Anti-Inflammatory Diet 101

One year it’s this diet trend, the next year it’s that diet trend. The funny thing is that, aside from the all-celery and 8-grapefruits family of diets, all the smart diets end up saying pretty much the same thing: Eat bushels of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, less animal fat, and cut out refined foods. Genius!

Lately there’s been a flood of diet books based on the anti-inflammatory concept. The gist is that constant or out-of-control inflammation in the body leads to illness, and that eating to avoid constant inflammation inspires better health and can fend off disease. We generally think of inflammation as the painful part of arthritis, but inflammation is also a component of chronic diseases such as heart disease and strokes. Which is why proponents of the diet say it can reduce heart disease risk, keep existing cardiac problems in check, reduce blood triglycerides and blood pressure, and soothe sore and stiff arthritic joints.

Specifics vary from one anti-inflammatory diet to another, but in general, anti-inflammatory diets recommend:

Eat plenty and a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Eat little saturated and trans fats.

Eat omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish or fish oil supplements and walnuts.

Limit your intake of refined carbohydrates such as white pasta and white rice.

Increase your consumption of whole grains such as brown rice and bulgur wheat.

Limit (or quit) your consumption of red meat and full-fat dairy foods, increase lean protein and plant-protein source.

Avoid refined foods and processed foods.

Generously use anti-inflammatory spices.

Next: Top anti-inflammatory herbs & spices, and recipes

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Elena T.

1:49AM PDT on Mar 25, 2013

Thank you :)

March 25
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Loo S.

5:53AM PST on Mar 9, 2013

March 9
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Trudy K.

12:11PM PDT on Jul 11, 2012

Thank you for the article, but inflammation I believe is not just due to the foods you are eating but also how those foods have been grown or fed. You may eat a plant based diet( I am vegan) but if it has been sprayed with all the chemicals farmers now use, then those chemicals in our bodies can become a source of inflammation & attack the immune system. If the chicken you just ate was full of antibiotics & fed foods grown with pesticides, also a source for inflammation. If the meat you ate is full of antibiotics & Growth Hormones, that can be a source of inflammation.
Obviously we all cannot grow our own food or buy organic. What we must do is to try to pass laws that make our food supply safer & our water less chemically treated.

July 11
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Duane B.

1:05PM PDT on Jul 7, 2012

Thank you for sharing.

July 7
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Cyril H.

4:43AM PST on Jan 3, 2012

Great information I must say. Inflammtion could also bo control with balance diet and proper use of herbs. Inflammotion supplement is available on internet. It is producing great results against inflammation. You can visit http://www.inflammotion.com for more info on that.

January 3
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KrassiAWAY B.

4:54AM PDT on Jun 22, 2011

Noted with interest.

June 22
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may H.

12:01PM PDT on Jun 5, 2011

June 5
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Past Member .

10:12PM PDT on Jun 4, 2011

Don't agree with limiting full fat dairy if it is replaced with low fat. It is about the process and how it alters the food. Explained well by Michael Pollan in "In Defense of Food". When the fat is removed, more sinister products are added.