Anti- inflammatory foods in Chronic Illness
- nirmalswasthya
- Jan 19, 2021
- 3 min read
Before understanding why an anti-inflammatory diet may be helpful and is one of the most buzzed-about diets right now, take a minute and reflect on what do heart disease, cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic fatigue, diabetes and persistent pain all have in common? So the answer is Inflammation.
What is Inflammation?
When you hear the word “inflammation,” the first thing that might cross your mind is swelling or redness that arises on stubbing your toe. These two are definitely external signs of inflammation, but there’s more to it. Inflammation occurs naturally and is a normal biological defense against infection and tissue damage. The body launches a biological response to remove it. Sometimes the body can mistakenly perceive its own cells or tissue as harmful and in return, the body's inflammatory response can cause autoimmune diseases. Not all inflammation is inherently bad, some are beneficial too as it helps heal the body and fight off the pathogens.
There are two types of inflammation:- acute and chronic. Probably all of us are familiar with the concept of acute inflammation, for example, if you bump your knee or scrape your elbow. In this, the onset is fast, usually within minutes or hours, and then it subsides. But chronic inflammation differs from acute in sense that it cannot be treated with a bag of ice, bandage and can continue for up to months or even years and here we will focus mainly on chronic inflammation.
Chronic Inflammation When the immune system works continuously, the condition becomes chronic and it can lead to various chronic ailments like Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, allergies and many more conditions and it can all be linked to chronic inflammation. Hence, it can be sometimes, referred to as the ‘silent killer’.
Causes
● Hypersensitivity to an external factor can cause an allergic effect.
● Long-term exposure to irritants like chemicals in industries.
● Autoimmune disorder (the body attacks its own healthy cells like in psoriasis)
● Auto inflammatory disease (working of the immune system is affected due to genetic factors).
● Persistent acute inflammation (when a person cannot fully recover from acute inflammation).
● Advanced glycation end products (AGE's) due to elevated blood sugar.
● Insulin resistance and mitochondrial dysfunction.
● Oxidized low-density lipoproteins (LDL).
Factors that increases risk
● Older age.
● Obesity.
● Unhealthy diet.
● Imbalance reproductive hormones.
● Smoking.
● Stress.
● Sleep problems.
Tips on inflammatory diet
Experts believe that certain foods are known to exert strong effects on inflammatory pathways within the body and adjusting the foods and drinks that you consume can help lower inflammation levels than relying on medication. Taking medication for chronic pain only when necessary is probably also a good idea, since many drugs available, come with unpleasant side effects, like fogginess, sleepiness, memory loss, etc. It can be challenging when it comes to a transition of a new way of eating, but there are many affordable foods which can be included in our diet and which can be avoided. Below are few suggestions:-
Various types of herbs can be included in diet like cloves, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, turmeric.
Avoid processed and refined carbohydrates- baked goods, breads, bleached white flours, French fries and involve healthy carbs like fruits(grape, berries, oranges, pomegranate) and vegetables(spinach, kale, broccoli, mushroom, tomatoes, avocados), whole grains.This food contains a good amount of fiber, which is lacking in refined products.
Replacing margarine, saturated and trans fats with healthy fats and omega-3 like coconut, walnuts, almonds, fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines), olive oil, groundnut oil, ghee, butter.
Choose clean meats (in moderation).
Avoid drinks with added refined sugars (high-fructose corn syrup: HFCS) like soda, packaged fruit beverages.
You can even add on gluten free- grains, cereals, spaghetti, muffins, bread, biscuit, etc. to your diet.
Other tips includes
● Eating earlier in the day, and refraining from late night eating can keep inflammation under control.
● Managing your right weight.
● Moderate exercise for 30 minutes at least thrice a week has been shown to significantly improve insulin sensitivity, reversing insulin resistance.
● Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol
● Managing your stress levels by meditating, doing yoga, praying and walking or looking at nature everyday at least for 15 minutes.
● Getting an adequate, continuous and sound sleep for 7-9 hrs every night by reducing screen time, keeping the place cool/ having good ventilation, quiet and dark.
The low grade systemic inflammation doesn't occur overnight and neither is it resolved in a day or with a magic pill. It takes its own sweet time to maintain long lasting results with changes in daily habits, even if it's just one step at a time. You are likely to find your new diet and routine more delicious and more rewarding!!
-T.Y.B.Sc(FND)
Hafsa Makba
Masira Momin
Refrences
Nutrition in Clinical Practice book available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
The anti- inflammatory diet plan – Robert M. Fleischer.
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