Inflammation is your body's normal response to protect and repair itself, but when the process gets out of control, it can lead to various problems, such as heart disease and arthritis. Anti-inflammatory drugs can be a helpful therapy, but one of the best ways to treat and prevent runaway inflammation is by eating a healthful diet.
History
Over the past 100 years, the American diet has changed to include fewer fruits, vegetables and whole grains and a higher percentage of animal products that are filled with arachidonic acid, a major building block of anti-inflammatory agents in your body. Until recently, scientists were unsure of the role diet played in preventing inflammatory disease, but many studies are showing a clear link. One of the first diets to take advantage of this theory was the Mediterranean Diet, created by Dr. Walter Willett, Dr. Frank Sacks and others at the Harvard School of Public Health in the 1960s, inspired by the traditional eating habits of coastal regions of southern Italy and Greece.
Significance
Several diseases have been tied to inflammation in your body, including Alzheimer's disease, asthma, cancer, chronic obstructive lung diseases such as emphysema and bronchitis, chronic pain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, stroke and autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and scleroderma, according to the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine.
Considerations
Dr. Andrew Weil, founder of the Program in Integrative Medicine, or PIM, at University Medical Center and the University of Arizona in Tucson, recommends you consume between 2,000 and 3,000 calories a day. If you're a woman, a small person, or aren't active, you will need fewer calories, and if you are a man, a large person or more active, you'll need more calories. The calories you eat should be 40 percent to 50 percent from carbohydrates, 30 percent fat, and 20 percent to 30 percent protein.
Food Recommendations
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine recommends you avoid trans-fats of the hydrogenated kind, saturated fats found in animal products, and fats high in omega-6 fatty acids such as refined vegetable oils, all of which can cause inflammation. Instead, choose mono-unsaturated fats such as olive oil and omega-3 fats such as fish oil and flax oil, which are particularly beneficial for decreasing inflammation. You should also eat a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, eight to 10 servings per day, as well as plenty of fiber, up to 30 grams daily. The best protein sources are oily fish species such as salmon.
Supplement Recommendations
Several spices, often taken in supplement form, have been shown to have powerful anti-inflammatory effects. Chief among these are ginger and turmeric, the main ingredient in yellow curry. D. Rakel and A. Rindfleisch also reported in the March 2005 issue of the "Southern Medical Journal" that additional healthy spices or supplements include rosemary, oregano, cayenne, cloves, nutmeg, boswellia and willow bark.
Expert Insight
In a review published in 2009 in the British Journal Of Nutrition, Professor Philip Calder and his team at the University of Southampton looked at all the existing evidence for anti-inflammatory eating and suggested the approach might help a range of conditions. Research has shown that certain nutrients, such as the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oils and compounds in spices, have direct anti-inflammatory properties. An earlier study in the July 2004 "Journal of the American College of Cardiology" by C. Chrysohoou et al, reported that adherence to the traditional anti-inflammatory Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduction in the concentrations of inflammation and coagulation markers.
