spices:

1 tsp ground turmeric, 1/2 to 1 tsp sweet paprika, 2 tsp fresh grated ginger (optional but worth it), sea salt and black pepper to taste

The greens:

A generous handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley (a quietly powerful anti-inflammatory herb), plus 2 handfuls of baby spinach, kale, or silverbeet

Method:

1. Simmer. Combine the chicken, vegetables, spices, and broth in a large stockpot or slow cooker. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook on low for 2 hours.

2. Shred. Carefully remove the chicken. Discard the skin and bones, shred the meat, and set it aside.

3. Blend (optional). If you prefer a smoother texture, use a handheld blender to partially blend the soup, leaving some chunks of vegetables for body.

4. Finish. Return the shredded chicken to the pot and stir through the parsley and spinach. Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve.

   
   

   Makes around 4 to 5 litres, depending on how much meat you put in, which increases the volume.

   
   

   Note: You can add the greens to the soup before serving, or just add to your bowl and pour the hot soup over the greens, and they will wilt and stir through.

   
   

   Optional extra: Add once all is complete - I like to add zest of a lemon and its juice.

   
   

This soup works beautifully as a Sunday cook-up that carries you through the week.

Store in the fridge for up to four days, or freeze in portions.

Next up in the series: Carbohydrates: Good Carbs vs. The Ones Working Against You ... We'll see you then.

With love from my kitchen to yours, Rosa