Anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle
What is inflammation?
Your immune system becomes activated when your body recognizes anything that is foreign—such as an invading microbe, plant pollen, or chemical. This often triggers a process called inflammation. Intermittent bouts of inflammation directed at truly threatening invaders can protect your health as part of your immune system, but if this inflammation does not stop when it should, chronic inflammation occurs.
Why is inflammation bad for us?
Chronic inflammation, the inflammatory response that continues over time, can cause damage to and impair the increased production of healthy cells. Many diseases have an underlying presence of inflammation.
What can we do about inflammation?
Since some foods can cause inflammation, anti-inflammatory foods can provide protection against chronic inflammation, promoting immune health.
A great start is to limit or avoid foods that can cause inflammation, such as:
- Refined carbohydrates such as white bread and pastries
- Deep-fried foods
- Red meat
- Processed meat like hot dogs, sausage
- Margarine, shortening, and lard
- Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages
Pay attention to food labels
- Avoid foods that contain nitrites and nitrates
- Limit or avoid sugary beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup like colas and juice drinks
Lifestyle tips
- Exercise: 30 minutes a day helps to reduce your risk of depression and anxiety. It also helps with sleep quality
- Get enough sleep: Healthy sleep habits include 7–9 hours of sleep for adults on a consistent basis. Chronic insuffi cient sleep can contribute to infl ammation and suppress the immune system.
- Hydrate: 64 oz of water per day is a good start
Anti-inflammatory foods
- Dark chocolate: At least 70% cacao
- Meat and poultry: Omega-3 enriched eggs, skinless poultry, lean meat and grass-fed beef
- Healthy fats: Extra virgin olive oil, avocado
- Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews
- Herbal teas: Oolong, white, rooibos, chamomile, green tea
- Seeds: Chia, hemp, flax, pumpkin, sunflower
- Probiotics: Yogurt, pickles, fermented sauerkraut and kombucha, kefir, miso
- Spices and herbs: Turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, basil, ginger
- Fiber: Aim for at least 25 grams per day
- Prebiotics: Onions, artichokes, leeks, garlic, asparagus
- Fish and seafood: Salmon, black cod, sardines, low mercury tuna
- Beans and legumes: Red beans, black beans, lentils, garbanzo beans
- Mushrooms: Shitake, enoki, maitake, reishi
- Fruit: Fresh and frozen (choose a variety of colors for nutrient balance)
- Vegetables: Raw and cooked, a variety of colors, Asian cruciferous vegetables, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, galion (Chinese broccoli)
- Whole grains and pasta: Quinoa, brown rice, oatmeal
This list is not individualized, some foods may not be endorsed by a diet prescribed by your physician. Please discuss with a licensed dietitian.
The content on this site, regardless of date, should not be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician. The content is for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified clinician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of anything you have read on this site.