An anti-inflammatory diet is promoted as a remedy to fight inflammation in the body. A common belief is that "inflammation" is always bad. Although inflammation can cause unpleasant side effects, it is actually a healthy response of our immune system. When a foreign invader, such as bacteria, viruses, or allergens, enters the body or an injury occurs, our immune cells quickly take action. We can sneeze or cough to rid the body of an irritating agent. We may feel pain and swelling at the site of the cut or injury, indicating that we should be gentle with this sensitive area. The blood may flow rapidly, producing warmth or redness. These are signs that our immune system is repairing damaged tissue or fighting off invaders. As healing occurs, the inflammation gradually decreases.
When inflammation is prolonged, it becomes harmful and begins to damage healthy cells, creating a pro-inflammatory state. Another problem is due to genetic aberrations that cause the body's immune system to constantly attack cells. This sometimes occurs with autoimmune disorders such as lupus, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and Crohn's disease. Sometimes a lack of exercise, high stress, and an unhealthy lifestyle from calorie-rich diets can trigger chronic low levels of inflammation throughout the body, called metaflammation. [1,2] This type of low-grade inflammation usually does not produce obvious symptoms, but over time, metaflammation is associated with cardiovascular disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and certain cancers (eg breast, colon).
Anti-inflammatory diets may be encouraged for these inflammatory conditions. They contain several foods that are believed to interfere with the inflammatory process, but research into its exact mechanism is inconclusive. There is no single anti-inflammatory diet plan. It usually emphasizes eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, unsaturated fats, minimally refined whole grains, tea, coffee, herbs, spices, and oily fish. The Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet are popular diet plans that already showcase many anti-inflammatory foods.
Examples of anti-inflammatory foods:
*Fruits
*Vegetables
*High fiber whole grains
* Monounsaturated fats (avocado, olive oil, nuts, nut butter, seeds)
* Polyunsaturated omega-3 fats (walnuts, flaxseed, chia seeds and seafood including salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel)
*Tea
*Coffee
*Dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids or higher
*Herbs, spices (turmeric, ginger)
