Inflammation is a natural process that helps your body heal and defend itself from harm. Unfortunately, it can sometimes run wild and become chronic.

Chronic inflammation can last for a long time—weeks, months or years—and may lead to various health problems. On the bright side, there are many things you can do to reduce inflammation and improve your overall health.

This article outlines a detailed plan for an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle.

What is Inflammation?

Inflammation is your body's way to protect itself from infection, illness or injury.

As part of the inflammatory response, your body increases production of white blood cells, immune cells and substances called cytokines that help fight infection.

Classic signs of acute (short-term) inflammation include redness, pain, heat and swelling.

On the other hand, chronic (long-term) inflammation is often silent and occurs inside the body without any noticeable symptoms.

This type of inflammation can drive conditions like diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver disease and cancer (1, 2, 3, 4).

Chronic inflammation can also happen when people are obese or under stress (5, 6).

When doctors look for inflammation, they test for a few markers in the blood, including C-reactive protein (CRP), homocysteine, TNF alpha and IL-6.

Bottom Line: Inflammation is a protective mechanism that allows your body to defend itself against infection, illness or injury. It can also occur on a chronic basis, which can lead to various diseases.

An Unhealthy Lifestyle Can Drive Inflammation

Certain lifestyle factors can promote inflammation, especially when they occur on a regular basis.

Consuming high amounts of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup is particularly bad. It can lead to insulin resistance, diabetes and obesity (7, 8, 9, 10, 11).

Consuming refined carbs, such as white bread, can also contribute to inflammation, insulin resistance and obesity (12, 13).

Eating processed and packaged foods that contain trans fats has also been shown to promote inflammation and damage the endothelial cells that line your arteries (14, 15,16, 17, 18, 19, 20).

Vegetable oils used in many kinds of processed foods are another culprit. Consuming them regularly results in an imbalance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, which leads to inflammation (21, 22, 23).

Excessive intake of alcohol and processed meat can also have inflammatory effects on the body (24, 25, 26).

An inactive lifestyle that includes a lot of sitting is a major non-dietary factor that can also promote inflammation (27, 28).

Bottom Line: Eating unhealthy foods, drinking alcohol or sugary beverages and getting little physical activity all drive inflammation.

How to Reduce Inflammation With Your Diet

If you want to reduce inflammation, eat less inflammatory foods and more anti-inflammatory foods.

Base your diet on whole, nutrient-dense foods that contain antioxidants and avoid processed products.

Antioxidants work by reducing levels of free radicals. These reactive molecules are created as a natural part of your metabolism, but can lead to inflammation when they're not held in check.

Your anti-inflammatory diet should provide a healthy balance of protein, carbs and fat at each meal. Make sure you also meet your body's needs for vitamins, minerals, fiber and water.

One diet considered anti-inflammatory is the Mediterranean diet, which has been shown to reduce inflammatory markers such as CRP and IL-6 (29, 30, 31).

A low-carb diet also reduces inflammation, particularly for people who are obese or have metabolic syndrome (32, 33, 34).

Vegetarian diets have also been shown to help reduce inflammation (35).

Bottom Line: Choose a balanced diet that cuts out processed products and boosts your intake of whole, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant-rich foods.

Foods to Avoid

Some foods are notorious for promoting inflammation.

Consider minimizing or cutting these out completely:

• Sugary beverages: Sugar-sweetened drinks and fruit juices

• Refined carbs: White bread, white pasta, etc.

• Desserts: Cookies, candy, cake and ice cream

• Processed meat: Hot dogs, bologna, sausages, etc.

• Processed snack foods: Crackers, chips and pretzels

• Certain oils: Processed seed- and vegetable oils like soybean and corn oil

• Trans fats: Foods with “partially hydrogenated" in the ingredients list

• Alcohol: Excessive alcohol consumption

Bottom Line: Avoid or minimize sugary foods and beverages, excessive alcohol and foods high in refined carbs and unhealthy fats.

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Foods to Eat

Include plenty of these anti-inflammatory foods:

• Vegetables: Broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, etc.

• Fruit: Especially deeply colored berries like grapes and cherries

• High-fat fruits: Avocados and olives

• Healthy fats: Olive oil and coconut oil

• Fatty fish: Salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel and anchovies

• Nuts: Almonds and other nuts

• Peppers: Bell peppers and chili peppers

• Chocolate: Dark chocolate

• Spices: Such as turmeric, fenugreek and cinnamon

• Tea: Green tea

• Red wine: Up to 5 oz (140 ml) of red wine per day for women and 10 oz (280 ml) per day for men

Bottom Line: Consume a variety of nutrient-dense whole foods that can reduce inflammation.

Sample Menu For an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

It's easier to stick to a diet when you have a plan. Here's a great sample menu to start from, featuring a day of anti-inflammatory meals:

Breakfast

• 3-egg omelet with 1 cup mushrooms and 1 cup kale, cooked in coconut oil

• 1 cup cherries

• Green tea and/or water

Lunch

• Grilled salmon on a bed of mixed greens with olive oil and vinegar

• 1 cup raspberries, topped with plain Greek yogurt and chopped pecans

• Iced tea, water.

Snack

• Bell pepper strips with guacamole

Dinner

• Chicken curry with sweet potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli

• Red wine (5-10 oz or 140-280 g)

• Dark chocolate (preferably at least 80 percent cocoa)

Bottom Line: An anti-inflammatory diet plan should be well-balanced, incorporating foods with beneficial effects at every meal.

Other Tips to Reduce Inflammation

Once you have your healthy menu organized, make sure you incorporate these other good habits of an anti-inflammatory lifestyle:

• Supplements: Certain supplements can boost the anti-inflammatory effects of foods, including fish oil and curcumin

• Regular exercise: Exercise can decrease inflammatory markers and the risk of chronic disease (36, 37)

• Sleep: Getting enough sleep is extremely important. Researchers have found that a poor night's sleep increases inflammation (38, 39)

Bottom Line: You can boost the benefits of your anti-inflammatory diet by taking supplements and making sure to get enough exercise and sleep.

The Rewards of an Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle

An anti-inflammatory diet, along with exercise and good sleep, may provide many benefits:

• Improvement to symptoms of arthritis, inflammatory bowel syndrome, lupus and other autoimmune disorders.

• Decreased risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, depression, cancer and other diseases

• Reduction in inflammatory markers in the blood

• Better blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels

• Improvement in energy and mood

Bottom Line: Following an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle may improve markers of inflammation and reduce your risk of many diseases.

Take Home Message

Chronic inflammation is unhealthy and can lead to disease.

In many cases, our health behaviors drive inflammation or make it worse.

Instead, choose an anti-inflammatory lifestyle for optimal health and well-being.

This article was reposted from our media associate Authority Nutrition.

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