Searching the interwebs for information on chronic inflammation will likely pull up lots of results about anti-inflammatory foods, and what you can do to try to lower your levels. This is all great, but do you really understand why inflammation can be bad and why what you eat matters?
What is inflammation?
The short story is that inflammation is part of your body’s natural responses to injury or infection. Cells patrol your body looking for invaders and release chemicals to let other cells know where to join in fighting the foreign substance. Damaged tissue also releases chemicals to let white blood cells know where to go to aid in repair.
This is inflammation, but it’s a good thing. However, even things that are good for you, when in excess, can be bad. Unfortunately, inflammation is no exception to this rule. Inflammation can start at low levels and spread throughout the body, becoming harmful chronic inflammation.
Chronic inflammation can be a serious matter. It has been referred to as a silent killer as it can damage the body and play roles in the buildup of plaque in arteries, increasing the risk of stroke, and heart disease, as well as the development of arthritis and diabetes, and even elevating the risk of cancer and development of other chronic diseases.
What does food have to do with it?
Food comes into play because the healthy or not-so-healthy choices that you make at the grocery store can affect the level of inflammation within your body. There is an increasing body of evidence that indicates processed and ultra-processed foods such as sweetened drinks, candy, and deli meats release inflammatory messengers that raise the risk of chronic inflammation.
On the other hand, anti-inflammatory foods that help to lower inflammation tend to be healthier choices like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes that combat oxidative stress that can trigger more chronic inflammation.
In short, specific components within certain foods can work together to help reduce or increase the levels of inflammation in your body.
What should you buy more of?
No one specific food can make a diet anti-inflammatory, but selecting a variety of foods has been shown to help. The term “Eat the Rainbow” was coined to help people remember that different colors of foods carry different nutrients that our body needs.
Red fruits and vegetables are generally anti-inflammatory and rich sources of antioxidants that can help reduce sun-related skin damage and improve heart and blood health while helping to support joints by including foods such as but not limited to strawberries, watermelon, apples, red peppers, pink guava, grapefruit, and tomatoes in your diet.
Dark Red fruits and vegetables may help to support athletic performance through increased oxygen uptake, these rich sources of inflammation-fighting antioxidant compounds also help to lower the risk of high blood pressure, and certain cancers while supporting heart health by including foods like beets and prickly pears in your diet.
Orange fruits and vegetables are great sources of fiber and inflammation-fighting antioxidants that can help to support eye health, lower the risk of heart disease, and help to prevent cancer as well as promote collagen growth by including foods like oranges, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, ginger, and pumpkins in your diet.
Yellow fruits and vegetables are also typically anti-inflammatory and rich sources of anti-aging antioxidants that support eye health, support heart health, aid digestion, and the immune system by eating foods like bananas, pears, papaya, pineapple, lemon, and yellow peppers.
Green fruits and vegetables are powerful detoxifiers that fight free radicals due to their abundant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds which also help to improve heart health, lower the risk of cancer, and boost the immune system by including foods such as kiwi, apples, kale, spinach, cucumber, avocado, and broccoli in your diet.
Blue/Purple fruits and vegetables help to improve mineral absorption and are powerful anti-inflammatory anti-aging antioxidants that also help to improve brain health, support heart health, and lower the risk of developing certain cancers by including foods like grapes, blueberries, blackberries, cabbage, eggplant, and beets in your diet.
White/Brown fruits and vegetables can help activate natural killer immune cells and help reduce cancer risks while supporting heart health with their potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds by including foods such as coconut, garlic, leeks, white potatoes, onions, daikon radish, mushrooms, cauliflower, and parsnip in your diet.
What should you avoid?
- If you are looking to avoid adding to chronic inflammation you should start by avoiding going to fast food joints.
- Fried foods are not doing your body any good, neither are chips, candy, and donuts. If you must have fries, try making them at home, with fresh-cut potatoes, skin on, cooked in an air fryer.
- Processed meats like bacon, sausage, hot dogs, and deli meats should be limited.
- Margarine, shortening, and lard are unhealthy fats, try replacing them with avocado or olive oils.
- Soda/pop, energy drinks, fruit drinks, and sugar-sweetened drinks could be replaced with infused water, sparkling mineral water, and unsweetened coffee/tea.
- Refined carbs like white rice, pasta, white bread, and pastries could be replaced with brown rice, unsweetened cereals, and whole-wheat pasta.
Eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring
Don’t forget to include nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains like millet, brown rice, oats, and quinoa in your diet. When selecting meat, be sure to look for lean cuts.
Eating healthy to reduce chronic inflammation doesn’t have to be boring with so many healthy choices. But you can make your culinary delight even better by adding herbs and spices to your dish to add a dash of extra flavor to your dish.
If you are looking for a diet to follow that has been shown time and time again to help reduce chronic inflammation and promote longevity, then the Mediterranean diet may be what you are looking for.
Lifestyle changes
While food is a great way to help reduce chronic inflammation, it is not the only way to help your body combat chronic inflammation. You can make some simple lifestyle changes to boost the results that you can achieve with dietary changes such as maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough sleep, practicing stress reduction techniques, going outside and enjoying nature, and engaging in regular physical activity every day.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article on chronic inflammation should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article on chronic inflammation is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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References/Sources/Materials provided by:
This article was written by TJ Webber at WHN
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9738871
https://worldhealth.net/news/taste-healthy-rainbow/
https://worldhealth.net/news/spice-your-life/
