Top 10 Foods to Fight Inflammation
Afire roars inside you and you may not even know it. What’s worse: This out-of-control inflammation may lead to heart disease, cancer, diabetes and more. But dietary changes can help tame the flame. Read on for the 10 foods to start eating today...
Low-level, chronic inflammation lies so far below the skin’s surface that you can’t see it or feel it.
It’s the result of an immune system in overdrive, damaging healthy tissue and leading to chronic illnesses. Continuing inflammation can trigger heart disease, cancer and diabetes, but it also can exacerbate asthma, acne and obesity – even ruin your mood, says Evelyn Tribole, a registered dietitian in Newport Beach, Calif., and author of The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet (McGraw-Hill).
Within two decades, more than one-third of Americans will have an inflammatory disorder, Tribole says. And most of it stems from an unhealthy diet.
Fight Fire with Food
The typical Western diet – high in processed foods, refined starches, added sugars and animal fats and low in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and omega-3 fatty acids – fuels inflammation, according to a 2006 paper in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
But people in Greece, Italy and France have better eating habits and less chronic disease. In those Mediterranean countries, sweets, eggs and beef don’t star on the plate as often as in the U.S.
Their diet is naturally anti-inflammatory and includes low-fat and nonfat dairy foods, olive oil, potatoes, nuts, poultry, legumes, olives and wine, says Demosthenes Panagiotakos, a leading researcher on the Mediterranean diet and associate professor of Biostatistics & Epidemiology of Nutrition at Harokopio University of Athens, Greece.
It’s the result of an immune system in overdrive, damaging healthy tissue and leading to chronic illnesses. Continuing inflammation can trigger heart disease, cancer and diabetes, but it also can exacerbate asthma, acne and obesity – even ruin your mood, says Evelyn Tribole, a registered dietitian in Newport Beach, Calif., and author of The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet (McGraw-Hill).
Within two decades, more than one-third of Americans will have an inflammatory disorder, Tribole says. And most of it stems from an unhealthy diet.
Fight Fire with Food
The typical Western diet – high in processed foods, refined starches, added sugars and animal fats and low in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and omega-3 fatty acids – fuels inflammation, according to a 2006 paper in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
But people in Greece, Italy and France have better eating habits and less chronic disease. In those Mediterranean countries, sweets, eggs and beef don’t star on the plate as often as in the U.S.
Their diet is naturally anti-inflammatory and includes low-fat and nonfat dairy foods, olive oil, potatoes, nuts, poultry, legumes, olives and wine, says Demosthenes Panagiotakos, a leading researcher on the Mediterranean diet and associate professor of Biostatistics & Epidemiology of Nutrition at Harokopio University of Athens, Greece.
So what does this mean for us in the West? Eat like a French, Italian or Greek woman – lots of fruits, veggies, green salads and fish – and drink red wine in moderation (up to 4 ounces daily for women and 8 ounces for men).
But lettuce and green beans alone won’t do it. To get a wide variety of nutrients, including fiber, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, chow down on fruits and vegetables of all kinds and colors.
And begin at breakfast. If you wait until dinner to eat the 5-9 servings (a half cup each) recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, you’ll be at the table a long time.
To get started on an anti-inflammatory path, consume more foods straight from the farm, fewer processed and fried foods or those loaded with butter, and use the 10 foods below in your meals:
1. Canola oil
We eat too little omega-3 and too much omega-6 fatty acids because of corn and soybean oils in margarine, candy, crackers and processed foods. That tips the balance of compounds involved in inflammation for the worse, Tribole says.
The fatty acids compete in the body for enzymes: Omega-3 fats yield anti-inflammatory compounds; omega-6 fats give us inflammation.
“It’s like a biological game of musical chairs, where there’s always a shortage,” Tribole explains. “In the case of fatty acids, the dominant fats win the enzyme.”
Diet fix: Limit highly processed foods (always a good idea). Dress your salad and sauté your meats and veggies in omega-3 rich canola oil. Eat other plant sources of omega-3 fats including walnuts and ground flaxseed.
2. Grass-fed beef
Humans are at the top of the food chain and the diet your food eats affects your inflammation levels.
But lettuce and green beans alone won’t do it. To get a wide variety of nutrients, including fiber, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, chow down on fruits and vegetables of all kinds and colors.
And begin at breakfast. If you wait until dinner to eat the 5-9 servings (a half cup each) recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, you’ll be at the table a long time.
To get started on an anti-inflammatory path, consume more foods straight from the farm, fewer processed and fried foods or those loaded with butter, and use the 10 foods below in your meals:
1. Canola oil
We eat too little omega-3 and too much omega-6 fatty acids because of corn and soybean oils in margarine, candy, crackers and processed foods. That tips the balance of compounds involved in inflammation for the worse, Tribole says.
The fatty acids compete in the body for enzymes: Omega-3 fats yield anti-inflammatory compounds; omega-6 fats give us inflammation.
“It’s like a biological game of musical chairs, where there’s always a shortage,” Tribole explains. “In the case of fatty acids, the dominant fats win the enzyme.”
Diet fix: Limit highly processed foods (always a good idea). Dress your salad and sauté your meats and veggies in omega-3 rich canola oil. Eat other plant sources of omega-3 fats including walnuts and ground flaxseed.
2. Grass-fed beef
Humans are at the top of the food chain and the diet your food eats affects your inflammation levels.
A 2004 study from California State University, Chico examined lipid composition of 36 cattle fed on grain, grass and a combination of both. The beef from grass-fed bovines was lower in saturated fatty acids and omega 6 and 40% higher in omega-3 fatty acids.
Diet fix: Grass-fed beef may be more expensive, but worth it for your health. The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends no more that 18 ounces of lean beef weekly. More than that raises your colon cancer risk. Less is probably better – maybe two portions per week – because it frees your plate for even more disease-fighting foods.
3. Oily fish
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends eating omega-3 rich oily fish at least twice weekly because they decrease the risk of sudden cardiac death and slow growth of arterial plaque.
Diet fix: Choose salmon, tuna, trout, herring, sardines and mackerel for the most potent, anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. But pregnant women should avoid King mackerel because of its high mercury content.
Comments