Anti-Inflammatory Eating: Your Body's Natural Healing Diet

In our first blog in this series, we covered the basics of functional and ancestral nutrition. Then in the next blog, we dove deep into one of the key principles: nutrient density and why it matters for your health and weight loss. Today, we're going to explore another key piece of the puzzle: eating to reduce inflammation.

On some level, we all know that inflammation can be problematic, but that is an understatement. The truth is that inflammation affects everything from your energy levels to your weight, sleep, and even your mood. Let's explore what this means and how you can use food as medicine for healing inflammation.

What Is Inflammation, Really?

Inflammation is your body's way of protecting itself. When you get a cut or catch a cold, your immune system creates inflammation to help heal the injury or fight off germs. This type of inflammation is good and necessary.

But there's another type of inflammation that's not so helpful. This is called chronic inflammation, and it happens when your body stays in "fight mode" all the time. It's like having a fire alarm that won't turn off, even when there's no fire.

As Chris Kresser explains, "Chronic inflammation is the root cause of virtually all chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and even depression" (Kresser, 2023).

Why Does Chronic Inflammation Happen?

Several things in our modern world can cause chronic inflammation:

• Poor diet: Eating too many processed foods, sugar, and unhealthy fats
• Stress: Both physical and emotional stress that doesn't go away
• Lack of sleep: Not getting enough quality rest
• Environmental toxins: Chemicals in our air, water, and food
• Gut problems: When your digestive system isn't working well
• Being overweight: Extra body fat, especially around your middle, creates inflammation
  
  The good news? Food can be one of your most powerful tools to fight inflammation.
  

  How Does Inflammation Affect Your Body? 

  Chronic inflammation doesn't just cause one problem - it affects your whole body. There is quite a bit of research out there on this very topic, so let’s look at a few examples:

  Weight Gain and Trouble Losing Weight

  A 2022 study in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that people with higher inflammation markers had a much harder time losing weight, even when eating fewer calories (Martinez et al., 2022). Inflammation can interfere with hormones that control hunger and fat storage.

  Low Energy and Brain Fog
  Dr. Mark Hyman points out that "inflammation in the brain is a major cause of fatigue, depression, and cognitive problems" (Hyman, 2023). Many people don't realize their afternoon energy crashes could be linked to inflammatory foods they ate earlier in the day, or even the day before.

  Poor Sleep
  Research shows that people with higher inflammation often have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep (Walker et al., 2023). This creates a cycle where poor sleep causes more inflammation.

  Digestive Problems

  Inflammation in your gut can cause bloating, gas, stomach pain, and other digestive issues. Remember from our first blog in this series how important gut health is for overall wellness. (We will look at this further in our next blog)

  Joint Pain and Stiffness

  Even if you don't have arthritis, inflammation can make your joints feel stiff and achy, especially in the morning. We hear this from new clients all the time, and it is often one of the first areas they notice an improvement!

What Are The Most Inflammatory Foods to Limit?

Just like we talked about nutrient-dense foods in our last blog, there are foods that promote inflammation. Here are the biggest troublemakers:

1. Refined Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup

These sweeteners cause your blood sugar to spike quickly, which triggers inflammation. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who ate more added sugar had higher levels of inflammatory markers in their blood (Johnson et al., 2023).

2. Refined Vegetable Oils

Oils like soybean, corn, and canola oil are high in omega-6 fats, due to being processed under high heat. While we need some omega-6 fats, most Americans get way too much. Robb Wolf explains, "The typical Western diet has an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of about 20:1, when it should be closer to 4:1 or even 2:1" (Wolf, 2023).

3. Processed and Packaged Foods

These foods often contain artificial additives, preservatives, and trans fats that can trigger inflammation. They're also usually low in the nutrients your body needs to fight inflammation naturally.

4. Refined Grains

White bread, pasta, crackers, and cereals can cause blood sugar spikes and inflammation, especially if you're sensitive to gluten. But don’t be fooled - gluten-free does not mean a food is not inflammatory.

5. Foods You're Sensitive To

This is where the "you are unique" principle comes in. Common food sensitivities include gluten, dairy, eggs, and nuts. But there are many other potential issues if you have an autoimmune condition. But what causes inflammation in one person might be fine for another.

Now For The Good News - The Most Anti-Inflammatory Foods Are…

Many delicious foods can help reduce inflammation in your body. These foods are also nutrient-dense, which connects back to our last blog:

1. Fatty Fish

Salmon, sardines, mackerel, and anchovies are rich in omega-3 fats, which are powerful inflammation fighters. A 2023 study found that people who ate fish twice a week had significantly lower inflammation markers (Thompson et al., 2023).

2. Colorful Vegetables and Fruits

Remember the rainbow of colors we talked about in our nutrient density blog? Those bright colors come from compounds called antioxidants and phytonutrients that fight inflammation.

The best anti-inflammatory choices include:

• Dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, arugula)
• Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries)
• Colorful vegetables (bell peppers, tomatoes, purple cabbage)
• Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts)

3. Herbs and Spices

Turmeric, ginger, garlic, and cinnamon are like natural medicine. Turmeric, in particular, contains a compound called curcumin that's been shown to be as effective as some anti-inflammatory drugs, but without the side effects (Aggarwal et al., 2022).

4. Healthy Fats

Olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds provide healthy fats that help reduce inflammation. Extra virgin olive oil contains a compound that works similarly to ibuprofen but without the stomach problems (Beauchamp et al., 2023).

5. Green Tea

Green tea contains compounds called catechins that help fight inflammation and support overall health.

How to Eat for Less Inflammation

Building on what we've learned so far, here's how to put together an anti-inflammatory way of eating:

1. Start with Nutrient-Dense, Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Remember our nutrient density principle? Many of the most nutrient-dense foods are also anti-inflammatory. Focus on:

• Wild-caught fish 2-3 times per week
• Lots of colorful vegetables at every meal
• Small amounts of berries and other low-sugar fruits
• Healthy fats like olive oil and avocado

2. Follow the "Crowd Out" Method

Instead of focusing on what you can't eat, focus on adding more anti-inflammatory foods. When you fill up on nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory choices, you naturally have less room for inflammatory foods.

3. Cook at Home More

As we mentioned in our ancestral nutrition blog, cooking at home lets you control what goes into your food. Use anti-inflammatory cooking methods like:

• Grilling or baking instead of frying
• Using herbs and spices instead of processed seasonings
• Cooking with olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil instead of vegetable oils

4. Listen to Your Body

Pay attention to how different foods make you feel. Do you get bloated, tired, or achy after eating certain foods? Your body might be telling you those foods are inflammatory for you specifically.

How Do We Approach Anti-Inflammatory Eating for Weight Loss?

This is after all a focus for many of our clients. Remember how we talked about inflammation making weight loss harder? Here's how eating anti-inflammatory foods can help:

Better Hormone Balance

When inflammation goes down, hormones like insulin and leptin (which control hunger and fat storage) work better. This makes it easier for your body to burn fat and feel satisfied after meals.

More Energy for Movement

Less inflammation often means more energy. When you feel better, you're more likely to be active, which supports weight loss.

Better Sleep

Anti-inflammatory eating can improve sleep quality, and better sleep supports healthy weight management. Sleep is when most fat in the body is released.

Reduced Cravings

Stable blood sugar from anti-inflammatory foods helps reduce cravings for sugary, processed foods.

Simple Anti-Inflammatory Meal Ideas

Here are some easy meal ideas that combine anti-inflammatory foods:

Breakfast:

• Scrambled eggs with spinach and tomatoes cooked in olive oil
• Greek yogurt with berries and a sprinkle of cinnamon
• Breakfast sausage with roasted veggies and a drizzle of EVOO

Lunch:

• Salad with mixed greens, grilled salmon, avocado, and olive oil dressing
• Chicken and vegetable soup with turmeric and ginger
• Lettuce wraps with turkey or ham and colorful vegetables

Dinner:

• Baked cod with roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potato
• Grilled chicken with sautéed kale and cauliflower rice
• Salmon with steamed broccoli and a side salad

Snacks:

• Apple slices with almond butter
• Berries with a few nuts
• Vegetable sticks with guacamole

Remember to make it your own with herbs and spices you enjoy! Different flavored olive oils and vinegars can be fun to experiment with as well.

Beyond Food: Other Ways to Fight Inflammation

While food is powerful, remember that health comes from more than just what you eat. Other important factors include:

• Quality sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours per night
• Stress management: Try meditation, deep breathing, or activities you enjoy
• Regular movement: Even a daily walk can help reduce inflammation
• Time in nature: Being outdoors has been shown to lower stress and inflammation

Your Anti-Inflammatory Action Plan

Ready to start eating in a way that fights inflammation? Here are three simple steps you can take this week:

1. Add one anti-inflammatory food to each meal (like berries at breakfast, leafy greens at lunch, and fatty fish at dinner)
2. Replace one inflammatory food with an anti-inflammatory choice (swap vegetable oil for olive oil, or sugary snacks for berries and nuts)
3. Notice how you feel after meals - do certain foods make you feel energized or sluggish, comfortable or bloated?

Remember, small changes add up over time. You don't need to change everything at once to start seeing benefits.

Your Journey Continues

Anti-inflammatory eating builds perfectly on the foundation we've been creating together. 

At Lifestyle Evolution, we help you put all these pieces together in a way that works for your unique body and lifestyle. Whether you're dealing with chronic health issues, working toward weight loss, or simply wanting to feel your best, reducing inflammation through food choices is a powerful step.

Want personalized guidance on creating an anti-inflammatory eating plan that fits your goals?  Contact us today to learn how we can help you feel better from the inside out.

Yours in Health,