Anti-inflammatory diet: Foods that help reduce chronic inflammation
The eating plan is easy to adopt and filled with delicious, healthy foods that might help lower chronic inflammation.
An anti-inflammatory diet may help rein in chronic inflammation. The eating plan is rich in vegetables, fruit, healthy oils, nuts and seeds, and other foods with anti-inflammatory benefits. What’s not included: refined carbohydrates, red and processed meats, deep-fried foods, and other inflammation-promoting foods.
Chronic inflammation, typically caused by an excessive or prolonged immune response, can be harmful, damaging tissues throughout the body and increasing the risk of health conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and cancer.
Many unhealthy lifestyle habits contribute to chronic inflammation, especially eating a lot of foods, like potato chips, cookies, or frozen pizza, that can promote inflammation. One antidote? An anti-inflammatory diet. Knowing what to eat (and what to avoid) might help you tamp down inflammation and reduce your risk of chronic inflammation and its harmful effects.
What is an anti-inflammatory diet?
In truth, an official anti-inflammatory diet doesn’t exist, says Jeanne Luongo, a dietitian at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. But research suggests that one of the best approaches to fighting chronic inflammation is a Mediterranean-style eating plan. It emphasizes anti-inflammatory foods, including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, unsaturated fats like olive oil, and small amounts of dairy and lean protein. Plant-based diets and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet are also made up mostly of foods that may reduce inflammation. Remember: it’s the overall pattern of eating, not individual foods, that matters most.