Eating an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

We’ve all heard it before. The term “inflammation” is a hot word right now, and rightfully so. It is one of the leading causes of more than 80% of our diseases, and it is dragging us down every year with more and more symptoms.

With the new year, many of us are on board with being more active and eating “right.” What we have to remember is that what is right and healthy for one person, may not be right and healthy for another. There is no cookie cutter way to incorporate healthy eating into your life, but you can usually count on an overall anti-inflammatory diet to do the trick!

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misleading information of what constitutes an anti-inflammatory diet and how you incorporate it in your lifestyle. Think of it as having two different components. You have foods that cause inflammation to generally everybody, and then you have foods that can be inflammatory to just you. Running an IgG food allergy panel is one of the best ways to find out what foods cause a reaction that then causes chronic inflammation. For example, to say that everyone needs to avoid grains is false information if the only food they react to is dairy and dairy derivatives.

Surely fruits and veggies are safe, right? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Fruit allergies can be quite common, especially citrus fruits. Foods that we perceive as healthy for all can sometimes cause unhealthy reactions to some people. As a physicians office, we see this more and more every day, especially in our children.

Chronic inflammation is the last thing we want to have in our bodies! Inflammatory foods can make us sick and cause bigger issues down the road with skin rashes (eczema), irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, asthma and allergies, migraines, arthritis, and other inflammatory diseases.

We always advise our patients to be in tune with their bodies. Listen. Feel. Be aware of your reactions to inflammatory foods: gas, bloating, acid reflux, brain fog, low energy, poor metabolism, etc.

Here are general guidelines for an anti-inflammatory diet:

– learn how to read labels

– avoid marketing tactics (“low fat” = more added sugar)

– avoid white/processed sugar and flours

– avoid artificial sweeteners (there are mounting studies and evidence on artificial sweeteners with impairment on metabolism and inflammation)

– incorporate healthy fats and know their smoke points when cooking with them. Olive oil is a great healthy fat; however, a misconception is that you can always cook/grill/roast with it. It has a low smoke point (325 degrees F)…anything higher than that causes it to be an inflammatory fat! Use it for salad dressings and low smoke points. Better options for cooking oils that have higher smoke points are sunflower oils, grapeseed, and coconut oil.

– create meals with a protein (animal or plant), complex carbs and vegetables & sprinkle with healthy fats (nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, olive oil). For snacks, try some fruit and a 1/4 cup of mixed nuts. (tip: fruits are better digested when eaten by themselves).

Here’s to a new year of healthy eating and feeling your best!