Anti-inflammatory diet

Chronic inflammation in the body can cause a whole host of problems from arthritis, asthma, aches and pains, to more serious problems – Inflammation has strong links with cardiovascular disease, Parkinsons disease, cancers and diabetes. Whilst there will be multiple varying factors affecting inflammation, such as genetic predispositions (as there is with anything), lifestyle (exercise, stress levels etc) and environmental factors, diet can play a large role.

For athletes, this may play a role in injury prevention. I work with golfers of all levels, but amongst the elite, injury is a big problem. A player which has to take a month out for injury is falling behind with their practice schedule, and it may affect their ranking, or even if they can keep their tour card if they are on the professional tours. Eating the right foods and following the advice here may also aid in recovering quicker for injuries when they do occur.

Might need some 'anti-inflammatory foods' after this

Anti – inflammatory foods

One thing which is often not looked at in nutrition is the inflammatory value of food. Foods have both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory properties – it is the balance between these which determines whether or not a food is ultimately helping or hurting you. If you get the balance right, there is a good chance that you can minimise the inflammation the body, and help prevent the diseases associated.

So, what are good inflammation fighting foods?

Food	Serving size	Calories	Inflammation value
Avocado	1	240	120
Olive oil (uncooked)	2 Tbsp	250	150
Cod liver oil	1 Tbsp	120	1025
Spinach	50 grams	25	260
Flax seed	3 Tbsp	150	140
Turmeric (powder)	1 Tsp	7	450
Ginger (powder)	1 Tsp	6	480
Garlic (powder)	1 Tsp	9	860
Onion	1 medium	45	260
Kale	50 grams	25	190

(data from nutritionaldata.self.com)

Fish oil is probably the most potent anti-inflammatory - but Garlic, Turmeric and Ginger are also highly anti-inflammatory and virtually calorie free, like spinach.

You have to be wise about this; some foods may be quite inflammatory yet still provide other health benefits (such as fibre, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients etc). It is more important that your overall diet is anti inflammatory. Rather than taking away all inflammatory foods, I would recommend introducing more anti-inflammatory ones within your allotted calorie allowance.

Why not cook yourself some chicken breast with a tomato sauce, seasoned with garlic, onion powder and ginger. Throw in a dash of balsamic vinegar and you have a tasty and highly anti inflammatory dish that is high in protein.

Or maybe have some salmon (high in omega 3 fats – similar to cod liver oil in its anti-inflammatory properties) on a bed of spinach and kale, with garlic and olive oil drizzled over the top, and avocado chunks on the side.

salmon and Avocado - yum

Other recommendations

Whilst improving your food choices can certainly help with the fight, one of the leading causes of inflammation is a caloric excess (especially chronic excess). Weight gain (the ultimate symptom of taking in more calories than you are burning) can lead to very high levels of inflammation in the body, and is probably the biggest correlator to most of our modern day diseases. Whilst it is true that correlation does not always imply causation, being overweight rarely helps anyone when it comes to health.

One of the simplest and most surefire way to decrease the amount of inflammation in the body is to decrease your energy intake – in other words, go on a diet. Caloric deficits always seem to improve blood markers of inflammation, regardless of the content of the diet. Professor Haub even showed improved biomarkers when he went on a diet of pure twinkies and sugar donuts.

Yes, you can even lose weight eating twinkies, as profession Haub showed in his experiment

Alternate day fasting, whilst a little more extreme, has also been shown to provide benefits. Matteson studied alternating days of high calories with lower calories and found that biomarkers of inflammation improved dramatically, as did symptoms of asthma. Whilst fasting completely every other day may not be for everyone, throwing in the odd ‘once a week’ fast is still an option, or simply alternating days of high calories with lower calories (see article on calorie cycling) will provide some respite from the inflammation, and may have other positive benefits to health and wellbeing (and weight).

Lastly, but not least, chill out. Stress is a huge contributor to inflammation in the body. We often overlook the mental side when looking for the causes of diseases, but it is highly likely that environmental factors such as stress and general mental wellbeing play a much bigger role in our physical health than we give it credit. So, read books on philosophy, build good quality relationships, enjoy your leisure time, meditate, achieve some goals and find happiness in the simple things in life. Avoid the traps of modern day consumerism, and practice the act of gratitude for the things you already have in your life. You will not only life a longer life, but a happier one, which can never be a bad thing.