Revisiting an injury and increasing the anti-inflammatories in my diet: Tumeric and Ginger

I wrote this post for turmeric ginger cauliflower rice 2 1/2 years ago at What’sForDinnerDoc.com after I suffered a hip injury.  Unfortunately I’m back to square 1 with the same hip so I need to re-introduce power house, plant based anti-inflammatories into my diet. I have bought turmeric, fresh ginger and cauliflower in Baja.

I’m a physician but I’m not a big fan of traditional medication. Did I hear you gasp?

Sometimes, at least for me, the cure is worse than the injury. Narcotic pain medications make me nauseated, NSAIDs like Ibuprofen and aspirin eat holes in my stomach and steroids make me insane. What about marijuana? Cannabis is legal in Nevada now but no thanks; I don’t like how it makes me feel but ask your doctor if it’s right for you.

Which leads to me my personal natural remedies for pain and inflammation. Please check with your personal physician to discuss natural remedies because some foods and supplements can affect blood clotting and interact with traditionally prescribed medications.

Glucosamine is reported to reduce pain and inflammation in joints. The best studies were done in dogs but there were a few studies in humans which showed that it does work in arthritis patients but takes longer than NSAIDS. I think it is really helping reduce my pain and I haven’t had any side effects.

Food is Medicine and this turmeric ginger cauliflower rice is loaded with anti-inflammatory spices.

Turmeric, ginger, rosemary, green tea and fish oil have anti-inflammatory properties and taste delicious so I’m adding even more of these foods to my diet. Turmeric is best absorbed with some fat and black pepper in the same meal.

Ice is an effective pain reliever that also reduces swelling and inflammation so I’m icing for acute pain.

Somatic movement is helping me increase my range of motion and is reducing the trauma response. Trauma response is when you injure one area, like your low back or hip, and then your brain tries to protect the injured area by contracting all the muscles around it causing lopsided posture and more pain. Read about it here.
That was a long winded introduction to this easy, anti-inflammatory packed delicious, low carb, Paleo, vegan side dish: Turmeric ginger cauliflower rice. You could make this a main dish by adding nuts, legumes and/or tofu. I served mine with salmon for an omega 3 boost.

Pin it for later

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }
/* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */