Anti-Inflammatory Diet

-Focus on a whole-food, plant based diet. No food dyes, or preservatives. 

-Aim for variety.

-Eat locally grown non-GMO food.

-Eat organic when possible- especially for the “dirty dozen” foods. 

-Just Google “Dirty Dozen Foods” for a list. 

-If you do eat meat then eat free range, grass fed

-Eat lower on the food chain. i.e. eat the grain, rather than the cow that ate the grain. 

-Avoid over eating.

-Avoid skipping meals

-Drink half your weight in ounces of filtered water per day.

-If you eat fish, steer toward those with the least toxic load.

-Eat a lot of fiber, and a wide variety of fiber. 

-Eat “good fats” like olive oil and canola oil. 

-Coconut oil is also considered to be anti-inflammatory. 

-Eat low glycemic index foods.

-Eat less refined and processed foods.

-Eat the colorful rainbow of vegetables (orange, red, green, yellow).

-Eat a lot of cruciferous vegetables, polyphenol-rich foods, anti-oxidant-rich foods.

-Eat plenty and pre-biotic foods. You can easily find lists of these foods on line. 

-Consider cultured and fermented foods. 

-Legumes may also help. 

-Garlic, onions, and scallions are excellent.

-Whole grains such as whole old-fashioned oats, and buckwheat

-Rice- brown, black, wild, and basmati. 

-Flax is excellent

-Nuts, nut flours, and nut butters. 

-Honey is OK for a sweetener in limited quantities.  

-Stevia is controversial. 

-Avocado

-Sweet potato and sweet potato flour. 

-Seeds: pumpkin, flax, and sunflower

-Aloe Vera may help reduce inflammation.

-Plenty of Omega 3 fatty acids

Leafy greens, seeds and nuts (walnuts, flax), cold water fish (sardines, herring, salmon mackerel), sea vegetables. 

-Avoid food allergies, and sensitivities

-Gluten free if you are sensitive to it. 

-Avoid dairy if you are sensitive to it. 

-Lots of spices- especially the Ayurvedic spices: ginger, turmeric, fennel, coriander, and amla

-Green tea, grape seed extract, resveratrol, 

-Others: olives, pickles, soy crisps, and popcorn. 

-GOOD NEWS- dark chocolate is considered to be anti-inflammatory. It’s loaded with bioflavonoids. 

-Drink Alcohol only in moderation. The less the better. 

High glycemic foods, partially hydrogenated oil (ex: sunflower oil, safflower oil), polyunsaturated oils, vegetable shortening, margarine, fried food, rancid foods, sugar, processed foods, whites (white bread, white flour, white rice, white pasta), fast food, and high fructose corn syrup, soda, energy drinks, trans-fats (found in most processed foods), processed meats, artificial sweeteners, most breakfast cereals and crackers, and synthetic Frankenfoods- which contain chemicals to extend the shelf-life of the product. 

Red meat, dairy, and gluten

Mediterranean Diet

Blue Zone Diet

DASH diet

MIND diet