Some foods cause inflammation and others help fight it. I have been researching foods to reduce inflammation through my diet instead of relying on ibuprofen and other drugs. The hope is if I reduce inflammation, my body can focus on healing my injury and the pain will decrease.
While researching I found conflicting information. Many foods commonly mentioned as highly anti-inflammatory did not score well or were not mentioned on this web site which rates the inflammation factor in food. For example, grapes are known for phyto-nutrients such as poly-phenolic antioxidants but they score a -28.
I still believe the other foods mentioned below help me. Therefore, I use this site only as reference and not the holy grail for inflammation. It is an easy reference to try and balance foods that are inflammatory with ones that do not. For example, I will fry a whole egg (-57) in olive oil (71) and sprinkle it with turmeric (high but not rated), salt (0), and black pepper (-1) to make it more anti-inflammatory. It tastes very good with turmeric sprinkled on top.
Positive numbers have anti-inflammatory properties. I included a breakdown for the levels below which I found on this website.
| 200 |
or |
higher |
Strongly anti-inflammatory |
| 101 |
to |
200 |
Moderately anti-inflammatory |
| 0 |
to |
100 |
Mildly anti-inflammatory |
| -1 |
to |
-100 |
Mildly inflammatory |
| -101 |
to |
-200 |
Moderately inflammatory |
| -201 |
or |
lower |
Strongly inflammatory |
I found fish oil, almonds, ginger, tumeric, pineapple, leafy greens and coconut water (-18) really made a difference in how I feel. For several months I stopped taking the fish oil since we ate wild sock-eye or king salmon at least once or twice a week and I noticed a difference. Now I try to take it once a day.
Make sure you buy mercury free cod or salmon fish oil preferably wild. I have heard the Arctic, Pacific or Alaskan fish are healthier due to pollution and industrial boat traffic in the Atlantic. Salmon fish oil has 2083 and Cod liver oil is 1137. I will be looking for salmon oil now.
On most internet sites the top foods for inflammation seem to be the following:
| Acerola Cherries: |
342 |
| Almonds: |
64 |
| Avocado: |
57 |
| Grapes: |
-28 |
| Apples: |
-9 |
| Pineapple: |
|
| Garlic raw: |
215 |
| Onions cooked: |
214 |
| Turmeric: |
|
| Ginger root: |
387 |
| Spinach Cooked: |
224 |
| Broccoli: |
60 |
| Olive oil: |
79 |
| Fish oil: |
(1137 or 2083) |
When researching nutrition and spinal issues, I came across this website eorthopod.com and found it very interesting and helpful. It reinforces eliminating foods that have high inflammatory properties.
The foods I am trying to minimize and/or balance out with good anti-inflammatory foods are dairy, gluten, empty carbohydrates like white bread, pasta, simple sugars, and tomatoes, potatoes and peppers since I have issues with joint pain. I love drinking milk and used to drink 3 to 8 glasses a day growing up so it was very hard for me remove from my diet. I now drink almond and coconut milk which has made the transition easier. Limiting gluten is becoming easier.
I hope this information about inflammation helps you too.
