All About Inflammation

Inflammation is a term that has become popular in the past few years, you’ve probably heard that inflammation can cause a variety of different diseases and that “anti-inflammatory” foods can help fight these diseases. But what does all that mean? Let me break it down for you!

First, let’s talk about inflammation. There are two types of inflammation: acute (short-lived) and chronic (long-term). Acute inflammation is something that you want to happen from time-to-time, for example, when you cut your finger and it heals, that is acute inflammation at work.

Chronic inflammation or the long-term inflammation is the inflammation that has been linked to a variety of different diseases:

-          Cancer

-          Obesity

-          Type 2 diabetes

-          Heart disease

This is the “bad” inflammation that can come from the environment, lack of physical activity and the food you eat!

So what which are foods are anti-inflammatory? Good news, there are a lot of them!

Here is a list of foods to start with:

-          Fruits

o   While fruits are anti-inflammatory in general, here are most potent:

§  Berries

§  Oranges

§  Cherries

-          Vegetables

o   While fruits are anti-inflammatory in general, here are most potent:

§  Tomatoes

§  Green, leafy vegetables

§  Beets

-          Dairy

-          Legumes

o   Black beans

o   Nuts

o   Navy beans

-          Olive oil

-          Fatty fish

o   Salmon

o   Tuna

o   Mackerel

-          Spices:

o   Turmeric

o   Cumin

o   Black pepper

o   Cinnamon

o   Ginger

o   Red pepper

o   Rosemary

In addition to the foods listed above, the Mediterranean diet is also known to be anti-inflammatory, which makes sense as many of the foods listed above are included regularly on the Mediterranean diet. Interested in learning more about the Mediterranean diet? Check out my previous blogs: A Day in Spain, The Mediterranean Diet: Olive Oil, Introduction to the Mediterranean Diet, or The Mediterranean Diet: Fruits and Vegetables.

There are also foods in our diet that can increase chronic inflammation and should be limited in the diet. These include:

-          Processed foods

-          Refined grains (white bread, pasta, etc)

-          Added sugars (soda, desserts)

-          Fried foods

How anti- or pro-inflammatory is your diet? Want help with ways to improve?? Reach out to Dr. Maria!