Living with a chronic condition often means battling discomfort, fatigue, and frustration on a daily basis. It can be overwhelming and frustrating to try and find relief, especially when it feels like nothing helps.
But what if you could find relief in something you do every day?
The food you eat plays a significant role in managing and even improving chronic inflammation—the underlying cause of many chronic conditions like autoimmune diseases, arthritis, and long-term pain.
Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury or infection, but when it becomes chronic, it can worsen symptoms and disrupt healing. The good news? A shift in your diet could be a powerful tool for reducing inflammation and regaining control over your health.
In this blog, Boulder Holistic Functional Medicine in Boulder, Colorado, explores the anti-inflammatory diet— a diet that focuses on reducing the inflammation that exacerbates chronic conditions. This diet prioritizes whole, unprocessed foods that are rich in antioxidants and nutrients while also avoiding foods that are known to worsen inflammation. Keep reading to learn a few key benefits of the anti-inflammatory diet and why changing how you eat can make all the difference for those with chronic conditions.
Understanding Inflammation
Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury or infection. Your immune system releases chemicals to protect your body and instigate healing.
Sometimes, inflammation becomes chronic, meaning it lasts for three months or more. This happens for one of two reasons:
- The root cause of the inflammation is unresolved
- Your immune system started attacking healthy tissues (as is the case in those with autoimmune diseases)
When inflammation becomes chronic, it can lead to many different health problems including chronic pain, autoimmune diseases, and chronic inflammation.
Chronic Pain includes conditions like arthritis, fibromyalgia, and neuropathic pain which often have underlying chronic inflammation.
Autoimmune Diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue, leading to persistent inflammation.
Chronic Inflammation is long-term inflammation that can damage tissues and organs, contributing to diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Not only does inflammation make it harder to live with your chronic condition, but eventually, it contributes to the development of various chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
So, how do you reduce chronic inflammation?
Start with your diet.
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet
An anti-inflammatory diet focuses on eating foods that reduce inflammation and avoiding those that trigger it. Here is a list of some of the top anti-inflammatory foods and the worst foods for inflammation.
What foods are strong anti-inflammatories?
- Fruits and Vegetables: Berries, cherries, oranges, tomatoes, spinach, kale, and broccoli.
- Whole Grains: Brown rice, quinoa, oats, and barley.
- Healthy Fats: Olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds.
- Lean Proteins: Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines), lean poultry, and plant-based proteins.
- Herbs and Spices: Turmeric, ginger, garlic, and cinnamon.
- Probiotic Foods: Yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and other fermented foods.
What are the worst foods for inflammation?
- Processed Foods: Sugary snacks, fast food, and packaged meals.
- Refined Carbohydrates: White bread, pastries, and sugary cereals.
- Trans Fats: Found in fried foods and many baked goods.
- Excessive Alcohol: Can increase inflammation and damage the gut lining.
- Sugary Beverages: Sodas, sweetened coffee drinks, and energy drinks.
It may feel overwhelming to change your diet, especially since diets are one of the most habitual parts of our lives. Many of us like to eat the same foods at the same time, and it’s difficult to introduce new habits to an old routine.
The best way to change your diet is to go slow. Don’t feel like you have to completely overhaul your diet in one weekend. Remove one or two inflammatory foods and replace them with one or two anti-inflammatory foods.
Switching to an anti-inflammatory diet is a lifestyle shift that will dramatically improve life with a chronic condition but the process can’t be rushed.
Benefits of the Anti-Inflammatory Diet
When you choose to adopt an anti-inflammatory diet, you can experience many benefits, from less pain to better digestion. Here are Boulder Holistic Functional Medicine’s top five benefits of the anti-inflammatory diet.
1. Relief from Chronic Pain
Many of the foods you eat while on the anti-inflammatory diet contain Omega-3 fatty acids, including fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, flax seeds, and walnuts. These powerful fatty acids reduce chronic inflammation that may prevent your body from healing.
In those with chronic pain, the body continually releases inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins as part of the immune response. But these substances also keep the body in a state of ongoing inflammation and prevent your body from healing. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the production of inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins.
2. Manages Autoimmune Disease Symptoms
The anti-inflammatory diet also helps those with autoimmune diseases manage the frequency and severity of their symptoms. The antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables like berries, leafy greens, and cruciferous vegetables you eat while on the anti-inflammatory diet can help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in autoimmune conditions. Antioxidants also neutralize free radicals, reducing oxidative damage and inflammation.
3. Reduces Chronic Inflammation
Healing your gut with a balanced diet helps reduce chronic inflammation.The anti-inflammatory diet also prioritizes whole grains like quinoa, brown rice, and oats. The fiber in these foods promotes the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, which play a role in modulating the immune response and inflammation.
4. Supports a Healthy Heart
The anti-inflammatory diet also contains many healthy fat sources, including olive oil, avocados and nuts. These foods reduce inflammation and lower the risk of heart disease by decreasing LDL cholesterol and reducing inflammatory markers.
5. Improves Digestion
Probiotic-rich foods like yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut support immune balance, which is essential for managing autoimmune diseases. By enhancing the gut microbiome, these foods help regulate immune responses and reduce inflammation, making them valuable for autoimmune health.
By eating nutrient-packed, anti-inflammatory foods and steering clear of those that boost inflammation, you can ease chronic pain, manage autoimmune conditions, and reduce overall inflammation. This approach not only boosts your overall health but also targets the root causes of many long-term health problems.
Healthy Eating Tips to Help Reduce Inflammation:
Eating to reduce inflammation isn’t just about what you eat but how you eat it. Your eating habits will determine how well your body digests your food and transforms it into energy. Here are a few healthy eating tips to consider as you embark on your anti-inflammatory diet.
- Eat slowly
- Stop when you’re 80% full
- Drink plenty of water away from meals (too much water during a meal can make it harder to digest)
- Try to finish your last meal at least two hours before you go to bed
- Combine proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbs in every meal
Remember, take it slow and always consult with your healthcare professional if you’re unsure about your next step.
Work with Boulder Holistic
An anti-inflammatory diet can be a game-changer for tackling chronic issues caused by inflammation. If you’re curious about how an anti-inflammatory diet might help you, reach out to Boulder Holistic Functional Medicine. We can help you figure out if this diet is right for you and guide you on how to get started!
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