When Noelle Dean started researching inflammation and its effects on the body, she wasn’t just thinking about long-term health—she was thinking about how tired she felt every single day. “I had brain fog, joint stiffness, and a constant feeling of being ‘off,’” she says. “I didn’t want to live that way anymore.”
She stumbled into anti-inflammatory eating not through a doctor, but through a personal experiment. “I started paying attention to how I felt after each meal,” she explains. “And the pattern was clear—less processed, more whole, and my body responded better.”
The first thing she did was simplify her grocery habits. Instead of following trendy superfood lists, she focused on a small set of ingredients she could always rely on. Olive oil, oats, berries, leafy greens, lentils, turmeric, and a few key proteins became the core of her kitchen.
What surprised her wasn’t just how much better she felt—it was how much easier shopping became. “When you shop for food that supports your body, not your cravings, you naturally make better choices,” she says.
Noelle doesn’t think eating anti-inflammatory is about restriction. For her, it’s about listening to the body and respecting its signals. “Now when I eat, I feel clearer, calmer, more grounded,” she reflects. “That’s something I never got from a bag of chips.”
And perhaps the most empowering part? Her grocery list is short, affordable, and always evolving. “Health doesn’t have to come with a 20-ingredient shopping list,” she says. “It starts with one mindful trip to the store.”
