We hear quite often about foods and supplements that can reduce inflammation. But, is this hype or is it real?
Questions that you may have:
- Is there a connection between inflammation in the body and various foods?
- Is inflammation always bad?
- What are examples of pro-inflammatory foods?
- What are examples of anti-inflammatory foods?
- What are examples of supplements that can reduce inflammation?
- What diseases or conditions are known to benefit from anti-inflammatory foods?
In this article, we will explain the purpose of the normal process of inflammation, how it can go out of control and how diet can help reduce inflammation.
Basics of Inflammation
Inflammation is an essential part of our bodies’ immune response to all harmful stimuli. This can include pathogens (e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites), toxic (and non-toxic) chemicals, and dead or necrotic cells. Normally, inflammation is a tightly controlled response with a goal of removing and destroying pathogens and dead or dying cells. However, when the control of inflammation is lost or disturbed, inflammation can become a serious health problem.
Classically, inflammation is characterized by four characteristics: heat, swelling, reddened skin, and pain, all surrounding the site of the harmful stimulus. If the inflammation is severe enough, there may be loss of function as well—for example, your knee can swell beyond the point where it can function without serious pain. The basic function of the inflammatory response is to remove or wall off the initial stimulus, clear out dead or dying cells and tissues, AND to start the process of wound repair and healing – and, importantly, the process of healing.
Inflammation can be acute or chronic. Most (if not all) chronic diseases involve uncontrolled inflammation and can cause pain, loss of function, fever, and tissue damage.
Acute inflammation is a short-term event and is the very normal and appropriate body response to a bug bite, an infection, an injury, a cut in the skin, and the reaction to a toxin such as poison ivy or a chemical rash. Acute inflammation seldom leads to anything more than a temporary loss of function. For example, a sprained ankle results in an acute inflammatory response. The swelling, pain, redness, and heat associated with a sprained ankle usually subsides within a few days. Another example would be a small but infected cut on your hand. Usually, the cut will heal after a few days of swelling, redness, and pain but will heal on its own, assuming the infection is controlled. Conditions ending in “it is” are often acute—these might include bronchitis, appendicitis, meningitis, sinusitis, and dermatitis due to exposure to a toxin.
Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is a long-term reaction that can lead to long-term damage. Chronic inflammation can indicate that the immune system has lost control of the inflammatory process because the organ, system, or tissue is itself unbalanced. Some examples of this are rheumatoid and degenerative arthritis—the redness, heat, swelling, and pain that are associated lead to long-term loss of function of the joint affected. There is a growing list of disorders and conditions which are considered to be chronic inflammatory diseases or diseases with a major inflammatory component. These include obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, stroke, depression, and others.
The connection between Diet and Inflammation
How can food(s) in your diet cause inflammation? Think of it this way—your body requires food for the energy it provides—but it also requires food(s) of various types to provide your body with the building block materials it needs to maintain all of your systems. If you eat too many pro-inflammatory foods, you are NOT giving your body the building blocks (or the energy) it needs, so functions begin to get damaged.
Pro-inflammatory Foods
Pro-inflammatory foods are those currently mass produced and sold in fast-food chains, in the snack sections of your grocery stores, and in convenience stores. They include fried or fast foods, refined carbohydrates (the processing includes removing the fiber-filled bran of grains and producing white flour used in breads, cereals, and pastries), highly sugary foods, highly salted foods, processed meats (e.g., deli meat, hot dogs, sausage), red meat (*see below for exceptions), margarine, lard, shortening, highly fatty foods and either artificially sweetened or highly sugary beverages.
Anti-inflammatory Foods
Anti-inflammatory foods are possibly those your mother or grandmother cooked—they are whole grains, vegetables (especially green leafy vegetables), fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna, halibut), fruits and berries, green tea, nuts, and seeds. Organic is best, but it is not always cheap or available. Grass-fed (as opposed to corn-fed) beef and buffalo are anti-inflammatory too! Olive oil or canola oil is also anti-inflammatory.
The more anti-inflammatory foods –and the fewer pro-inflammatory foods—you eat, the better off you will be. Can you “fall off the wagon” sometimes? Yes—just try to minimize the times you leave the wagon and jump back on it as soon as you can! The added benefit of these anti-inflammatory foods is that they can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight!
Anti-inflammatory Supplements
Supplements—derived from various sources—can also be important for decreasing inflammation—and there are many choices! Here is a list of the most effective anti-inflammatory supplements.
- Curcumin
- Ginger
- Omega-3 fish oils, krill oil
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Berry extracts—this can include resveratrol, elderberry extracts, mixed berry extracts or gummies made from berries
- Garlic
- Mineral supplements—especially if they contain zinc and selenium
- Green tea extract
- Apple cider vinegar
- Probiotics can help support the immune system—and help support healthy inflammation
- Herbs such as moringa, Boswellia, and cat’s claw
Some herbs you can add to your cooked food—curcumin, derived from turmeric, is used in curry sauces, and in Thai, Japanese, and Chinese foods. You can also add ginger and garlic to many, many foods! You don’t need green tea extract—you can drink green tea instead! Maybe some berry extracts are, well, too berry for you! Well, then drink berry juices!
A Few Words About How Supplements Reduce Inflammation
One of the most commonly used anti-inflammatory supplements is fish or krill oil. How do these oils reduce inflammation?
The omega-3 fatty acids found at high levels in these oils are used by the body to synthesize other anti-inflammatory messengers. Omega-6 oils instead are generally funneled into making pro-inflammatory messengers. The balance between these two types of fats is critical—it should be as close to about 1:1 to 4:1 (Omega-6: Omega-3) as possible. We need BOTH omega-3 and omega-6 fats, but the truth is, it is much easier to get omega-6 fats because they are much more common in (mostly) vegetables. Omega-3 fats are less common in plants, but more common in fish and seafood like krill. So, to try and achieve a better balance between the omega-3 and omega-6 fats, supplements with high concentrations of the omega-3 fats are recommended.
Other supplements like berries, curcumin, ginger, and moringa are high in antioxidants and can more directly affect inflammation by “sopping up” oxidants like free radicals that are found in many cells. If left intact, these oxidants damage cells, tissues, and organs and can cause inflammation.
Diseases or Conditions that May Benefit from Anti-inflammatory Foods
Partly since anti-inflammatory foods constitute a whole-food diet such as the Mediterranean diet– which is healthier than, for example, the Standard American Diet (aka SAD… I’m not saying anything…), overall health and well-being tend to increase with people who eat this diet. However, these anti-inflammatory foods can also benefit those with (are you ready for this list??);
- Obesity
- Arthritis (both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis)
- In fact, the Arthritis Foundation(1) recommends an anti-inflammatory diet
- Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
- Heart disease
- A history of stroke
- Autoimmune diseases such as:
- Thyroid diseases such as Graves disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
- Myasthenia gravis
- Lupus
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Celiac disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Diabetes (Type 2 and Type 1 because Type 1 is an autoimmune disease)
- Inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
- Cancer
Frankly, partly because a diet filled with anti-inflammatory foods can help you achieve better overall health and partly because most (if not all), chronic diseases have an inflammatory component, just about any chronic condition you may be experiencing would benefit from eating primarily anti-inflammatory foods.
Takeaways
One more thing—any food that you individually are intolerant to is a sign that that food is inflammatory for YOU. Gluten is a good example—if you are gluten sensitive, then eating foods containing gluten is inflammatory for your body. Avoid it!! If eating certain fish seems to leave you with headaches, an upset stomach, joint pain, or any ache or pain every time you eat it, pay attention to what your body is saying and avoid that food. You can use any of the supplements mentioned above to make certain you are getting enough (for example) omega-3 fats.
And (sorry) this is really the final point—getting enough sleep, water, and exercise are also anti-inflammatory! Make sure you sleep, rest, and relax, get enough water and engage in enough physical activity to remain healthy!