You may have heard inflammation is bad…
And it’s true. Too much inflammation IS bad. Short term it’s associated with brain fog & fatigue while long term it’s associated with diseases such as cancers, diabetes, heart disease, depression, etc.
So what can you do to prevent it…
Luckily, new research published in the Journal of Nutrition outlined a DIET & LIFESTYLE INFLAMMATION SCORE to help guide our decisions. This SCORE ranks foods & habits from best to worst for inflammation.
STUDY BACKGROUND
Over 30,000 participants shared the foods they ate regularly. They also shared their lifestyle habits and activity levels, and had blood work done. From analysing all of this data, a SCORE was created.
INFLAMMATION SCORE
Here’s what the researchers found for a score. These are in order from best to worst for inflammation. Note: The more negative a number, the BETTER it is for fighting inflammation; The more positive the number, the more inflammation it’s thought to cause…
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
Multi-vitamin: -0.80
Tomatoes: -0.78
Moderate drinker: -0.66
Apples & berries: -0.65
Yellow & orange produce: -0.57
Poultry: -0.45
Nuts: -0.44
Exercise >4 times/week: -0.41
Coffee & tea: -0.25
Exercise 1-3 times/week: -0.18
Fresh fruit: -0.16
Vegetables: -0.16
Leafy greens & cruciferous vegetables: -0.14
High-fat/low-fat dairy: -0.14/-0.12
Fish: -0.08
Legumes: -0.04
NEUTRAL-ISH
Red & organ meat: 0.02
INFLAMMATORY
Heavy drinker: 0.30
Other fats (margarine, veg oil): 0.31
Current smoker: 0.50
Added sugars: 0.56
Processed meats: 0.68
Refined grains: 0.72
Using these scores, I created a simple 8 point checklist to help us live a more anti-inflammatory lifestyle…
THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CHECKLIST
✨1. Eat colorful fruits and vegetables, poultry, nuts, dairy, fish, legumes.
✨2. Drink some coffee and/or tea.
✨3. Have red meat in moderation.
✨4. Limit refined grains (white flour, white bread, white pasta, etc) and added sugars (cookies, cake, candy, etc). Also limit processed meats (bacon, salami, etc) and unhealthy fats (margarine, vegetable oil, etc).
✨5. Consider taking a multiple vitamin.
✨6. Exercise 4 times per week.
✨7. If you choose to drink, cap it daily to 1 drink for women or 2 drinks for men.
✨8. Don’t smoke.
PS: Interested in diving deeper into the study? Here it is. Check out Table 1 to learn WHY each food group/lifestyle factor scored what it did.
