Anti-Inflammatory Diet/Mediterranean Diet

Chronic inflammation can be damaging to healthy cells and can weaken the immune system. Many chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, depression, and Alzheimer’s dementia, have been linked to chronic inflammation. Inflammation is a natural process in the body that happens when the body becomes injured. Inflammation also happens when the immune system detects something ‘foreign’, like an infectious agent, pollen, or a chemical. Inflammation is intended to protect the body by alerting the immune system to defend against the ‘foreign invader’, and to heal and repair damaged tissue. However, when there is chronic inflammation in the body, the repair mechanisms of the body can become disordered and chronic disease can develop. Chronic inflammation can arise for many different reasons, including chronic infection, smoking, toxic exposures, lack of exercise, obesity, poor diet or even stress. Diet is among the best studied approaches to reducing inflammation in the body and therefore reducing the risk of chronic disease. A healthy diet can also be a wonderful way to increase resilience and vitality.

The anti-inflammatory diet is an eating pattern that combines healthy components of traditional Mediterranean and Asian dietary patterns to maximize the healing potential of the foods included. Both cultures traditionally offer foods associated with good health and longevity. The philosophical basis for the anti-inflammatory diet is the increase of beneficial anti-inflammatory foods and reduction of pro-inflammatory foods. There is growing evidence that some of the dietary components found in foods, such as fruits, berries, vegetables, nuts, whole grain, herbs, spices, and foods of marine origin – among others, can be protective against several chronic diseases, including heart disease, arthritis, obesity, depression, and cancer.

The best approach to an anti-inflammatory diet is to increase the diversity of fruits, vegetables and types of fiber that you eat. Plants in their whole form tend to have nutritional components referred to as ‘phytonutrients’, or plant nutrients. These nutrients are concentrated in different amounts in different plants, and sometimes result in the colors or textures that we find in our plant foods. It is for this reason that a healthy diet recommendation is to eat from the ‘rainbow’ of vegetables and fruits – to increase the amounts and diversity of phytonutrients, or plant nutrition in your diet.

• Resources

• WorldCancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research diet recommendations

• Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid

  Dr. Weil's interactive Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid

• True Food Recipes

  A selection of recipes from the True Food cookbook (scroll toward the end of the page for the recipe links)