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. 

Benefits of Protein

The diet I promote is very flexible. You can basically eat what you want, when you want as long your weekly calories are below maintenance level. For example, if you need 14,000 calories a week to maintain your weight (2000/day), eating 12,000 per week will result in sustainable weight loss. Cycling your calories can also make this more mentally practicable, and in combination with a lower meal frequency it enables us to enjoy larger meal sizes whilst losing weight. 

There is something I do highly recommend within my approach; a higher level of protein intake.

Increase your protein, just watch your calories at the same time

Protein is a macronutrient, like carbohydrates and fats. It is generally recognised as having 4 calories per gram, placing it on an even keel with carbohydrates. But there is more to protein than meets the macro’s. It has several benefits which can aid us not only in our weight loss, but making sure that more of that weight loss comes from fat stores and not muscle. This results in a tighter, more toned physique.

Protein and muscle loss and satiety

Muscle loss is almost inevitable during weight loss. However, higher intakes of protein have been shown to decrease the amount of muscle loss whilst dieting. This is because muscle is made of protein, and when our diet is low in this macronutrient our bodies will catabolise (eat) some of the tissue to release amino acids. However, by supplying the body with enough amino acids through a higher protein intake in our diet, we can minimise the muscle loss. If the body is catabolising less muscle for fuel, it is more likely to get the extra energy from fat stores, resulting in less fat, better lean muscle maintenance and a better physique.

Look how happy this toned couple are. Must be all that protein.

On top of the added fat loss, protein tends to increase satiety (gets rid of hunger) for longer. Studies have shown that people who eat higher protein tend to eat less calories in total, therefore they lose more weight through this. Add to this the psychological advantage of feeling fuller during dieting and you have a recipe for sustainable long term weight loss.

Protein and metabolism

Protein doesn’t really contain 4 calories per gram. The process of converting protein into fat is very difficult for the body to do. During this ‘energy expensive’ process, protein essentially loses almost 20% of its energy value. This is called the ‘thermogenic effect of food’, and whilst not a massive contributor to weight loss, it certainly helps.

On top of the essentially lower calorie count of protein, the extra muscle retained during the diet will have a long term effect on your metabolism. Muscle uses more energy than fat stores during rest. If two people who are 200 pounds are sitting on a couch, the one with more muscle mass will be burning more calories. This will help keep the weight off after you have finished your dieting.

Both of these guys are 200 pounds in weight, but the guy on the left is going to be burning a lot more calories, as he has a higher level of lean body mass

Where can I get protein

You don’t have to go out and buy a top notch protein shake to get your protein needs. In fact, I recommend eating your protein in the form of food, as it tends to produce better satiation. Protein shakes are a pretty good source of quality protein though, and Whey protein has been shown to blunt hunger effectively.

There are many sources of quality protein. Below is a list of low calorie sources for you to choose from.

Chicken breast

Turkey breast

Lean beef

Tuna

Salmon

Low fat milk

Low fat cottage cheese

Whey protein shake

Low fat yoghurt

Low fat Ham

 

There are several other sources of protein – eggs, beef, cheeses, pork,fish etc, although they tend to be higher in fat and hence calories (not that fat is bad for you, but too many calories will slow fat loss), so use sparingly, or on your higher calorie days. Non animal sources can be acquired from beans, soy, lentils, nuts etc, although the amino acid profile is not as good quality as from animal sources.

How much protein should I eat

Whilst there is a debate over this, general consensus says that more than 0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight, but no more than 1.2 grams per pound of bodyweight is acceptable. This means, for a 150 pound person, eating between 120 and 180 grams per day would produce optimal results. 

Since 100 grams of chicken supplies around 20 grams of protein, this means quite a lot of chicken breast (600 grams in fact). Imagine eating that amount of chicken and still being hungry, it is unlikely to happen. Obviously you don’t have to have all chicken, try to get different sources of protein so you ensure a fuller amino acid profile in your diet.

A pound of chicken - like this - is only 450 calories and a whopping 100 grams of protein. Imagine eating this and feeling hungry afterwards. Whip up a nice sauce to go with it with the rest of your calories.

If we take the middle ground number – 150 grams – this means an intake of 600 calories (150 grams times 4 calories per gram). If your diet allows 1,600 calories in the day, this means you have 1,000 calories to ‘spend’ how you wish on a mixture of fats and carbs. Use that calorie allotment to add some nutritious veggies, or some nice sauces to put with the meat. Hell, why not even add a bun with that burger, or have some sweet dessert for afters. Just make sure you don't exceed your calorie allotment for the day.

Take home message

Increase your protein intake for better control of hunger, better body shape, increased fat loss, increased metabolism (both long and short term), and better blood sugar control. Try to get around 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. Feel free to fill the rest of your calorie allowance with foods of your choice, although favour healthier, nutrition rich foods.

As a side note, lots of people go on low carbohydrate diets, where they eat nothing but protein an fat. I am not a fan of these. Whilst they work, they are often not the healthiest of plans, and people often have issues with rebound weight gain after they have gotten over the initial short term success. Keep carbohydrates in your diet, fats too, just increase your overall proportion of calories from protein sources. 

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Does Sugar Make us Fat?

If you get your nutrition advice from a woman’s magazine, you will probably be under the assumption that sugar is the source of all evil. Fear not, my fellow sweet tooth; you can indeed have your cake and eat it – and enjoy it! This current attack on sugar is ludicrous, and just another scapegoat for the obesity ‘epidemic’. Through reading the next few paragraphs, you too will be more informed to make flexible choices in your diet, leading to more long term success and better weight management without having to deprive yourself.

So where does this idea that sugar makes us fat come from? Well, there are a load of theories which look at how insulin raises when we eat foods high in sugar. Insulin is a hormone which helps shuttle carbohydrates into fat stores, and also works to inhibit fat burning. High insulin levels are also linked to obesity. All this makes it seem, to the uneducated observer, that sugar causes fat. But is there any substantiation to this claim beyond wild accusations from petri dish observers viewing a small time scale out of context to the human body in the grand scheme of things? In short – no.

Surwit and colleagues (1997) compared two separate diets, one containing 43% table sugar and one with just 4% table sugar. These people completed 6 weeks of these diets, and then the results of their body composition were taken. The results? There were NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES seen in both the loss of bodyfat or bodyweight between the two diets. So a diet almost half in sugar produced the same weight loss as one devoid of sugar. On top of this, a whole load of biomarkers and things such as satiety remained the same for both groups.

But I thought sugar enters your blood faster and raises insulin more

It does – but weight gain/ loss is more complicated than simply blaming one hormone and the amounts/speeds that it raises. You can look at short term studies all you want, but the real answer is in the long term trials.

In 2008 Aston et al. studied the effects of glycemic index on bodyweight in overweight and obese women, finding no correlation between faster acting carbohydrates and increases in weights when calories are the same. So even when the carbohydrates come into your blood at a faster/slow rate or insulin released is high or low it doesn’t mean you will get fat.

What does this mean for me?

What it means is that, in terms of weight loss, eating sugar is not going to impede your goals. In fact, if you are a sweet tooth like me, eating sugar can help you achieve your weight loss goals. Depriving yourself of some sweet things will more likely damage your motivation, leading to ditching the diet and stalling your weight loss/gaining weight.

Weight loss is a product of being in a calorie deficit, regardless of what your diet looks like. Look at This Study by Sacks Et al (2009) comparing diets with different amounts of carbs, protein and fats. There was no difference in the weight loss or lipid profiles of the subjects, even though they ate wildly varying diet compositions. Sure, I would make sure your protein intake is adequate (1 gram per pound of bodyweight) to ensure you lose more fat than muscle, but after that, feel free to make flexible choices with your calories.

Take home message

As usual, when it comes to weight loss, calories are king; set your weekly goals for calories and stick to them. Don’t deprive yourself of a bit of sugar every now and again, if you want a bit of cake and it fits into your calorie allowance, go ahead and enjoy it.

I should point out that I am not advocating a diet full in sugar. Whilst this could (as demonstrated by the scientific study) produce weight loss, it would not provide you with adequate nutrition in terms of vitamin, mineral, fibre, content etc. I would limit sugar intake to 100 grams per day if you are sedentary, and allow more if you are active. Don’t go crazy and eat nothing but sugar, but at the same time don’t completely eliminate it from your diet in the fear that it will make you fat (it won’t).   

As always, eat food high in nutrition on the whole, but enjoy sweets in moderation.

Scientific References

   Surwit RS, et al. Metabolic and behavioral effects of a high-sucrose diet during weight loss. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Apr;65(4):908-15.

Sacks FM, et al. Comparison of Weight-loss diets with different compositions of fat, protein and carbohydrates. N Engl J Med. 2009 Feb 26;360(9):859-73.  

Aston LM, Stokes CS, Jebb SA(2007). No effect of a diet with a reduced glycaemic index on satiety, energy intake and body weight in overweight and obese women. Int J Obes (Lond). 2008 Jan; 32(1):160-5. Epub 2007 Oct 9.

Calorie cycling?

No, this has nothing to do with getting on a bike and cycling away your calories. This is a concept that can, once again, really aid you in your weight loss goals for several reasons. It will allow you more freedom to eat larger portions, get rid of cravings, aid in maintenance of metabolism and therefore keep your weight loss continuing for longer, and your ability to diet will be improved dramatically.

Remember, the person who loses half a pound a week for a year will be better off than the person who loses 10 pound a week for a month, and then quits. This is why choosing a diet that is sustainable in the long term and which doesn’t cut out any of your foods is the best option.... like this one.

What is calorie cycling?

A typical dieting approach involves a method (direct or indirect) of cutting overall calories. Most approaches employ a specific daily deficit – one where every day is a low calorie day. The main problem with this, as you will have found, is that your metabolism will eventually drop to match the new calorie intake. For example, if you normally eat 2,000 calories a day, dropping to 1,500 a day will initially see weight loss. But after a week/month, your metabolism will drop down so that it only uses 1,500 calories per day. The result – no more weight loss.

Has your weight loss frustratingly stopped?

Calorie cycling is where you would alternate the amount of calories you eat per day. For example, one day you would eat 1,300 and the next you would eat 2,000. The advantages of this approach are;

·         You are only really dieting one day at a time – when it gets tough, you can remember that “Tomorrow is a high calorie day”. This is a huge psychological advantage over an orthodox diet.

·         Human metabolism is much more reactive to 3 day spans. By using your ‘up days’ (high calorie days), you are essentially telling your body that there is still food available and there is no need to drop metabolic rate.

·         You can combine your high calorie days with your exercise days (if you are exercising) so that the extra nutrients are used to support muscle maintenance/glycogen replenishment rather than fat replenishment.

·         You can use the high calorie days to eat some foods you have been craving – how many other diets can say this?

·         Even if those foods are a little sugary, they will be better partitioned as your skeletal tissue will now be more insulin sensitive (a good thing) and your liver will be glycogen depleted.

What this means for you is less fat, more lean body tissue (think toned body), and a diet which is mentally easier to stick to and physically easier to stick to.

There is evidence that this type of calorie cycling can also be valuable for a range of health benefits, such as lower inflammation, positive effects on asthma, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, heart disease markers etc. There are even animal studies showing that it can extend life-spans a very significant amount, and lower risks for Parkinson’s disease. It is too early to say regarding humans, but preliminary tests look good.

How to do this?

Work out how many calories you need per day to maintain your weight. For example, if you are a typical active male, this would be around 2,500 calories per day. Eat at maintenance level every other day, and in between those days, cut your calories by 500-1,000 calories. So it may look something like this;

Day	Calories
Monday	2,500
Tuesday	1,500
Wednesday	2,500
Thursday	1,500
Friday	2,500
Saturday	2,500
Sunday	1,500

That totals 14,500 calories for the week, which is a 3,000 calorie deficit – almost a pound of fat. With the above plan, the person was also on high days for the weekend (when they may be going out, socialising), and only had 3 diet days in the week. By eating the correct foods on the ‘down days’, the person would be able to feel fully satiated. By combining the calories like we discussed last week, this could also mean two big meals of 750 calories each. Then on ‘up days’, they would be able to be a little more lenient on their food choices and have a little of what they felt they were missing out on. Maybe a bit of ice cream J

 Ice cream on a diet? surely not!