Peer Reviewed Corner: How To Use Food To Tame Your Inflammation

Inflammation has been scientifically proven to be our enemy – even doctors are now recognizing that inflammation is a big problem, and can be managed through food. Things like heart disease and diabetes has been shown to be related to inflammation in the body.

But now there’s a large, peer-reviewed study on over 1000 individuals showing that the effects of inflammation largely varies based on the person.

A study by  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in partnership with the health startup ZOE is showing that inflammation responses in human bodies differs based on the characteristics of a person; women in menopause, men and older people, for example, show increased levels of inflammation. Additionally, a body that is higher than average in fat was correlated with high inflammation. This, researchers posit, could mean that people should take into account both fat and sugar on their diet – not just one.

Sarah Berry, Ph.D., senior lecturer of nutrition sciences at King’s College London and the author of the study, suggests 4 strategies to keep your inflammation in check.

#1 Choose Whole Food & Nuts

Your body needs foods that are high in fiber and lean protein and healthy fats like Omega-3s. Things like nuts, seeds and fish are your perfect companions.

#2 Switch To Complex Carbs

Things like white bread and candy spike your blood sugar response whereas selections like fruits and veggies and avoiding sugary things will keep your steady as a rock.

#3 Manually Reduce Your Inflammation

After we eat anything the inflammation response spikes in your body, but we can do things to keep that in check, like eating plant-based foods and powerful superfoods such as maqui, chia and acai.

#4 Know What Makes Your Tick

Choose foods that make you feel good and tame inflammation particularly for you. For example, if you know you’re lactose intolerant, avoid cheese and lactose-full milk.