Got my splint off this past Friday and moved into a boot!

Now I get to start moving my ankle around to rebuild strength + mobility whenever I'm sitting down 😄

I’m choosing to be really active and involved in my own recovery here so that I can come back better and stronger for it.

And 1 of the things I’m working on now more than ever is keeping my inflammation levels down to help my body properly rest and recover.

Inflammation is a good thing when it works how it’s supposed to.

Normally, it serves as a protective response to tissue damage and/or microbial invasion, which serves to isolate and destroy the injurious agent and the injured tissue and to prepare the tissue for eventual repair and healing.

But when you experience it for long periods of time; months, years or even decades - it takes its toll on your body. We refer to this as Chronic Inflammation.

Chronic inflammation sucks. It’s painful, it stresses you out, and contributes to the development of disease long term.

To increase healthspan and function at a high-level, we want to mitigate chronic inflammation as much as possible.

Thankfully, there are some very accessible things you can do that actively help to keep inflammation at bay, things like:

Today, we’ll be focusing on some tasty anti-inflammatory foods.

Eating anti-inflammatory foods is one of the easiest ways to keep your body from being bloated, stiff and inflamed.

Along with eating anti-inflammatory foods, you of course want to avoid inflammatory foods too. Ultra-processed foods being enemy #1 here.

Which leads me to a question for ya about next weeks edition:

Thanks for helping me out with your response 🙂

Now, let’s talk about 10 foods that help fight inflammation.

1) Blueberries: Blueberries are rich in antioxidants, particularly anthocyanins, which have anti-inflammatory effects. These compounds may help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in the body, contributing to improved cognitive function.

2) Cherries: Cherries contain compounds like anthocyanins and quercetin, which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. These components may help reduce muscle soreness and inflammation, making cherries beneficial for post-exercise recovery.

3) Turmeric (with black pepper): Curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, is a potent anti-inflammatory agent. However, you need black pepper to help your body absorb it. Together, they can help alleviate joint pain and inflammation.

4) Tomatoes: Tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. Lycopene may help protect against certain types of cancer by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in the body.

5) Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil is high in monounsaturated fats and contains polyphenols with anti-inflammatory effects. Regular consumption may help reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering inflammation and improving cardiovascular health.

6) Kale: Kale is a nutrient-dense leafy green that provides vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It contains compounds like quercetin and kaempferol, which have anti-inflammatory properties. Additionally, kale's fiber content supports digestive health.

7) Broccoli: Broccoli contains sulforaphane, a compound with anti-inflammatory and detoxifying properties. Sulforaphane may help reduce inflammation and support the body's natural detoxification processes.

8) Pineapple: Pineapple is rich in bromelain, an enzyme with anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties. Bromelain may help reduce inflammation, particularly in conditions like arthritis, and support overall immune function.

9) Beets: Beets contain nitrates, which can be converted into nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide helps relax blood vessels, leading to improved blood flow and potentially lower blood pressure. Beets' anti-inflammatory properties may also contribute to enhanced athletic performance.

10) Fatty Fish (ex: Salmon): Fatty fish has omega-3 acids that help your body fight off inflammation.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the deeper goal and purpose behind sunday coffee.

For those who may not know, I’m a professional health coach who helps busy creators to build strong, pain-free bodies - because movement is medicine and it shouldn’t feel like a prison.

sunday coffee is an outlet where I share my learnings from years of training, coaching, and research into what I’m passionate about. It’s a lot of fun for me- but as I’ve reflected, I’ve realized that there is a deeper goal behind it.

I want to help 10,000 people through sunday coffee in 2024 to build stronger, pain-free bodies.

And the content here is helpful - but I want to offer more.

So, I started thinking about what the most difficult problems are when you’re first starting out:

Slowly but surely, I’m working on some free tools to help you solve these.

Starting with #1, I’ve spent the past few weeks creating a free 8-week hybrid training plan for beginner-intermediate athletes.

The plan includes:

The plan will be completely free - and I wanted to offer it to all of you first 🙂

I’m putting the finishing touches on it now, but if you’re interested, can you reply to this email to please let me know?

I’ll send it over this coming Wednesday, February 14th.

As always, thank you for being part of the sunday coffee community,

Dane

‘Aspire to Inspire’