
Start the day with oatmeal with berries, an apple or a fruit smoothie. Use all fats in small amounts, and shoot for healthier oils, such as oil, canola or avocado.īuilding meals with your new grocery list These ideas can help you start building meals with anti-inflammatory foods: Shortening, lard and margarine, and foods made with these fats.Try meatless meals or use meat as a side rather than a main dish. Processed meats, such as hot dogs, sausage, brats and red meat.Replace with sparkling mineral water, infused water, unsweetened tea and coffee. Sugar-sweetened sodas, fruit drinks, sweetened teas and flavored coffees.Fried foods, such as french fries, chips and donutsīake your own french fries with the skin, try kale chips or use an air fryer.Try mixing white and brown rice, white and whole-wheat pasta, or sweet with unsweetened cereal. Refined carbs, such as white bread, rice, pasta and pastry.Trim these foods from your list Gradually reduce inflammation-promoting foods from your daily meals by trimming these foods from your grocery list, while trying some alternatives: Beverages such as water, herbal and green teas, and coffee.Spices and herbs, including ginger, garlic, turmeric, cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon and rosemary.Nuts and seeds, including walnuts and almonds, and seeds like chia, flax and hemp.Plant-based proteins, including dried beans, lentils, lentil pasta and soy.Whole grains, such as wheat, oats, rye, buckwheat, millet, quinoa and brown rice.Citrus fruits, such as oranges, grapefruit and pomelos.Deep blue or purple foods, such as blueberries, blackberries, plums and Concord grapes.Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.Deep orange, yellow and red, and dark green foods, such as pumpkin, sweet bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, arugula and endive.You can start building an anti-inflammatory grocery list by choosing: Fresh, simple ingredients are best, since over processing may significantly change the nutritional content of foods. Overall, eat a rainbow of fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes ― all of which have the anti-inflammatory nutrients that your body needs. It's the sum of the foods you eat every day. That's why no one food makes your diet anti-inflammatory. Specific components in food work together to reduce inflammation. Foods that are anti-inflammatory tend to be the same foods that can keep you healthy in other ways.Īdd more of these foods to your grocery listĬhoosing foods to reduce chronic inflammation has layers.Other foods, like fruits and veggies, help the body fight against oxidative stress, which can trigger inflammation.Some foods, like processed sugars, release inflammatory messengers that can raise the risk of chronic inflammation.Scientists are still unraveling how food affects inflammatory processes, but they know a few things: The choices you make at the grocery store can affect the inflammation in your body. It's also associated with a higher risk of cancer, diabetes and other chronic conditions. It can play a role in the buildup of plaque in your arteries, upping your risk of heart disease and stroke. But sometimes, inflammation is low-grade, spreads throughout the body and is chronic.Ĭhronic inflammation can damage the body. It's when damaged tissue releases chemicals that tell white blood cells to start repairing. Inflammation is a part of the body's normal response to infection or injury. But why is inflammation bad, and what does food have to do with it? Flip through a magazine or your news feed, and you'll probably see a story about anti-inflammatory foods.
