Our bodies are miraculous. When everything is working well, we’re like a well-oiled machine.
But when things aren’t going so well, we might suffer from inflammation, either acute or chronic. Both are trying to do their jobs, responding to an injury or an infection, but chronic inflammation goes overboard. The response can lead to tissue damage and is linked to diseases like cancer and heart disease.
Cause and effect
Chronic inflammation shows up as joint pain and stiffness, fatigue, headaches and digestive issues, among other symptoms. These can be caused by a number of serious health concerns including cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and autoimmune disorders like arthritis, Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
There are ways to reduce inflammation. Health experts agree that eating a healthy diet is a front-line way to manage inflammation.
Some food groups can reduce inflammation and others may exacerbate it. Among the culprits for making things worse are refined carbohydrates (think: white bread), excess sugar, alcohol and red or processed meats. Sadly, trans fats, saturated fats and omega-6 fats also are no-no’s, so goodbye french fries if you’re working on getting that inflammation tamed.
A garden of delights
Harvard Health Publishing, a website of Harvard Medical School, offers a list of anti-inflammatory food that help reduce inflammation. If it looks and sounds like the essence of the Mediterranean diet, you’re right.
Tomatoes, olive oil and fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines are right up there with green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale and collards. Nuts like almonds and walnuts are encouraged as are fruits like blueberries (a superfood!), strawberries, cherries and oranges. Other foods include apples, citrus, grapes and pomegranates. And even if you have to give up your french fries, you can still drink coffee, which contains polyphenols and other anti-inflammatory compounds.
Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, says that in the fight against inflammation the grocery store is a more powerful tool than the pharmacy.
“Many experimental studies have shown that components of food or beverages may have anti-inflammatory effects,” he says, supporting both the health risks of certain foods and the advantages of others.