Anti-inflammatory diet - what is it about?

Diet plays a huge role in both the prevention and management of many diseases. Additionally, it supports our quality of life, physical fitness, and well-being. Anti-inflammatory diets have recently gained popularity, but many people don't fully understand what they actually are. You will learn everything important about this topic from the article!

What are inflammation and pro-inflammatory action?

What is very important for us is the division of inflammation into chronic and acute. For example, if you burn yourself at home, acute inflammation is an absolutely essential phenomenon for removing unwanted remnants (pathogens, damaged tissue) and proper regeneration. In an ideal scenario, acute inflammation subsides within a few days to weeks after eliminating the "inflammatory stimulus" (here, the burn). In every one of us, regardless of health status, inflammatory states are induced in response to various daily situations (e.g., a burn or a cut) - and this is completely normal. The problem begins when the inflammatory response cannot cope with the stimulus/stimuli and becomes chronically induced [1].

In the figure above, I deliberately marked acute inflammation in green and chronic inflammation in red, to make it easier for you to remember which is a normal and physiological process in the body, and which we should genuinely fear and avoid. Inflammatory reactions involve, among others, immune system cells (macrophages, neutrophils, T lymphocytes) and cytokines, including Interleukin 1, Interleukin 6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a).

Why do we fear chronic inflammation?

When inflammatory states become chronic, the joking stops. A range of diseases has been bidirectionally linked to persistent inflammation. Thus, chronic inflammation can be both the cause of a disease's development and its symptom. Look at the graphic below to see how broad this group of ailments is.

 

Metabolic syndrome, for example, includes obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes – these are problems that the vast majority of Poles struggle with, meaning chronic inflammation affects a significant portion of the population… Remember from this part of the article that persistent inflammation is a strong risk factor for the development of many diseases, including those significantly linked to the risk of death.

What factors exacerbate inflammation in the body?

Many factors contribute to the persistence of chronic inflammatory states, often of low intensity, including [3]:

• chronic stress,
• disturbed sleep duration and quality,
• smoking,
• hormonal imbalances,
• age (the older the person, the higher the level of pro-inflammatory markers),
• obesity,
• improper diet (both in terms of quantity and quality).

 

• In today's article, we will focus on the last two aspects, which are strictly related to dietetics.

 

Obesity and inflammation

The impact of obesity on inflammation in the body has been confirmed by numerous studies. Even if our diet consists largely of healthy products, but there is excess body fat, chronic inflammation is still ongoing in our body. Excess macronutrients in adipose tissue stimulate it to release inflammatory mediators (Interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha), and additionally reduce adiponectin production, which further exacerbates this pathology. I don't want to bore you with difficult biochemical names, but the message is simple - adipose tissue is hormonally active, and the more of it we have, the more these processes are disturbed and sustain chronic inflammatory states [4].

To remember: excessive body weight in itself is a very significant factor leading to the persistence of low-grade chronic inflammation. One of the most important "anti-inflammatory" interventions is weight management! And if you want to ensure meal satiety, be sure to check out eatyx's offer, where you'll find products with high protein and fiber content, including, for example:

 

• meal replacement shake,
• meal powder.

How does diet affect inflammation? Anti-inflammatory diet

Now we move on to the most important part, the anti-inflammatory diet. You already know when we should be afraid of inflammation, what it entails, and what induces it, so now we can confidently talk about nutrition. We have two paths - pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory. An anti-inflammatory diet is nothing more than a dietary pattern whose components reduce the pro-inflammatory cytokines I mentioned earlier (such as interleukin 6). A pro-inflammatory diet is associated with their increase. It is very difficult to determine when a diet becomes anti-inflammatory and when it is still pro-inflammatory, but it has been somewhat arbitrarily accepted that dietary patterns dominated by vegetable oils, fruits, vegetables, or nuts are considered anti-inflammatory, while the "Western" diet, dominated by fast food, processed foods, and sweets, is considered pro-inflammatory.

However, for the purpose of scientific research, a special indicator was created, called the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII), which we can translate into English as the Dietary Inflammatory Index. This index grouped food products based on their effect on inflammatory biomarkers as pro-, anti-inflammatory or neutral.

• Anti-inflammatory compounds/products: fiber, folic acid, garlic, ginger, magnesium, Omega-3 fatty acids, onion, vitamin D, saffron, selenium, zinc, tea, pepper, thyme, rosemary, and many others…

• Pro-inflammatory compounds/products: carbohydrates (overall), cholesterol, energy (total kilocalories), iron, trans fats, saturated fats, etc.

In scientific works, based on the diet of the examined person, researchers use specialized formulas to assess the inflammatory potential of the diet, assigning it a score from -8.78 to 7.89, with a higher score indicating a more pro-inflammatory (worse) diet [5]. However, I want to reassure you immediately that this indicator is used exclusively for scientific research; calculating it yourself is complicated, unnecessary, and largely pointless. For individual needs, sufficient information is that standard dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean Diet, DASH, MIND, or simply the Polish Healthy Eating Plate, largely focus on consuming products with anti-inflammatory effects, and adhering to their principles will be sufficient to maintain health and prevent the promotion of chronic inflammation.

Anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory products

You already know what an anti-inflammatory diet is. Food products can have a wide range of effects, from strongly anti-inflammatory to pro-inflammatory. For ease of use, I'm providing a table - "anti-inflammatory diet - what to eat and what not to eat?".

 

Anti-inflammatory diet - benefits

An anti-inflammatory diet has been linked in scientific studies to many health outcomes, including a reduced risk of:

• death from any cause by 23%,

• cancers by 60%,

• breast cancer by 33%,

• depression by 44%,

• cardiovascular diseases by 34%.

Therefore, an anti-inflammatory diet and generally every anti-inflammatory product and food can help you significantly reduce the risk of many health problems. Without a doubt - it's worth it!

Summary

Inflammation is a very complex and intricate process. Moreover, if it occurs only temporarily, in response to, for example, a burn, it is even a desired reaction. However, when inflammation becomes chronic, it becomes a serious problem, as it is associated with the risk of developing many diseases. Body weight and an anti-inflammatory diet have a significant impact on maintaining homeostasis (balance) in the body and are key elements of anti-inflammatory interventions. Anti-inflammatory products should constitute about 90% of every Pole's diet. Incorporate the anti-inflammatory foods indicated in the article into your diet, and your health will thank you for it!

Bibliography

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2. Liu CH, Abrams ND, Carrick DM, Chander P, Dwyer J, Hamlet MRJ, Macchiarini F, PrabhuDas M, Shen GL, Tandon P, Vedamony MM. Biomarkers of chronic inflammation in disease development and prevention: challenges and opportunities. Nat Immunol. 2017 Oct 18;18(11):1175-1180. doi: 10.1038/ni.3828. PMID: 29044245.
3. Pahwa R, Goyal A, Jialal I. Chronic Inflammation. 2023 Aug 7. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 29630225.
4. Ellulu MS, Patimah I, Khaza'ai H, Rahmat A, Abed Y. Obesity and inflammation: the linking mechanism and the complications. Arch Med Sci. 2017 Jun;13(4):851-863. doi: 10.5114/aoms.2016.58928. Epub 2016 Mar 31. PMID: 28721154; PMCID: PMC5507106.
5. Shivappa N, Steck SE, Hurley TG, Hussey JR, Hébert JR. Designing and developing a literature-derived, population-based dietary inflammatory index. Public Health Nutr. 2014 Aug;17(8):1689-96. doi: 10.1017/S1368980013002115. Epub 2013 Aug 14. PMID: 23941862; PMCID: PMC3925198.
6. Marx W, Veronese N, Kelly JT, Smith L, Hockey M, Collins S, Trakman GL, Hoare E, Teasdale SB, Wade A, Lane M, Aslam H, Davis JA, O'Neil A, Shivappa N, Hebert JR, Blekkenhorst LC, Berk M, Segasby T, Jacka F. The Dietary Inflammatory Index and Human Health: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses of Observational Studies. Adv Nutr. 2021 Oct 1;12(5):1681-1690. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmab037. PMID: 33873204; PMCID: PMC8483957.