It’s thought to be an underlying cause of diabetes, heart disease, and more, but the diet and lifestyle choices you make can help control it.

Berries are among the best anti-inflammatory foods.

By Jennifer Cook

Heart disease. Diabetes. Cancer. Dementia. What do these conditions have in common? Chronic inflammation in the body plays a central role in the development of each.

Normally, inflammation is beneficial. When you are injured or infected, the immune system responds by producing a variety of inflammatory cells that promote healing, destroy germs, and eliminate toxins. Once the threat is eliminated, inflammation subsides.

But sometimes the inflammation doesn’t go away or is triggered by a persistent irritant present in the body, such as cigarette smoke or plaque building up in the arteries. The immune system can also go awry, reacting as if the body is in danger when it is not. The result is ongoing or chronic inflammation. “This adds a lot of stress and damage to body tissues,” says Edward Giovannucci, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

About a third of Americans have chronic inflammation, according to researchers at the University of Florida in Gainesville. It tends to be more common in older adults; but it is not an inevitable consequence of aging. The following steps can help control chronic inflammation.

Choose the Right Foods

What you eat can reduce inflammation and help you maintain a healthy weight, which is very important. Research shows that one of the best approaches is to follow a Mediterranean-style diet. This diet is rich in whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and unsaturated fats. olive oil, It contains small amounts of lean protein, such as fish and chicken. Like colorful fruits and vegetables fruits and eggplant are especially useful. Their pigments come from plant nutrients such as flavonoids and anthocyanins, which have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. healthy bacteria yogurt and other fermented foods may also be beneficial.

Foods that promote inflammation include refined grains (like white bread), deli meats and processed foods like hot dogs, deep-fried foods, and sodas and other foods high in added sugar. in 2020 Analysis of 15 studies In the study published in the journal Medicine, researchers found that people who ate the most pro-inflammatory foods had a 41 percent increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

To change your eating style, first identify the anti-inflammatory foods you like and add more of them to your diet, says James R. Hébert, director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health. in Columbia. This strategy is more likely to be successful than immediately eliminating foods you love, he says. Gradually reduce foods that promote inflammation until your diet contains mostly anti-inflammatory foods.

This doesn’t mean replacing all processed foods, says Sarah Hammaker, a registered dietitian in York, Pa. Processed foods with very few ingredientsno preservatives and little sodium or added sugar (some brands of peanut butter, canned beans, or jarred pasta sauce) is less inflammatory.

To use herbs and spices and freely. They contain many beneficial compounds similar to those found in fruits and vegetables. dietary inflammatory indexA research tool that analyzes how diet may affect markers of inflammation in the blood, this product includes garlic, ginger, thyme, rosemary, saffron, thyme, and turmeric among ingredients that may have a positive effect. Hébert recommends adding plenty of these to foods when cooking.

Other good diet moves include sipping tea or, of course, coffee instead of soft drinks (with a little sugar if necessary), depending on your caffeine tolerance; they also contain flavonoids and polyphenols. if you drinking alcoholDon’t drink more than one glass of wine or one beer a day. Anything more than that can increase inflammation, Giovannucci says. Finally, if you don’t eat a lot of foods containing vitamin D, such as milk, fortified cereals, salmon, sardines, or other seafood, ask your doctor to check your levels and take supplements.

Need more inspiration? Check out this sample daily menu from Hammaker or our easy app. anti-inflammatory recipes.

Breakfast: Plain yogurt with fresh blueberries, nectarines, chia seeds and walnuts.

Lunch: Quinoa salad with dark leafy greens, avocado, chickpeas, tomatoes and lemon olive oil dressing.

Snack: Black bean dip with sliced ​​bell peppers or cottage cheese with raspberries and sunflower seeds.

Evening meal: Halibut or rainbow trout with brown rice and roasted summer squash, cauliflower and carrots.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

Try to keep your BMI (body mass index) below 25. Pay attention to your waist size. “Belly fat is the worst type of fat for inflammation,” says Giovannucci. When abdominal fat cells grow, they can leak or even burst and trigger inflammatory responses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a waist size greater than 35 inches in women and 40 inches in men may increase the risk of obesity-related conditions. But Giovannucci thinks even lower might be better, 30 inches or less for women and 35 inches or less for men. For some ethnic groups, such as those of Asian descent, waist circumference should be even lower than this.

Increase Your Physical Activity

Exercise works hand in hand with an anti-inflammatory diet, says David Nieman, director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis. “You can’t reduce inflammation by exercising alone, but when you get enough exercise and control your diet, long-term inflammation goes way down in as little as two weeks,” he says.

Choose an activity you enjoy, such as brisk walking, with “perfect intensity,” and do it for 30 to 60 minutes at least five days a week, Nieman says. Don’t worry if this seems like too much at first. Accordingly 2017 survey According to a study published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, a 20-minute brisk walk/jog on the treadmill reduces the number of immune cells that produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF); Excess of these can lead to chronic inflammation.

Improve Sleep, Reduce Stress

When you don’t sleep well or are under stress, your body produces more cortisol. When the level of this hormone is constantly elevated, it can produce a long-term inflammatory response. Irregular or inadequate sleep and stress affect your cardiovascular system, metabolism and cognitive abilities.

To rest better, avoid caffeine late in the day, eat dinner early, use blackout curtains in the bedroom, and turn off electronic devices at least an hour before bed.

Breathing slowly can help you relax or fall asleep. Being outside also calms me down. 2019 Frontiers in Psychology to work A link was found between spending at least 20 minutes in nature and reduced cortisol levels. Mindfulness meditation, the practice of observing and journaling your thoughts to calm your mind, can also combat stress and its effects.

Editor’s Note: This article was also published in the September 2024 issue. Consumer Reports on Health.

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