Anti-inflammatory Foods List PDF
Introduction to Anti-inflammatory Foods List PDF
Diet plays a significant role in the body’s inflammatory response. The foods you eat either contribute to or help combat inflammation. Knowing what foods to eat to fight inflammation is important for a healthy diet. Here, you’ll find the top foods to add to your diet to fight inflammation along with a printable PDF list of anti-inflammatory foods.
What is Inflammation?
Inflammation is a bodily process that can occur due to a variety of factors such as injury, exposure to a harmful bacteria or virus, or lifestyle factors such as diet, smoking, or stress.
Some inflammatory responses in the body are normal and short-lived whereas others are chronic and can be an alarm bell for a bigger problem.
This chronic inflammatory response has been associated with the development of multiple chronic diseases including heart disease.
Medical intervention can have a significant impact on the inflammatory response. One study found that in study participants with markers of chronic inflammation had a lower risk of stroke and heart attack when given statins which lowered cholesterol and inflammation (1).
Other studies have shown a benefit to reducing inflammation via medication for the prevention of heart disease (2).
While research shows that medication can reduce inflammation, one observational study found that certain diet patterns are associated with inflammation (3).
What is an Anti-inflammatory Diet?
An anti-inflammatory diet is one that’s made up of a variety of nutrient-dense foods known to play a role in combating harmful inflammation in the body.
Importantly, an anti-inflammatory diet doesn’t consist of single foods or supplements. Instead, it’s a diet pattern that emphasizes nutrient-dense foods prepared in a healthful way, all while meeting your daily energy and nutrient needs.
Anti-inflammatory diets can take many forms, but most commonly follow a Mediterranean-style diet pattern.
However, any diet that consists of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, unsaturated fats from plant-based oils, and fish while also limiting pro-inflammatory foods is considered an anti-inflammatory diet.
An inflammatory foods list and anti-inflammatory foods list are both listed below.
Pro-inflammatory Diet
Some diet patterns are pro-inflammatory, meaning they contribute to inflammation in the body. Pro-inflammatory diets are associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
Alternatively, eating a diet that’s anti-inflammatory may help to protect against heart disease.
Pro-inflammatory Foods
Some foods are associated with higher inflammatory markers in the body whereas others are associated with a reduction in those markers. There are multiple foods considered to be pro-inflammatory including (4):
Red and processed meats
- Beef
- Pork
- Lamb
- Bacon
- Sausage
- Salami
- Hot dogs
Refined carbohydrates
- Refined grains
- Sugar-sweetened desserts
- Candies
- Crackers
- Fried chips
Sweetened beverages
- Sweetened juice
- Sugar-sweetened sodas
- Fruit-flavored beverages
- Sweetened teas and/or lemonades
Ultra-processed foods (4)
- Artificial juices
- Sweets
- Fried foods
- Etc.
Download my free inflammatory foods list pdf, which includes a list of anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory foods.
Anti-inflammatory Foods From My Anti-inflammatory Foods List PDF
A variety of nutrients play a role in giving a food its anti-inflammatory properties. Some foods are an excellent source of antioxidants while others are an excellent source of unsaturated fats. Each nutrient has an influence on the body’s response to inflammatory triggers.
Antioxidants play an important role in fighting inflammation by fighting free radicals. Free radicals are compounds which cause cellular damage and antioxidants scavenge those compounds helping to prevent this damage.
Foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, fish, spices, herbs, and some beverages like tea and coffee contain antioxidant compounds.
Eating a diet with a majority of anti-inflammatory foods is associated with reduced inflammatory markers that negatively influence cardiovascular health.
Fruits
- Blackberries
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Pomegranate
- Apples
- Plums
- Apricots
Vegetables
- Spinach
- Kale
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Carrot
- Peppers
- Pumpkin
- Artichokes
- Okra
- Beets
- Cabbage
Whole Grains
- Barley
- Brown rice
- Wild rice
- Quinoa
- Oats
- Whole wheat
Fish
- Salmon
- Halibut
- Tuna
- Sardines
- Mackerel
Nuts and Seeds
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Cashews
- Pumpkin seeds
- Hemp seeds
Beans and Legumes
- Black beans
- Kidney beans
- Cannellini beans
- Peas
- Lentils
Herbs and Spices
- Coriander
- Turmeric
- Chili powder/Chili peppers
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Cumin
Beverages
- Coffee
- Pomegranate juice
- Tea*
- Wine**
*Some examples of the best anti-inflammatory teas are: green tea, black tea, peppermint tea, turmeric tea, ginger tea, chamomile tea, rose hip tea, cinnamon tea, and holy basil tea.
**Wine, particularly red wine, contains antioxidants including the well-known resveratrol. However, alcohol comes with many health risks and excess consumption is associated with the development of chronic diseases. If you choose to drink, do so only in moderation.
My anti-inflammatory foods list pdf includes a printable list of inflammatory foods as well as anti-inflammatory foods.
Tips to Eat More Anti-inflammatory Foods
Modifying your diet to include more anti-inflammatory foods is beneficial for your health. Follow these tips to include more of the nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory foods in your diet.
Anti-inflammatory Foods List PDF: Planning
- Survey your cabinets, fridge, and freezer. Make it your goal to have a majority of anti-inflammatory foods available.
- Plan weekly recipes. Eating a diet that supports your health goals can be challenging without planning your meals for the week. Take a few minutes at least once per week to plan a few meals.
If it feels overwhelming to plan for an entire week, then aim for three to four meals and build from there or incorporate leftovers wherever possible.
- Make a shopping list to help yourself stay organized. You can also try using a meal planning app if that’s easier for you.
Anti-inflammatory Foods List PDF: Shopping
- Shop the center and outer aisles of the grocery store. Anti-inflammatory foods are found throughout the grocery store, so don’t shy away from all sections – dry goods, produce, frozen foods, and the seafood counter.
Most every corner of the grocery store has nutrient-dense foods. The most important thing is to know what you’re looking for and where it’s found in your grocery store.
Anti-inflammatory Foods List PDF: Additional Tips
- Make simple swaps in your diet. Swapping proinflammatory foods in favor of anti-inflammatory foods is a simple way to boost the anti-inflammatory potential of your diet without feeling deprived.
For example, many people ask, “do carbs cause inflammation?” Carbohydrates are often villainized as being bad for your health but it’s the refined and highly processed carbohydrates that should be limited – not the whole food sources of carbs.
Swapping refined carbs in favor of whole grain carb sources is just one way to increase your anti-inflammatory food intake.
- Make sure anti-inflammatory foods are visible (and out in the open) in your home.
Keep fruit on the counter; wash and chop vegetables and store them in clear containers so they’re easy to spot; put the apple you packed for lunch out on your desk.
Any way you can increase the visibility of the anti-inflammatory foods you want to add to your diet can go a long way in helping you increase your intake.
Final Thoughts & Anti-inflammatory Foods List PDF
Following an anti-inflammatory diet may require making significant changes to how you eat.
Start by familiarizing yourself with the foods that make up an anti-inflammatory diet and focus on making simple swaps to incorporate more of those foods into your everyday recipes and meals.
Check out my comprehensive anti-inflammatory foods list pdf to help you get started!