
When the body identifies a foreign object, such as a virus or chemical, it activates the immune system to fight it. This condition triggers a state of inflammation. Although inflammation is not bad, doctors have linked chronic, low-level inflammation to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s. Hence, lowering chronic inflammation is central to healthy living.
Diet plays a vital role in inflammation. Inflammatory foods promote inflammation, and it’s best to avoid them. They include processed foods such as candy, soft drinks, French fries, and margarine. Dehydrated soups, canned sauces, microwaveable dinners, and refined carbohydrates such as pastries and white bread are other inflammatory foods. Such foods often have little nutritional value and are high in sugar, artificial sweeteners, salts, and saturated fats. All these contribute to inflammation.
Anti-inflammatory foods reduce inflammation in the body. They include whole, unprocessed foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds. White meats such as fish and poultry are also anti-inflammatory, and brightly-colored vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, and squash are examples. For fats, unsaturated plant fats like olive oil and canola oil are anti-inflammatory.



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