According to Medical News Today, nearly 75% of all deaths in the United States are attributed to just ten causes. Eight of the ten, which include heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, kidney disease, and even suicide, are directly linked to chronic inflammation.

In fact, by simply lowering the levels of inflammation in the body we can prevent, slow the progression of, and, in some cases, reverse each of those eight causes of death. This would leave us with influenza and accidents at the top of the list, but the severity and likelihood of influenza would be reduced with an anti-inflammatory diet.

This means that if we all adopt an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, the only thing that can get in our way of living a fulfilling and healthy life is an accident or the inevitable aging. But even the effects of aging are caused by low-grade inflammation. In many scientific papers, this process is called “inflammaging” and it is the reason why your brain and body just don’t function like they used to as you age. But this process too can be slowed down tremendously by adopting an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.

What is an Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle?

Let’s keep it simple. To maintain lower levels of inflammation we need to move more, sleep better, and eat right by eating anti-inflammatory foods instead of inflammatory foods.

So let’s start with the food we should eat because just eating the right food will make it easier to eat less, move more, sleep better, and stress less.

   Related: What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

When you replace inflammatory foods with fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other anti-inflammatory foods you will decrease the levels of inflammation in your body, which will lead to a reduction in cravings and the amount of food you eat, an increase in your energy levels and sleep quality, and a decrease in stress and anxiety.

A food is anti-inflammatory when it contains vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other beneficial compounds that act together with our body to promote the health of our cells. Think whole foods. Although you are safe in assuming that any organic fruit, vegetable, herb, nut, or seed comes with their own anti-inflammatory effects (as long as you are not allergic and they aren’t fried, overcooked, or otherwise processed), there are some foods and beverages that, without a doubt, have potent anti-inflammatory effects that help boost cellular health, reduce aging, and reverse disease.

The 11 Most Effective Anti-Inflammatory Foods and Beverages

Sesame seeds, Flaxseeds, and Chia Seeds

Consuming seed oils on their own is strongly advised against, but when they are eaten freshly ground, seeds are filled with anti-inflammatory and health promoting compounds. For example, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, and chia seeds all have a high lignan content, which has protective effects against inflammation, carcinogens, and cancer.

Flaxseeds are the richest dietary source of lignan precursors, while sesame seeds offer the highest amount of phytosterols of all nuts and seeds. Phytosterols are important because they decrease blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer. They may also be what makes sesame seeds a potential treatment for the symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Related: Homemade, Vegan Nut Milk Recipes and More

Chia seeds contain more ALA, or Alpha-linoleic acid, than any other seed. ALA is most widely known as a plant source of EPA ad DHA for the body, but only a small percentage of it is actually converted to EPA and DHA. However, ALA still may help reduce inflammation in the colon making it a potential treatment for colitis.

It is best to consume sesame seeds, flaxseeds, and chia seeds ground or crushed right before consumption. Use them in dressings, dipping sauces, salads, or smoothies.

Soaked chia seeds can also be used as an egg replacement in baking recipes. However, it is important to avoid roasted seeds because they will contain rancid oils that make them pro-inflammatory.

Hibiscus Tea

Green tea is widely known as a healthy beverage, especially matcha green tea, which has more antioxidants than normal green tea. However, matcha green tea comes with around 70 mg of caffeine per cup. Although the caffeine content is lower than a cup of coffee, it is still high enough to affect the mind and body. Doses of caffeine as low as 12.5 mg can create a powerful response in the body, so if you would rather not expose yourself to the increased stress response and addictive qualities that caffeine provides, hibiscus is the best option.

Hibiscus tea is actually a better option for reducing inflammation than any other tea because it elicits much more antioxidant and anti-inflammation activity in the body, and it has no caffeine at all.

Hibiscus tea also tastes better than green tea (in my opinion). I prefer to cold brew it overnight with a little bit of lemon juice to make a refreshing drink I can sip throughout the day.

Berries

There are hundreds of types of berries in the world and all of them contain different anthocyanins, which are flavonoids responsible for their distinctive colors of red, blue, and purple. These flavonoids also have powerful anti-inflammatory effects.

Wild blueberries, for example, have been found to improve memory in older adults, which suggests that they protect the brain from inflammation. Other berries like cranberries, elderberries, currants, acai berry, goji berries, and amla fruit have different flavonoids that have potent anti-inflammatory effects on other parts of the body as well.

Amla fruit, in particular, may have the most potent anti-inflammatory benefits of all the berries, with more antioxidant activity than blueberries, 20 times more vitamin C than lemon juice, 30 times more polyphenols than red wine, and more gallic acid (a potent antioxidant) than any other fruit.

Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits, like lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruit, contain flavonoids that have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects on damaged cells. Studies have found that citrus fruits have little to no effect on healthy cells so, even in high doses, citrus flavonoids are non-toxic.

Virgin Olive Oil

Virgin olive oil contains numerous health promoting compounds. One of the most studied compounds found in virgin olive oil is a phenolic compound called oleocanthal.

Oleocanthal possesses similar anti-inflammatory properties to ibuprofen. This makes virgin olive oil a great addition to the diet to help reduce acute and chronic inflammation.

However, some of the fats in olive oil can become rancid at temperatures higher than 300 degrees Fahrenheit so it is important to consume it in its uncooked form. Put it on your salads and vegetables to add some healthy fats your meal and increase the absorption of vitamins A and K from the vegetables, while you reap the benefits of olive oil’s healing properties.

Turmeric

Most of us have probably heard about the healing properties of turmeric, and the rumors are true. Even Dr. Axe refers to it as the “most powerful herb on the planet at fighting and potentially reversing disease”.

This is because turmeric contains curcumin, a phenolic compound that is responsible for turmeric’s yellow color, and its ability to help heal cells throughout the body. So far we have found curcumin to be a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, and cancer.

Related: How to Optimize Curcumin Absorption – With Golden Milk Tea Recipe

Cloves

This spice is commonly used in pumpkin pie to give it that extra cinnamon-like kick, but you may not know that cloves have the highest antioxidant content of any spice or herb that scientists have measured.
Cloves protect the body by eradicating harmful bacteria, fungi, and yeast, including giardia and candida. Insulin resistance and obesity may be ameliorated by cloves as well.

I prefer to consume cloves in the form of tea to help relieve a sore throat and improve my energy levels. You can also add it to smoothies, hot beverages, sauces, and soups to give them some extra flavor.

Garlic (and other vegetables from the Allium family)

Garlic has been used for centuries as a prophylactic and a treatment for many diseases. It is rich in organosulfur compounds, which give it its potent flavor, taste, and healing abilities. In fact, garlic has been found to reduce the size of tumors and activate important anti-oxidant enzymes in the body that help protect our cells from cancer, infection, and disease.

Garlic, onions, leeks, and other vegetables from the Allium family all contain allicin. This is an active compound that activates anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities that protect us from disease, and it may even have neuroprotective effects against brain injury.

Related: Things You Should Know About Garlic – DIY, Recipes, Other Tips

Broccoli Sprouts (and other cruciferous vegetables)

Many cruciferous vegetables are filled with vitamins K and A, which are essential for our health, but have you heard of sulforaphane? This is a compound that is created when we crush or chew cruciferous vegetables, and broccoli sprouts add more of this compound to our diet than any other cruciferous vegetable.
Why does it matter? Because sulforaphane has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, which boost brain function and even protect us from the flu and environmental pollutants.

You can easily grow your own broccoli sprouts at home. If you start today, they will be ready to eat in less than a week. You can add your fresh sprouts to salads and smoothies or have them as a snack.

Coconut Oil

There is a lot of controversy surrounding saturated fats, but the truth is that they aren’t the problem that we once thought they were. The perfect example of how saturated fats can be good for you is found when we consume coconut oil.

Related: 35 Things You Could Do With Coconut Oil – From Body Care to Health to household

In a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial, coconut oil supplementation promoted a reduction in abdominal fat and kept blood lipids under control, while soybean oil caused an increase in total cholesterol and a decrease in HDL cholesterol. This is most likely due to a reduction in inflammation caused by consuming coconut oil and an increase in inflammation caused by consuming soybean oil.

Related: Powerfully Healing Raspberry Cream Smoothie Recipe

Avocado

Avocados are primarily made up of monounsaturated fatty acids – a type of fat that reverses inflammation. It may even reverse the inflammation caused by some types of saturated fats. This is because monounsaturated fatty acids activate anti-inflammatory processes in the body while being extremely stable. On the other hand, fats like omega 6s and omega 3s are highly unstable, which is why they can create harmful oxidants and increase inflammation in the body. Monounsaturated fats, however, are so stable that they only improve our health.

In fact, Monounsaturated fat is so stable that it can be heated to around 500 degrees Fahrenheit without becoming rancid, which makes it a great cooking oil.

But it’s not just all about the fat. Avocados also contain other compounds like mannoheptulose, which may help reverse obesity and diabetes.

Putting It All Together

You can literally combine each one of these anti-inflammatory foods into a delicious meal. Get your notepad ready.

Step 1

Get your cruciferous greens and put them in a bowl. They will be the base of your meal.

Step 2

Put some avocado slices, broccoli sprouts, and wild blueberries on top.

Step 3

In a small bowl, combine virgin olive oil with crushed garlic, lemon juice, chopped up turmeric slices, and apple cider vinegar.

Step 4

Grind some chia seeds, flaxseeds, or sesame seeds and put them on top of your salad. Finish it off with your olive oil based dressing.

Step 5

While you enjoy your anti-inflammatory meal, start brewing some ground clove and hibiscus tea. To give it a creamy and frothy feel, put about a tablespoon of coconut oil and blend it up when it’s finished brewing.

Related: Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included

But What about Omega 3s!?

After digging through the research, it’s hard to justify putting seafood on the list of anti-inflammatory foods. It is commonly believed that the omega 3s called DHA and EPA that are found in seafood help prevent heart disease and inflammation, but studies on omega 3 supplementation have not consistently shown this effect. The association between eating fish and a reduction in heart disease risk is better explained by the fact that people who eat more fish tend to have healthier lifestyles.

It is important to mention that even though they are not on this list, seafood and other animal products contain many different antioxidants, vitamins, and amino acids that are essential for maintaining health. But even high-quality meat and fish may still cause a small inflammatory response, which is why they didn’t make our list of anti-inflammatory foods.

Conclusion

This is by no means a comprehensive list of foods that fight inflammation. This article just contains the most well-researched anti-inflammatory foods that have been studied so far (that I could find).

The truth is that there are thousands upon thousands of different compounds in plants that influence our bodies, and we have only studied the effects of a small fraction of them.

The most important thing you can do after reading this article is to eat a wide variety of whole vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, and seeds to ensure that you are nourished. If you do this and ignore all the foods listed above you will still decrease your inflammation levels. This is because you are eating less inflammatory foods and eating more fiber, which feeds the probiotics in your gut that help protect your gut lining and produce anti-inflammatory by-products.

But if you continue eating inflammatory foods every day, they will undermine all the positive effects you can get from eating anti-inflammatory foods.

For more on what an inflammatory food is and how they cause inflammation, see Chronic Inflammation: How You Are Causing It and How You To Be Rid Of It and What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good.

Related:

• What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good
• Heal Cavities, Gum Disease, Naturally with Organic Oral Care – Toothpaste Recipes Included
• Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones
• Healing Allergy Inflammation With Stinging Nettle
• Naturally Treat Multiple Sclerosis – Therapies, Diet, Pain Management, Alternative Medicine

Sources:

• The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide — NCBI
• Effects of sesame seed supplementation on inflammatory factors and oxidative stress biomarkers in patients with knee osteoarthritis. — NCBI
• Lignans and human health. — NCBI
• Depression and inflammation: Examining the link — Current Psychiatry
• Randomized Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Oral Elderberry Extract in the Treatment of Influenza A and B Virus Infections — Sage Journals
• Inflammaging as a major characteristic of old people: can it be prevented or cured? — NCBI
• Anti-inflammatory effects of plant-based foods and of their constituents. — NCBI
• The top 10 leading causes of death in the United States — Medical News Today
• Association between dietary fiber and serum C-reactive protein — NCBI
• Dietary fibre content and antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds present in Mexican chia (Salvia hispanica L.) seeds — Science Direct
• Potential beneficial effects of butyrate in intestinal and extraintestinal diseases — NCBI
• Chemistry and Biological Activities of Flavonoids: An Overview — Hindawi
• Flavonoids — Oregon State University
• α-Linolenic acid (ALA) is an anti-inflammatory agent in inflammatory bowel disease — Science Direct
• Endogenous antioxidants in fish — University of Iceland
  Blueberry Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults — NCBI
• Omega-3 Supplements: In Depth — NIH
• Berries: Anti-inflammatory Effects in Humans — ACS Publications
• Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activities of virgin coconut oil. — NCBI
• New Research may explain some of the amla fruit’s legendary health benefits — Taiyo
• Molecular mechanisms of inflammation. Anti-inflammatory benefits of virgin olive oil and the phenolic compound oleocanthal. — NCBI
• Effects of low doses of caffeine on cognitive performance, mood and thirst in low and higher caffeine consumers. — NCBI
• Consumption of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. aqueous extract and its impact on systemic antioxidant potential in healthy subjects. — NCBI
• Potential Therapeutic Effects of Curcumin, the Anti-inflammatory Agent, Against Neurodegenerative, Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, Metabolic, Autoimmune and Neoplastic Diseases — NCBI
• 10 Turmeric Benefits: Superior to Medications? — Dr. Axe
• The Health Benefits of Cloves — Wake Up World
• The Immunomodulation and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Garlic Organosulfur Compounds in Cancer Chemoprevention — NCBI
• Neuroprotective effect of allicin against traumatic brain injury via Akt/endothelial nitric oxide synthase pathway-mediated anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities — Science Direct
• Effect of Broccoli Sprouts on Nasal Response to Live Attenuated Influenza Virus in Smokers: A Randomized, Double-Blind Study — PLOS ONE
• Effect of Sulforaphane on NOD2 via NF-κB: implications for Crohn’s disease — BioMed Central
• Healthiest Cooking Oil Comparison Chart with Smoke Points and Omega 3 Fatty Acid Ratios — The Baseline of Health Foundation
• Monounsaturated Fatty Acids Impede Inflammation Partially Through Activation of AMPK — The Faseb Journal
• Saturated fat does not clog the arteries: coronary heart disease is a chronic inflammatory condition, the risk of which can be effectively reduced from healthy lifestyle interventions — British Journal of Sports Medicine
• Potential Health Benefits of Avocados — Wiley Online Library

You’re (probably) inflamed right now.

But it’s okay, your body is just trying to save your life.

Somewhere in your body, there is a cell that has been damaged by a harmful stimulus. This stimulus could be from foreign matter that is toxic to the body, blunt trauma, or degeneration caused by a lack of nutrition. In response to the damage, your immune system is activated to help repair or replace the cells. White blood cells and other blood components flow to the site of trauma, blood vessels begin to leak into the damaged tissues, and that area becomes more sensitive to all other potentially harmful stimuli. Once the tissue is repaired and cleaned up by the immune system the injury returns to its natural state, inflammation-free.

This process is known as acute inflammation. This is the way your body heals any damage that is done to your cells, and it only lasts for the duration of the injury.

For example, you most likely experienced acute inflammation the last time you stubbed your toe. You hit your toe really hard on a piece of furniture, so fluid was drawn to the area (swelling) and white blood cells came to the rescue. The damaged tissue was repaired, waste was discarded, and after a couple days you forgot that anything ever happened to your toe. But sometimes inflammation can stick around for months, years, or even decades.

When The Toe Stubbing Doesn’t Stop

If you keep stubbing your toe, the cells will never be able to heal and the inflammatory process will keep happening. Inflammation that doesn’t go away is known as chronic inflammation. But if you have chronic inflammation, it is (hopefully) not being caused by you repeatedly stubbing your toe.

Chronic inflammation is caused by having an internal environment that damages our cells. Consider diet. Food that not conducive to cell health damages cells. Chronic inflammation happens because the body is consuming substances that cause damage.

Reversing Chronic Inflammation

The causes of chronic inflammation are influenced by our environment, our genetics, and most importantly, our habits. Many of us don’t have nearly enough control over our environment to ensure it is the healthiest possible, and genetic manipulation is still l a ways off. For almost everyone, chronic inflammation can be prevented and even reversed by eating the right foods and eliminating the wrong ones. Spoiler alert: the right foods are whole foods and the wrong foods are processed!

What Are Inflammatory Foods?

An inflammatory food is any food that creates an inflammatory response regardless of who consumes it. But how do we know what foods cause inflammation?

Scientists tend to measure the levels of C-reactive protein and specific immunoglobulins in the blood to detect inflammation levels, but it’s not feasible for you to test your blood after every meal, so what can you do?

Pay attention to how you feel after each meal.  Tiredness, anxiety, achiness, depression, a constricted feeling in the abdomen or back, a lack of energy, and decreased cognitive function in response to a meal are all signs that the food that you ate caused an inflammatory response. Food should make you feel better and function more efficiently, it shouldn’t be a crutch.

If you continue to eat inflammatory foods, your body will be in a chronic state of inflammation, which can cause and accelerate the progression of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and cancer. Inflammatory foods also damage parts of your brain that regulate your appetite and body weight, which will cause you to eat more, store more fat, and become diabetic.

Fortunately, when we reduce our consumption of inflammatory foods, the cells in our brain, blood vessels, and body can finally heal.

The Foods That We Should Never Eat

Highly Refined Foods

All highly refined foods create an inflammatory response. This includes “foods” like cookies, cakes, chips, doughnuts, pizza, cereal, soft drinks, and french fries. These and many other common “food” products are so far removed from real food that they contain high sugar, high fat, rancid oils, synthetic chemicals like pesticides and flavorings, and almost all of the fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals are removed. This is a recipe for inflammation.

Think about your favorite highly refined “food” – the one you think you can’t do without. Now, let’s explore what happens in your body when you eat that food.

As every bite of that food reaches your small intestine, your body diverts its attention to dealing with the excess fat, sugar, and potentially harmful chemicals. Your body tries to keep your blood sugar at safe levels by shuttling the excess energy into your cells, so it can be used as fuel by the mitochondria (the part of your cell that produces all of its energy).

During this process, harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species are created, which impair the function of the cells throughout your body as they accumulate. To clean up the reactive oxygen species and the damage they cause, our body uses antioxidants. However, the level of antioxidants in your body depends on the food you eat.

For example, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and glutathione are some of the most powerful antioxidants we use to protect and heal our cells, but we can’t create Vitamin C and E on our own and we need specific amino acids and sulfur-rich foods to help boost glutathione levels.

After weeks of eating these highly refined foods, your mitochondria will start to malfunction and your body will become chronically inflamed because it is getting too much fat and sugar with almost no help from vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Eventually, you’ll go to the doctor, and she or he may diagnose you with a disease like heart disease or diabetes, an autoimmune condition, or cancer. It will most likely be a condition that you are genetically predisposed to, but your genetics are only partially to blame. Eating high calorie, high fat, or high sugar foods that lack fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are most likely the main culprit.

Eliminating all highly refined foods from your diet is a great way to radically change your health for the better, however, there are many other food items that can cause inflammation regardless of their calorie content.

Vegetable Oils

Dietary fat comes in many different shapes and sizes. For example, vegetable, seed, and soybean oils are filled with polyunsaturated inflammatory Omega 6 fats. Inflammatory omega 6s create an inflammatory response. When most of the fat in our diet comes from omega 6s, this will create higher levels of inflammation within the body.

Unfortunately, all of the most easily commonly accessible oils and processed foods are filled with unhealthy, inflammatory oils. There are anti-inflammatory fats, many of which are within the Omega-3 category. These fats promote the inflammatory reduction process. There are also healthy fats the aid int he inflammatory process. We need both. Both are good for us. But heavily cooked, overly processed, rancid fats are never good for us. And these fats lead to the inflammation cycle that is the cause of most modern diseases.

Rancid Oils and Trans Fat

Before you rush to the store to get a salmon filet or fish oil that is packed with omega 3s, it is important to know that all polyunsaturated fats, including omega 3s, are highly unstable. This means that sunlight and heat can render omega 6s and omega 3s rancid, which will make them both toxic to the body. This happens with cooking fish too, but the method of cooking can make a difference, and less well-done fish has more beneficial fatty acids left. The same thing happens when we ingest trans fats, which includes all fully and partially hydrogenated oils.

Factory Farmed Animal Products

Many studies show that animal products like heavy cream and red meat cause a spike in inflammation after consumption. However, it is important to consider the source of the animal products. It is rare to find a study that will pay attention to the quality of the animal products that are used. Scientists are most likely using cheap animal products that are sourced from sick animals that were fed pesticide ridden foods and antibiotics. This leads to animal products that cause a massive spike in inflammation.

Animal products that come from pastured, humanely-raised animals contain more CLA, glutathione, and other beneficial compounds than their conventional, factory-farmed counterparts. CLA and glutathione are both anti-inflammatory molecules that play a major role in reversing many diseases and releasing fat from the body. Pastured animal products are also likely to have less omega 6s.

Related: Why Chronic Pain is Such a Pain and What You Can Do about It

Charred, Smoked, Overcooked, and Fried Foods

How you cook your meat and vegetables could make a nutritious meal into a cancerous substance. When we char or smoke our food, it vastly increases its carcinogenic properties and creates a potent inflammatory response in the body.

Cooking your fats and fatty foods at high temperatures will also render the fats rancid, especially if you are using any vegetable oils or other oils that are high in polyunsaturated fats.

It is best to cook your meat at low temperatures for a longer period of time (think “low and slow”). This ensures that the fat will be stable, the meat won’t be charred, and you will be able to reap all the health benefits of high-quality meat (The same applies to pastured eggs, although it may be best to consume them raw).

But even the highest quality meat and dairy products should be eaten in moderation because they may still cause an increase in inflammation and cancer cell growth. If you accompany your meat with vegetables and herbs, you can get all of the benefits of meat with little to no inflammatory response.

Related: Advanced Glycated End Products

Other Things to Consider

Artificial sweeteners like sucralose, MSG, and pesticides like glyphosate all have a substantial impact on our inflammatory response. Sucralose and other artificial sweeteners may actually blunt our immune response, creating an ideal environment for infectious bacteria and parasites.

MSG directly creates an inflammatory response in the liver and can lead to central obesity and type 2 diabetes. Glyphosate creates inflammation indirectly by damaging the gut wall, which causes the immune system to overreact to previously harmless foods. This means consuming pesticide ridden foods like GMOs and conventional fruits and vegetables can cause leaky gut and food intolerance.

The Quickest Way to Reduce Your Inflammation Levels

We covered a lot about inflammatory foods and their effects, but we still didn’t come close to explaining it all.

Let’s sum it up with the four inflammatory food groups that should never be in any human (or animal) diet:

1. All highly refined foods, high sugar, high fat, and low fiber foods (cookies, cakes, candy, cereal, doughnuts, etc.)
2. All vegetable, seed, and soy oils
3. All pesticide ridden foods like GMO corn, GMO soy, and most conventional fruits and vegetables
4. All factory-farmed, non-pastured animal products

And never buy these things again.

Replace all of those inflammatory foods with foods that contain anti-inflammatory compounds like organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs that are minimally cooked, and raw nuts and seeds. Each one has a variety of vitamins and minerals, high fiber, and other unique beneficial compounds that improve your health. Make sure you eat a wide variety of different vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, and seeds. These should make up almost all of your main course with a side dish of high quality pastured animal products at some of your meals.

By eating in this way, we will provide our body the nutrients and antioxidants we need to stave off mitochondrial dysfunction and promote the health of every cell in the body. In other words, your cells will rarely stub their toes.

Related: Understanding and Detoxifying Genetically Modified Foods

How to Check Your Inflammation Levels

To track your inflammation levels, get a normal blood panel and check your C-reactive protein levels. C-reactive protein is created by the liver when there is inflammation in the body, so it is a great indicator for the level of inflammation in the body. It is commonly suggested to keep your C-reactive protein level Below 1 mg/L, but Dr. Chris Masterjohn suggests that it is better to keep it lower than .07 mg/L.

Read through The Most Potent, Anti-Inflammatory Everyday Foods to find out the specific foods that are best at lowering your inflammation levels.

Further Reading:

• What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good
• Heal Gum Disease and Cavities Naturally – Step by Step
• Everything You Should Know About Fat
• MSG’s Many Side Effects and Aliases

Sources:

• Caloric Restriction and Chronic Inflammatory Diseases — NCBI
• Diet-induced weight loss, exercise, and chronic inflammation in older, obese adults: a randomized controlled clinical trial — Research Gate
• Obesity is associated with hypothalamic injury in rodents and humans — JCI
• Radiologic evidence that hypothalamic gliosis is associated with obesity and insulin resistance in humans — NCBI
• Immune response — MedlinePlus
• 8 Food Ingredients That Can Cause Inflammation — Arthritis
• Cancer:  Inflammation by remote control — Nature
• Systemic inflammation and disease progression in Alzheimer disease — Neurology
• Major dietary patterns are related to plasma concentrations of markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction — AJCN
• A high-fat meal induces low-grade endotoxemia: evidence of a novel mechanism of postprandial inflammation — AJCN
• Differential Effects of Cream, Glucose, and Orange Juice on Inflammation, Endotoxin, and the Expression of Toll-Like Receptor-4 and Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling-3 — NCBI
• Dietary intake of trans fatty acids and systemic inflammation in women. — NCBI
• trans Fatty acids and systemic inflammation in heart failure — NCBI
• CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid): A Detailed Review — Authority Nutrition
• Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance — NCBI
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG): a villain and promoter of liver inflammation and dysplasia. — NCBI
• Molecular Strategies for Targeting Antioxidants to Mitochondria: Therapeutic Implications — NCBI
• Why Grass-Fed Trumps Grain-Fed — Chris Kresser
• What to Do About High Cholesterol — Chris Masterjohn PhD
• Smoked food and cancer. — NCBI
• Chemicals in Meat Cooked at High Temperatures and Cancer Risk — National Cancer Institute
• Fatty acids from fish: the anti-inflammatory potential of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids — Oxford Academic

Almost all diseases or ailments stem from inflammation. This is why inflammation is thought to be the root of disease, but it’s not. This distinction makes sense when you consider the causes of inflammation.

Inflammation is a natural, healthy response to cellular damage or a natural, healthy immune response to a perceived threat. The idea that inflammation can persist without serving a purpose is a misnomer that allows the cause of disease to go unchecked and ignored. A symptom cannot be the root of disease. Chronic inflammation is a symptom.

When any part of the body is inflamed, it is either damaged and healing or damaged and deteriorating. Forget the idea that inflammation is “wrong” or “unnecessary” or that it can even get out of control. It’s not inflammation that is “out of control.” Inflammation is what brings the disease-fighting cells and the extra nutrition needed to heal damage to the site. Without inflammation, we wouldn’t heal.

What causes damage? Damage, in this case, is cell trauma. Cells malfunction due to trauma caused by an external force or from internal trauma caused by toxicity of some kind and (or) a lack of nutrition.

It’s important to note that while nutritional deficiencies are one of the main causes of cell malfunction, diet is not always to blame. Sometimes the problem is a lack of ability to absorb and assimilate nutrition due to damage from toxic foods. For example, many people consume plenty of nutrition while they also ingest way too much sugar.

Contents

• Candida Causes Inflammation

• Foods That Cause Inflammation

• Inflammation and Free Radicals

• Specific Nutrient Deficiencies Known To Cause Inflammation

• How Excess Weight Causes Chronic Inflammation

Candida Causes Inflammation

Inflammation is not the root of disease; Candida is typically the root of disease.

An overgrowth of Candida causes an imbalanced gut that cannot digest and assimilate nutrition well, and Candida burrows into the gut lining, penetrating the gut wall to allow proteins, sugars, infectious microbes, and other particles into the bloodstream.

Candida Albicans is a very opportunistic parasite. It can normally live in our intestinal tract in harmony with bacteria. “Normally,” in this case, indicates the natural way, but in today’s society, a balanced gut is far from the norm. An imbalance in the gut almost always leads to a massive overgrowth of Candida, which is very good at tearing through the intestinal walls to flood the whole body, opening the door to other infectious agents that should not escape the gut, causing infection and inflammation everywhere.

Candida and other infectious microbes cause inflammation by being properly perceived in the body as an infectious agent (when an immune response is activated) and also due to the toxins they release throughout their lifecycle.

Fungal infections and other parasitical infections cause massive amounts of toxic substances to overwhelm the body, causing cellular damage everywhere. Infection also feeds off of dead and decaying cells, and infection leads to more dead and decaying cells. It’s the epitome of a vicious cycle.

Related: Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections

Foods That Cause Inflammation

Candida flourishes when there is not enough beneficial bacteria in the gut. Candida can survive toxic substances more easily than bacteria. Candida spores are almost indestructible. When alcohol is consumed, beneficial bacteria are killed as soon as alcohol enters the gut. Candida bounces back to take over the intestinal tract, and soon invades the whole body when the gut becomes “leaky”. Toxic foods either kill beneficial bacteria due to their toxicity, or they feed Candida and other infectious microbes, which then outnumber the beneficial bacteria.

Foods that feed Candida cause inflammation by feeding Candida, but these and many other foods cause inflammation in other ways, too. Some foods have natural, and naturally beneficial inflammatory properties, like many omega 6 fats. But these fats are not “bad,” they promote the healing process.

Refined Carbohydrates

Sugars feed Candida and almost all other well-known infectious microbes as well. Almost everyone has too much sugar in their diet. In nature, sugar is harder to get. Fruit is seasonal, and in areas where people eat lots of fruits all day, their diets also included strong anti-microbial foods to keep the gut flora in check. Take papaya, for instance, which is high enough in sugar that it could lead to a gut imbalance (especially for those who don’t have the healthiest gut to begin with) if it is eaten too often. In areas of the world were people eat a lot of papaya, they also eat a lot of papaya leaves and seeds, which, among other benefits, have anti-fungal properties that offset the sugars of the fruit.

When healing the gut, it’s important to cut out sweets, including fruit juices (even fresh, slow pressed), honey (even raw), agave, brown rice syrup, and all other sweeteners with the exception of stevia.

Acid Forming Foods (Generally Refined Foods)

When fiber is removed from foods, many of the minerals that alkalinize the body and the beneficial fats are also removed.

It’s imperative to cut out all other refined carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, other refined flours, and any processed starches. They feed Candida as well, but they also are inflammatory and acidic by nature, having lost their anti-inflammatory fatty profile and alkalinity due to the processing that removed fiber. For instance, the brown part of the rice contains the fiber and anti-inflammatory properties.

GMOs and Pesticide Laden Conventional Foods

Pesticides and herbicides are designed to kill pests and microbes, and they do this in our gut as well. GMO foods that are designed to kill the “pest” or the microbe that would otherwise infect the crop will kill the good microbes in the gut, too. Candida will bounce back, along with other infectious microbes, because the gut becomes inhospitable to our naturally beneficial flora as the toxic food keeps coming in.

Factory Farmed Animal Products

Factory farmed animals are raised on genetically modified grains that are already on the inflammatory side of the spectrum, even without being genetically modified. For instance corn, wheat, oats, hay, and certain grasses are inflammatory, especially when they are not balanced with a wider variety of natural foods within the diet.

A cow, for instance, would normally eat many different kinds of grasses and other plants growing from the ground. Now, beef comes from cows that are typically feed toxic grains that they would not normally eat and lots of antibiotics. Even grass fed cows (especially from larger scale farms) are typically only given access to a very limited diet with only one or a few kinds of grasses. This lack of diversity does not meet their nutritional needs for optimum health.

Dairy has the same issues, plus pasteurization and homogenization destroy many nutrients in milk and makes proper digestion more difficult. Homogenization also changes the protein molecules.

Wheat, Bread, Gluten

If we were making bread the way we did a very long time ago, we would be using probiotic and yeast cultures to fully break down the gluten proteins before they are ingested. The flours would be processed by hand and not refined (no nutrition removed). The sugars added to make the bread would be much less refined, and the bacteria would go to work on the sugars like it does with yogurt, leaving an end product many beneficial properties.

Today, due to hybridization, there is a new kind of gluten molecule that we ingest. This gluten molecule in our wheat is more inflammatory than previous varieties. It’s not the only gluten molecule in bread, but it’s prominent, and it’s not found in ancient wheat strands.

Today’s bread is made from wheat sprayed with Round-Up and other chemicals that is then refined and processed with most of the nutrients stripped before being fortified with toxic manufactured vitamins and minerals that the body cannot properly assimilate. Then sugar is added along with other chemical ingredients like preservatives and colorings. The end result is a bread far removed from the kind of food the Bible mentions.

“Bad” Fats

Omega 6s are not all inflammatory fats or “bad” fats. Omega 6s are just as important as omega 3s. Healthy, naturally occurring “inflammatory” omega 6s, in balance with omega 3s, and 9s, help the body properly respond to injury, and consequently, to heal. An imbalance of fats causes an inflammatory response for many different reasons, including but not limited to, the natural inflammatory properties found in some fats.

On the other hand, there are “bad” fats. No, they’re not saturated fats. Most informed people know by now that coconut and avocado and plenty of other fats have tremendous healing properties and do not naturally contribute to obesity. The bad fats are commercial, highly processed fats, rancid fats, trans fats, and otherwise unnatural fats. These fats cause inflammation and contribute to every autoimmune disease.

Other Toxic Ingredients

Soy lecithin, casein, and protein isolates generally have heavy omega 6 profiles and are also very acidifying.

Excitotoxins like MSG, aspartate, and glutamates, excite nerves, damaging the nervous system.

In cells, glutamate and aspartate can be synthesized from each other. The two main food additives that are sources for excitotoxins are MSG (monosodium glutamate) and aspartame (NutraSweet). High levels of glutamate and aspartate are found naturally in protein rich foods, including very high levels in wheat gluten, and milk casein. While these amino acids are necessary for normal brain function, excess amounts of them create a wide range of bodily damage.” – Dr. Amy A. Yasko

We could go on and on about artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial flavors, preservatives, and other food additives, but the body needs whole foods to heal, not processed foods with ingredient labels.

Inflammation and Free Radicals

Inflammation causes free radicals, which damage cells and cause more inflammation.

You can picture free radicals as red-hot particles bouncing around inside a cell burning anything they come into contact with such as your DNA, cell membranes and proteins in the cytoplasm. – Evergreen Nutrition

Free radicals are created by our natural everyday functions, and they play many important roles, including the elimination of the weakest cells in the adjacent area (like infectious microbes). But too much inflammation means way too many free radicals that are overwhelming the body, impeding healing.

Specific Nutrient Deficiencies Known To Cause Inflammation

Any nutrient deficiency can cause inflammation one way or another. Two common nutrition deficiencies well known to directly cause inflammation include:

Vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency is linked to depression, pain, increased overall inflammation, an ineffective immune system, inflammatory bowel disease, many different autoimmune diseases, many forms of cancer, and so much more.

Vitamin B deficiencies (especially B6 and B12)

Vitamin B deficiencies can cause, exacerbate, and also be the result of inflammation. When the body’s digestive system isn’t healthy, B vitamin assimilation becomes more difficult, and extra B vitamins often give some almost immediate relief to those suffering from inflammation. This is especially important for anyone dealing with an abundance of stress.

How Excess Weight Causes Inflammation

Most studies that point to obesity as a cause of inflammation rely on the problems associated with obesity to show correlation to inflammation. This is problematic because the cause of the inflammation is not obesity. Inflammation is due to causal factors that leads to obesity. While a fatty liver can lead to inflammation, it’s not obesity that makes a liver fat; it’s a poor diet that makes the entire body overweight.

That said, carrying a lot of fat on the body is stressful to the body, which leads to damage, which requires repair and causes inflammation. But there are some interesting studies showing a direct cause.

We did not know fat cells could instigate the inflammatory response. That’s because for a very long time we thought these cells did little else besides store and release energy. But what we have learned is that adipocytes don’t just rely on local resident immune cells for protection… – A Mechanism by Which Fat Causes Chronic Inflammation

Chronic Anxiety

This is another chicken and egg scenario. Inflammation of the body causes a tremendous amount of stress, both physical and emotional. Chronic pain is stressful! On the other hand, chronic anxiety will leave the body in an inflammatory state as well. The two feed off of each other.

When intense anxiety has been a part of someone’s life for more than a few days, anxiety causes depleted levels of certain nutrients, like B vitamins, which are needed to get over anxiety. A deficiency in B vitamins also leads to anxiety.

Chronic anxiety eventually causes numerous nutritional imbalances, and the whole endocrine system begins to function poorly. Anyone who has been dealing with any kind of chronic stress needs to nourish and heal the thyroid, the adrenals, and the gut before inflammation will subside.

Conclusion

Whole foods, foods that have no need for an ingredients list, heal the body. There are lots of conditions that cause allergic reactions, sensitivities, or other inflammatory responses from otherwise healthy foods. For instance, someone with severe hypothyroidism may worsen with the consumption of cruciferous vegetables. The problem with eliminating whole, healthy foods in the diet is that the nutrient deficiencies that are at the cause of the problem get worse. Remove all unhealthy foods from the diet. Temporarily remove some healthier foods if you must, but add them back in as soon as you are able.

For those who are forced to breathe toxic air regularly, or live under power lines, or have other environmental issues that cause inflammation, it takes much longer to heal the body if the environmental toxins are not removed. For most people, it is doable. The body can handle a very heavy toxic load if the gut is balanced and the diet is good. Also, be sure to read How To Heal Your Gut if you’re suffering from chronic inflammation.

Recommended Supplements:

• Shillington’s Intestinal Cleanse Formula
• FloraMend Prime Probiotic – Thorne Research
• Formula SF722 – Thorne Research (kills Candida and other fungi)
• Boswellia – Pure Encapsulations (reduces inflammation and relieves pain)
• Curcumin 500 with Bioperine® – Pure Encapsulations (A powerful formula for inflammation and many other ailments)
• Arctic Cod Liver Oil with Vitamin D – Nordic Naturals
• Organic Vegan EFA Liquid (vegan-friendly fats, but not necessary if doing cod liver oil)
• Fibrenza Systemic Enzymes – (systemic enzymes eliminate fibrous, damaged tissue and foreign proteins)
• AR-Encap – Thorne Research (joint support formula)
• American Ginseng – Gaia Herbs (for inflammation, but juicing your own organic ginger is better)

Further Reading:

• Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases
• Understand Hypothyroidism – Prevention and Natural Remedies
• 80% Raw Food Diet

Sources:

• Overview of Inflammation – Oregon State University
• Could This Be the Root Cause of Inflammation and Many Modern Diseases? – Socio-Economics
• Three Hidden Ways Wheat Makes You Fat – Mark Hyman