Each day, your immune system protects you from things that could upset your body’s homeostasis, like stress, infection, pathogens, irritants, or damaged cells. It focuses on removing those things and then initiates the healing process. But sometimes, this immune system response can cause inflammation.
There are two types of inflammation—acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term). Acute inflammation is the helpful kind, while chronic inflammation that goes on for months or years can lead to further damage and other diseases.
It’s estimated that nearly 60% of Americans are living with at least one chronic inflammatory condition and three of five people worldwide die due to chronic inflammatory diseases like stroke, chronic respiratory diseases, heart disorders, cancer, obesity, and diabetes.
While chronic inflammation is a serious health concern and can lead to major chronic conditions, how you eat can change that trajectory and have a positive impact, helping to prevent further health problems. Here’s how the nutrients in the food you eat impact inflammation.
What Is the Anti-Inflammatory Diet?
The anti-inflammatory diet is rich in nutrients, including vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and polyphenols—all of which have been shown to reduce inflammation. However, there’s not one specific anti-inflammatory diet. Instead, each iteration encompasses the same core principles, which include:
- Focus on fruits and vegetables.
- Swap saturated fats for healthy fats like nuts, avocado, and olive oil.
- Choose whole grains, legumes, and high-fiber carbohydrates like quinoa, potatoes, oats, brown rice, lentils, and whole-grain pasta.
- Focus on lean meats and fish.
- Avoid fried foods; try baking, broiling, steaming, or sauteing.
You may have already encountered versions of the anti-inflammatory diet without knowing it. The Mediterranean diet is one of the most widely studied anti-inflammatory diets to date and has been shown to reduce the incidence of chronic disease and mortality.
Other anti-inflammatory diets include the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), a traditional Okinawan (Japanese) diet, a traditional Mexican diet, and the Nordic diet. Each of these diets focuses on the consumption of legumes and other whole grains, lean meat and fish, olive oil and other healthy oils, and an abundance of fruits and vegetables.
Benefits of the Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Certain nutrients in our food have anti-inflammatory properties that could help reduce or prevent chronic inflammation and promote healthy aging. Because chronic inflammation plays a major role in the development and onset of chronic diseases, the anti-inflammatory diet could prevent health conditions related to it, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Here are some of the benefits of the anti-inflammatory diet.
- Improves heart health. Following an anti-inflammatory diet can improve heart health by reducing blood pressure and improving the ratio of HDL (good) cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol.
- Stabilizes blood sugar. Anti-inflammatory foods are rich in dietary fiber, which slows glucose absorption into the blood, helping to promote a more stable blood sugar curve.
- Allows the immune system to work efficiently. When you’re suffering from chronic inflammation, it’s difficult for your immune system to fight off incoming threats like the cold or flu. That means it’s easier for you to get sick. But, the anti-inflammatory diet helps reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, ultimately strengthening your immune system.
- Improves brain health. Research suggests a diet rich in inflammatory foods increases the risk of depression and other mood disorders. While anti-inflammatory diets such as the Mediterranean diet are associated with a reduced incidence and prevalence of depression.
Foods to Eat on the Anti-Inflammatory Diet
A balanced diet packed with whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean protein, fatty fish, and antioxidant-rich herbs and seasonings can help manage inflammation and promote overall health and well-being. The nutrients found in these foods—namely omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidant polyphenols, and dietary fiber—have been shown to reduce inflammation.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids to include in your diet are:
- Fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna, herring, and mackerel)
- Nuts and seeds (like walnuts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds)
- Plant oils (olive oil, flaxseed oil, canola oil, avocado oil)
- Eggs
- Avocado
Antioxidant-Rich Foods
Some antioxidant-rich foods to include in your diet are:
- Apples
- Dark chocolate made with 70-80% cacao
- Coffee
- Strawberries
- Grapes
- Beets
- Turmeric and curcumin
- Ginger
- Tomatoes
- Seaweed
- Coriander
- Beans and legumes
- Oranges
- Plums
- Prunes
- Blueberries
- Broccoli
- Lemons
- Black or Green tea
High Fiber Foods
Fiber-rich foods to add to your diet include:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Beans
- Avocado
- Nuts and seeds
- Whole grains (oatmeal, barley, buckwheat, rye, oat bran)
- White potato and sweet potato, with skin
- Quinoa
- Whole grain breads and cereals
- Whole wheat pasta
- Rice
Foods to Limit on the Anti-Inflammatory Diet
While we generally support most foods in moderation, there are some foods to limit on the anti-inflammatory diet. Research suggests foods high in trans and saturated fats have the most potential to promote inflammation. However, more research is needed to understand the relationship fully.
Trans Fats and Saturated Fats
Foods that are high in trans and saturated fats include:
- Cakes
- Cookies
- Crackers
- Margarine
- Fried foods
- Potato chips
- Buttered popcorn
- Shortening
- Cheese
- Butter
- Red meat
- High-fat dairy
Other Foods
Other foods to avoid on the anti-inflammatory diet include:
- Alcohol
- Highly processed foods (packaged meals, snack foods)
- Sugary foods (candy, sweets, pastries)
- Sugary drinks (soda and other sugary drinks)
- Refined carbohydrates (white bread, sugary cereal, and snack foods)
Sample One-Day Anti-Inflammatory Meal Plan
Here is a sample one-day anti-inflammatory diet meal plan.
Breakfast
- 1/3 cup oatmeal cooked in 1/2 cup low-fat milk or milk alternative of choice, topped with 1 teaspoon of ground flaxmeal
- 1/4 cup blueberries
- 1 ounce walnuts
- 1 serving green tea
Nutrition: 365 calories, 13 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, and 21 grams fat
Snack
- 1 (5.3-ounce) container lowfat plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup all bran cereal
- 1 cup diced strawberries
Nutrition: 202 calories, 18 grams protein, 30 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams fiber, and 4 grams fat
Lunch
- 3 ounces grilled chicken breast
- 1/2 cup lentils
- 1/2 cup wild rice
- Large green salad topped with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice
Nutrition: 471 calories, 40 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams fiber, and 18 grams fat
Snack
- 1 medium bell pepper, sliced
- 1 cup prepared edamame
Nutrition: 213 calories, 18 grams protein, 21 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams fiber, and 8 grams fat
Dinner
- 6 ounces grilled or baked salmon
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (cooked in broth for added flavor)
- 5 large asparagus spears, grilled, or steamed
Nutrition: 551 calories, 54 grams protein, 43 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams fiber, and 17 grams fat
Daily Totals: 1,802 calories, 142 grams protein, 169 grams carbohydrates, 44 grams fiber, and 69 grams fat
Tips for the Anti-Inflammatory Diet
The anti-inflammatory diet is meant to be fairly simple to implement; however, it may require more preparation and cooking than you’re used to. But here are a few tips to help you make changes without it feeling like a chore:
- Focus on a variety of foods. Look to seasonal foods to change things up a bit.
- Aim for 3 to 6 ounces of fish two to four times per week. Canned fish counts, too.
- Include berries in your daily menu. Berries make excellent additions to yogurt, cereal, smoothies, muffins, pancakes, or just by themselves.
- Choose high-fiber carbohydrates over their refined counterparts. Read labels to ensure they contain a good portion of fiber. Look for 3 to 5 grams of fiber per serving.
- Focus on portions. Use the rule of thirds. Save 1/2 of your plate for fruits and vegetables, 1/4 for protein, and 1/4 for carbohydrates.
- Limit alcohol. Refrain from drinking more than one to two servings of alcohol per week. One serving is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor.
- Avoid added sugar, but not all sugar. Read food labels and limit foods that contain added sugar.
No one food or food group is to blame for chronic inflammation. However, an overall poor diet and other lifestyle factors, such as being sedentary, insufficient sleep, chronic stress, and smoking, can contribute. The anti-inflammatory diet is designed to reduce your diet’s contribution while helping to reduce and prevent inflammation.
By limiting high-fat foods, alcohol, sugary food, certain beverages, and highly processed foods and eating more foods that help strengthen your immune system and fight off oxidative stress, you can reduce and prevent inflammation and improve your overall health and well-being.
Before beginning any new diet program, talk to a healthcare provider, such as a registered dietitian, to determine whether the anti-inflammatory diet is the right option.
