Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners: What You Need to Know?

You might have heard of a new trend, "Eating the Rainbow," but do you know it's not merely a trend? Recent American Dietary Guidelines recommend eating 3-5 servings of colorful fresh fruits and vegetables daily. Isn't it what our mothers used to tell us since we were kids? Yeah, "Moms are always right." Anyways, back to our topic, "the anti-inflammatory diet for beginners."

As a beginner, you might have a lot of queries, like who can benefit from an anti-inflammatory diet? What are its advantages, and how can you get started?

Let's have an insight into everything you need to know about it.

What is an Anti Inflammatory Diet?

An anti-inflammatory diet involves foods and nutrients with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.

When cell injury occurs in our body, inflammatory cells move to that injured area for healing. While inflammation is our body's natural response, chronic inflammation can harm us. Chronic inflammation indicates autoimmune disorders, cancers, heart diseases, and neurological conditions.

What are the Benefits of an Anti-Inflammatory Diet?

Anti-inflammatory diet, for beginners, is a dilemma. You may wonder why I should start an anti-inflammatory diet. Do I need it? Well, here are some reasons why you should start an anti-inflammatory diet:

1. Reduced inflammation in the body: Various heart diseases, cancers, and autoimmune conditions are associated with long-term inflammation (1). An anti-inflammatory diet reduces this inflammation and stops the progression of these diseases (2).

2. Stronger immune system: Your immune system helps you fight diseases and infections. The stronger the immunity, the healthier you are. An anti-inflammatory diet boosts your immunity and helps you fight infections (3).

3. Happier Joints: Around 15% of people above age 30 are suffering from joint pain (4). If your joints hurt, an anti-inflammatory diet might make them feel better and help you move more easily (5).

4. Healthier Heart: Foods like fatty fish and olive oil contain polyunsaturated fatty acids that can keep your heart healthier. A 2013 study has proven the role of polyunsaturated fatty acids in preventing and reducing cardiovascular events (6).

5. Steady Blood Sugar: Prediabetes has become so prevalent nowadays, and it's getting hard to control blood sugar levels. Eating whole, unprocessed foods can keep your blood sugar levels steady, reducing the risk of diabetes (7).

6. Weight Control: Doctors say, "Obesity is the Mother of All Diseases." So, controlling weight is one of the ways to live a healthy life. A 2020 study showed that an anti-inflammatory diet helps lose extra fatty tissue and control body weight (8).

7. Happy Tummy: Foods with probiotics and fiber in this diet can make your stomach happy and improve your immune system (9).

8. Improved mental health: Studies have shown that eating an anti-inflammatory diet helps reduce depression symptoms in adults (10).

9. Younger Skin: Eating whole foods and antioxidants can make your skin look better by reducing swelling and boosting collagen production (11).

Who can benefit from an anti-inflammatory diet?

There's no hard and fast rule for this. Anybody can start an anti-inflammatory diet and get benefits from it. However, it is extremely beneficial for people fighting autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, various cancers, neurodegenerative disorders, and cardiovascular diseases (12), (13), (14).

Anti-inflammatory diet for beginners: How to Get Started?

Here are certain things you should be mindful of: the dos and don'ts of the anti-inflammatory diet.

● What are the Don'ts?: Avoid highly processed foods, saturated fats, added sweeteners, and extra salty foods. These foods are the worst for your health as they induce inflammation in the body and lead to lethal illnesses.

● What are the Dos? Eat whole grains, fresh vegetables and fruits, fibers, nuts, fatty fish, low-fat foods, olive oil and legumes. These foods contain antioxidants that lessen the effects of damaging free radicals in the body.

● Do not abruptly and strictly change your whole diet: You'll get tired and start binge-eating processed foods. Rather, make a slow shift and adopt the anti-inflammatory diet as a lifestyle instead of just an eating habit.

A Quick Recap

So, this was all about the "anti-inflammatory diet for beginners." Inflammation is a major cause of grave cardiovascular illnesses and cancers. Today's diet contains highly processed foods and added pro-inflammatory sweeteners; that's why chronic inflammation diseases have become prevalent.

An anti-inflammatory diet brings you a light of hope in the dark alley of inflammatory conditions. It helps boost your immune system, reduces inflammation, increases collagen production, and lets you live a healthier life.

So, what are you waiting for? Quit the unhealthy lifestyle and start living healthier!

References

1. Stone WL, Basit H, Burns B. Pathology, Inflammation. [Updated 2022 Nov 14]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534820/

2. Tsigalou, C., Konstantinidis, T., Paraschaki, A., Stavropoulou, E., Voidarou, C., & Bezirtzoglou, E. (2020). Mediterranean Diet as a Tool to Combat Inflammation and Chronic Diseases. An Overview. Biomedicines, 8(7), 201. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines8070201

3. Iddir, M., Brito, A., Dingeo, G., Fernandez Del Campo, S. S., Samouda, H., La Frano, M. R., & Bohn, T. (2020). Strengthening the Immune System and Reducing Inflammation and Oxidative Stress through Diet and Nutrition: Considerations during the COVID-19 Crisis. Nutrients, 12(6), 1562. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12061562

4. GBD 2021 Osteoarthritis Collaborators (2023). Global, regional, and national burden of osteoarthritis, 1990-2020 and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet. Rheumatology, 5(9), e508–e522. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913(23)00163-7

5. Genel, F., Kale, M., Pavlovic, N., Flood, V. M., Naylor, J. M., & Adie, S. (2020). Health effects of a low-inflammatory diet in adults with arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of nutritional science, 9, e37. https://doi.org/10.1017/jns.2020.31

6. DiNicolantonio, J. J., Meier, P., & O'Keefe, J. H. (2013). Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for the prevention of cardiovascular disease: do formulation, dosage & comparator matter? Missouri Medicine, 110(6), 495–498.

7. Zwickey, H., Horgan, A., Hanes, D., Schiffke, H., Moore, A., Wahbeh, H., Jordan, J., Ojeda, L., McMurry, M., Elmer, P., & Purnell, J. Q. (2019). Effect of the Anti-Inflammatory Diet in People with Diabetes and Prediabetes: A Randomized Controlled Feeding Study. Journal of restorative medicine, 8(1), e20190107. https://doi.org/10.14200/jrm.2019.0107

8. Kenđel Jovanović, G., Mrakovcic-Sutic, I., Pavičić Žeželj, S., Šuša, B., Rahelić, D., & Klobučar Majanović, S. (2020). The Efficacy of an Energy-Restricted Anti-Inflammatory Diet for the Management of Obesity in Younger Adults. Nutrients, 12(11), 3583. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12113583

9. Zhang P. (2022). Influence of Foods and Nutrition on the Gut Microbiome and Implications for Intestinal Health. International journal of molecular sciences, 23(17), 9588. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23179588

10. Lv, X., Sun, S., Wang, J., Chen, H., Li, S., Hu, Y., Yu, M., Zeng, Y., Gao, X., Xu, Y., & Yao, Y. (2022). Anti-Inflammatory Dietary Diversity and Depressive Symptoms among Older Adults: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Analysis. Nutrients, 14(23), 5062. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14235062

11. Ngoc, L. T. N., Moon, J. Y., & Lee, Y. C. (2023). Antioxidants for improved skin appearance: Intracellular mechanism, challenges and future strategies. International journal of cosmetic science, 45(3), 299–314. https://doi.org/10.1111/ics.12848

12. Naureen, Z., Dhuli, K., Medori, M. C., Caruso, P., Manganotti, P., Chiurazzi, P., & Bertelli, M. (2022). Dietary supplements in neurological diseases and brain aging. Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene, 63(2 Suppl 3), E174–E188. https://doi.org/10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2022.63.2S3.2759

13. Georgousopoulou, E. N., Kouli, G. M., Panagiotakos, D. B., Kalogeropoulou, A., Zana, A., Chrysohoou, C., Tsigos, C., Tousoulis, D., Stefanadis, C., & Pitsavos, C. (2016). Anti-inflammatory diet and 10-year (2002-2012) cardiovascular disease incidence: The ATTICA study. International journal of cardiology, 222, 473–478.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2016.08.007

14. Hardman W. E. (2014). Diet components can suppress inflammation and reduce cancer risk. Nutrition research and practice, 8(3), 233–240. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2014.8.3.233