Is There an Anti-Inflammation Diet?

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There are some buzzwords in the world of diet and nutrition getting a lot of attention right now. These buzzwords are ‘anti-inflammation’. Have you heard this? Inflammation can be good or bad. It’s good when you stump your toe or cut yourself. Your immune system kicks in sending white blood cells along with other substances to jump start the healing process. Inflammation is not so good when it becomes chronic inflammation in your body that you are probably not even aware of.

Here’s what scientists think is happening in the body with chronic inflammation. This on-going inflammation damages your blood vessels thus increasing your risk for heart problems. In the case of cancer, inflammation could damage your genes and increase the development of blood vessels that let cancer cells spread and grow. Inflammation raises the level of what’s called C-reactive protein or CRP for short. The liver produces this CRP during periods of inflammation so it makes sense that if the body has chronic inflammation going on, the CRP level will be elevated. Now doctors can measure inflammation in the body with a blood test called the hs-CRP which stands for high-specificity C-reactive protein.

But what can you do about it? Does what you eat make inflammation worse or can it fight inflammation? Is there an ‘anti-inflammation diet’? Yes, there is. It’s called the Mediterranean-style diet. You may have heard of it. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at the effect of the Mediterranean way of eating on inflammation in the body, particularly in people with metabolic syndrome.

Think of metabolic syndrome as a group or cluster of medical issues that includes excess weight around your middle, abnormal cholesterol and LDL levels, high blood pressure and higher blood sugar levels. Why do I mention metabolic syndrome? Because it’s a syndrome that is tied to inflammation.

This study found that a Mediterranean diet which includes healthy oils, nuts, and a lot of fiber from fruits, veggies, beans and grains decreased the level of CRP in the blood and reduced the level of inflammation in the body.

Here are foods you can eat to potentially lower the level of inflammation in your body:

Eat less trans fat and saturated fat. These unhealthy fats not only raise the lousy cholesterol level (LDL) but also promote inflammation so eat less of these and replace with healthy oils such as canola, olive and peanut oil which contain more monounsaturated fat, the healthier choice.

Eat less sugar, corn syrup and other simple carbs. Why? They can make your blood sugar level spike which as also been tied to inflammation. Also cut down on processed, refined foods and eat more whole grains and other high fiber foods such as beans, peas, lentils, and oatmeal.

Consume more omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fats which include fish such as salmon and tuna, canola oil, flaxseed and walnuts help counteract inflammation. Add nuts and avocados to the diet. These are good sources of the healthy fat, monounsaturated which appears to be anti-inflammatory.

Increase the number of fruits and vegetables that you eat each day. The antioxidants they contain such as vitamins A, C and E along with all the naturally occurring healthy compounds called phytonutrients seem to ramp down the inflammation process in the body.

You have the power to potentially change what’s happening in your body from an inflammation standpoint by the food choices you make on a day to day basis. This is big stuff! Make the decision now to start adding in more of these anti-inflammation foods into your daily diet.