Anti-Inflammatory Diet: How To Naturally Reduce Inflammation

Last updated 15/03/2021 by The pain clinics - Interdisciplinary Health

Inflammation is not necessarily a negative. Inflammation is a natural process that helps your body heal and protect itself from injury. Despite this, inflammation can become harmful if it becomes chronic. Chronic inflammation can last for weeks, months or years - and can lead to many different health problems. That said, there is still a lot you can do to reduce inflammation and improve your health in general - something you will learn in our guide.

In this article you will learn, among other things:

• What is Inflammation?
• Causes of Chronic Inflammation
• The role of diet
• Foods to avoid
• Foods you should eat
• Sample Menu
• Other Tips
• Suggestions for an Improved Lifestyle
• Conclusion

What is Inflammation?

Inflammation - or inflammation - is the body's way of protecting itself from infections, diseases or injuries. As part of the inflammatory response, your body increases the production of its white blood cells, as well as immune cells and substances such as cytokines. Together they help in the fight against infections. Common symptoms of acute (short-term) inflammation are redness, pain, warmth and swelling.

On the other hand, chronic (prolonged) inflammation can often occur inside the body without noticeable symptoms. This type of inflammation can lead to diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver disease and cancer. Chronic inflammation can also occur if people are very overweight or under high stress for a long time. When doctors examine for inflammation and inflammation, they often test your blood to see if certain markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), homocysteine, TNF alpha and IL-6 are present.

SUMMARY

Inflammation is a protective mechanism that allows your body to protect itself from infections, diseases or injuries. Unfortunately, inflammation can also become chronic, which can lead to the development of several different disease states.

What is the reason behind Inflammation?

Certain lifestyle factors - especially routine ones - can lead to inflammation. High intake of sugar or corn syrup is especially harmful and can lead to insulin resistance, diabetes and obesity. Researchers have also hypothesized that high intake of refined carbohydrates such as white bread can lead to inflammation, insulin resistance and obesity.

In addition, eating processed or ready-to-eat foods with trans fats has been shown to cause inflammation and damage to the endothelial cells located inside your arteries (blood vessels). Vegetable oils that are often used in processed foods are another possible aggravation. Regular intake can lead to an imbalance in the omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acid levels in your body, which some researchers believe can lead to increased inflammatory reactions. Excessive consumption of alcohol and processed meat can also have a pro-inflammatory effect on your body. In addition, an equally active lifestyle with a lot of sitting can be a major cause of inflammation that has nothing to do with diet.

SUMMARY

Eating unhealthy foods, drinking alcohol or sugary drinks or getting too little physical activity can be linked to increased inflammation.

The role of diet in the fight against inflammatory reactions

If you want to curb inflammation in your body, you should eat fewer inflammatory foods and focus on foods that can curb the reaction instead. Base your diet on coarse, nutritious foods that contain antioxidants - and avoid processed foods at all costs. Antioxidants reduce the levels of free radicals in your body. These reactive molecules, ie free radicals, appear as a natural part of your metabolism, but can lead to inflammation if there are too many of them.

Your personal anti-inflammatory diet should include a healthy balance of proteins, carbohydrates and fatty acids at every meal. Also, make sure you meet your body's needs when it comes to vitamins, minerals, fiber and water. One type of diet that is considered anti-inflammatory is the "Mediterranean diet", which has been proven to reduce the number of inflammatory markers such as CRP and IL-6. Low carb diets can also reduce inflammation, especially for those who are very overweight or have a metabolic syndrome. Many people also swear by the LOWfod map, and feel that it helps them a lot. In addition, a vegetarian diet has been shown to reduce inflammation - primarily due to the high content of antioxidants and healthy nutrients. Fibromyalgia diet is also frequently mentioned among rheumatics and those with chronic inflammatory reactions in the body.

SUMMARY

Choose a balanced diet and opt for ready-made foods while increasing your intake of coarse, anti-inflammatory foods packed with antioxidants.

Foods you should avoid

Some foods are associated with an increased risk of chronic inflammation. Think about reducing the consumption of or cutting out the following foods completely:

• Sugary drinks: Soft drinks and fruit juice
• Refined carbohydrates: White bread, white pasta, etc.
• Desserts: Biscuits, sweets, cakes and ice cream
• Processed meat: Sausages, cold cuts and minced meat
• Processed snack foods: Biscuits, potato chips and baked goods
• Some oils: Processed seed and vegetable oils, such as soybean or corn oil.
• Trans fat: Food with partially hydrogenated ingredients
• Alcohol: Excessive alcohol intake

SUMMARY

Avoid or limit the intake of sugary foods and beverages, processed meats, excess alcohol and foods high in refined carbohydrates and unnatural fatty acids.

Foods to Eat:

Include lots of these anti-inflammatory foods in your diet:

• Vegetables: Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, etc.
• Fruits: Especially berries with deep, dark color, like grapes or cherries
• High-fat fruits: Avocado and olives
• Healthy fatty acids: Olive oil and coconut oil
• Bold fish: Salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel and anchovies
• Nuts: Almonds and other nuts
• Peppers: Plain peppers and chili peppers
• Chocolate: Dark chocolate
• Spices: Turmeric, fenugreek, cinnamon, etc.
• Tea: Green tea
• We get a lot of questions about red wine. The rule dictates up to 140 ml of red wine per day for women and 280 ml for men. But as I said - limit your alcohol intake, and try to keep it to the weekends.

SUMMARY

It is best to eat a variety of nutritious foods to reduce inflammation. Some have better effects of certain types of diet than others.

1 day - sample menu

It is easier to stick to a new diet if you have a good plan. Here's a great sample menu that can get you started, which includes a day packed with anti-inflammatory foods:

Lunch

3-egg omelette with 1 cup (110 grams) mushroom and 1 cup (67 grams) cabbage, fried with olive oil

1 cup (225 grams) of cherries

Green tea and / or water

Lunch

Grilled salmon on a bed of green vegetables with some olive oil and vinegar

1 cup (125 grams) of raspberries over some simple natural Greek yogurt, with pecans in bits

Iced without sweeteners, water

Snacks

Paprika strips with guacamole

Afternoon

Chicken curry with sweet potato, cauliflower and broccoli

Everyday: Water

Weekend: Red wine (140-280 ml)

30 grams of dark chocolate (preferably at least 80% cocoa)

SUMMARY

An anti-inflammatory diet should be well balanced and include different strengthening foods for every meal.

Other Useful Tips to Reduce Inflammation

Once you've organized your new healthy everyday menu, you should also incorporate other healthy habits as part of an anti-inflammatory lifestyle:

• Supplements: Some supplements can reduce inflammation, such as fish oils or turmeric.
• Regular physical activity: Exercise can curb inflammation markers in your body and reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases.
• Sleep: It is very important to get enough sleep. Researchers have found that poor night's sleep increases inflammation in the body.

Also read; 9 Tips for Better Sleep

SUMMARY

You can boost your anti-inflammatory diet by taking supplements and making sure you are sufficiently physically active and getting enough sleep.

Benefits of an Improved Lifestyle

An anti-inflammatory diet, in addition to exercise and good sleep can provide you with many benefits:

• Improvements in symptoms of osteoarthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus and other autoimmune diseases.
• Reduced risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, depression, cancer and other diseases
• Lower levels of inflammation markers in your blood
• Better blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
• Improvement in energy level and mood

SUMMARY

Adhering to an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle can lead to improvement in inflammation markers in the blood and reduce the risk of developing several different diseases.

Conclusion

Chronic inflammatory reactions are unhealthy and can lead to disease. In many cases, choices you make related to diet and lifestyle can worsen the inflammatory condition. You should choose anti-inflammatory foods to maintain good health, reduce the risk of disease and improve your quality of life.

Recommended Self-Help for Chronic Pain

Compression Noise (such as compression socks that contribute to increased blood circulation to sore muscles or specially adapted compression gloves against rheumatic symptoms in the hands)

Click on the image to read more about compression gloves.

Trigger point Balls (self-help to work the muscles on a daily basis)

Arnica cream or heat conditioner (many people report some pain relief if they use, for example, arnica cream or heat conditioner)

Many people use arnica cream for pain due to stiff joints and sore muscles. Click on the image to read more about how arnica cream can help relieve some of your pain situation.

Questions?

Feel free to contact us at Our Facebook page or our Youtube channel. In the latter you can also find a variety of exercise programs, exercises and the like that can be useful for you. We also have a very good facebook group (Rheumatism and Chronic Pain - Norway) with nearly 19000 members. Here you can, among other things, ask questions and get answers to things you are wondering.