An Anti-Inflammation Diet May Improve Overall Health
In the not-so-distant past, diets were restrictive plans that often left women hungry and overly fixated on the number on the bathroom scale. Today, the most popular and effective diets are nutritional plans that encourage people to embrace a wide variety of foods that are known to have healthful properties. Rather than focus on weight loss as the ultimate measurement of good health, these plans are designed to help improve people’s quality of life and reduce the risk or extent of many illnesses. Anti-inflammatory diets, which focus on reducing the effects of chronic inflammatory conditions, are a perfect example of this. The foods included in these nutritional plans are those that are integral to the cuisines of people who live in Blue Zones, such as Ikaria, Greece, and Okinawa, Japan. Blue Zones are regions around the world where people are known to live longer, healthier lives compared with the global average. The traditional Okinawan diet is rich in vegetables, legumes, tofu, and sweet potatoes, and includes small portions of fish and pork. The Ikarian diet consists of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, olive oil, and wild greens, as well as moderate amounts of fish and dairy products.
The Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and olive oil, is an anti-inflammatory diet that many of my patients have begun to follow. Studies show that anti-inflammatory diets can be effective at improving chronic health conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease; can lower the risk of developing chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, and may even preserve cognitive health and reduce the risk of dementia.
Not all inflammation is bad for you; inflammation is the body’s way of fighting infection. Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is the culprit behind many diseases and conditions. If the benefits of an anti-inflammatory diet sound appealing to you, talk to your doctor about modifying your nutritional habits to implement anti-inflammatory components. If you get the go-ahead to explore this nutritional plan, it may have a positive impact on your overall health.
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