It's easy to think about some disorders that are associated with inflammation such as arthritis, phlebitis, bronchitis, and wound healing; but what about diabetes, hypertension, and even some cancers? They are also affected by inflammation. |
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Inflammation comes from an injury or infection in the body. When injured, the immune system sends white blood cells to try to help repair damage. This accumulation of white blood cells in a localized area results in fluid accumulation and inflammation.
Acute inflammation vs chronic inflammation
Acute inflammation is what occurs when there is a brief injury or short-lived infection like a broken bone, poison ivy rash, or even the common cold. There is an offending external injury with a strong internal response. Acute inflammation often shows up as redness, swelling, pain, or itching. This is a product of the body focusing oxygen and white blood cells to the area in an attempt to heal the injury.
Chronic inflammation is sustained injury over weeks to months or more. Chronic inflammation is also caused by an injury to the body, but this can come from a poorly healed old injury, a sedentary lifestyle or a poor diet.2 There may still be swelling, pain or redness but there may also be fatigue, depression, anxiety and chronic disease. The responses that can help us heal faster from a broken arm are the same processes that can cause illness over time.
Inflammation and health
We should start thinking of health disorders in terms of inflammation. Because we know what inflammation is, we can take steps to minimize its effects on our long-term health. Following an anti-inflammatory diet (like the Mediterranean diet) can help counteract the detrimental effects of a sedentary lifestyle.2 Exercise can decrease long-term inflammation and help control blood sugar and cardiovascular disease.3,4
Inflammation can also be caused and exacerbated by lack of adequate sleep.5 Sleep deprivation can cause our bodies to be more chronically inflamed and at greater risk for disease. Modifying the diet to a Mediterranean style diet can help our body get better quality and quantity of sleep.6 Some of the phytochemicals that are found in abundance in the Mediterranean diet can have sedative effects on the body.6 Others may help us increase the amount of melatonin we make within our body, helping us sleep better.6
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Anti-Inflammation Action Items
- Increase anti-inflammatory foods in the diet
- Prioritize sleep
- Increase the amount of movement in your day
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Anti-inflammatory foods
- Oily fish (like salmon, sardines, and mackerel)
- Nuts and seeds
- Fruits and veggies
- Whole grains
- Olive oil
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PhytoRx Recipe: Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Chicken & Vegetables |
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Lean protein and vegetables roasted in olive oil make a healthy and hearty MED meal. Sheet pan dinners make for easy cleanup, too!
Take this recipe to the next level by incorporating purple varieties of carrots, potatoes, or cauliflower for a boost of anthocyanins.
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Buzzword Brief: Processed food |
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What is processed food?
Processed food is food that is taken from its whole food form and changed in some way.
This could mean that it has simply been flash frozen, portioned and packaged for convenience and prolonged shelf-life, or it could mean that it has been added to other ingredients to make a completely different food. We process food when we cook our meals “from scratch” and we consume pre-processed food when we eat boxed pasta meals or TV dinners. Ultra-processed food refers to the use of refined flours, added sugars and excessive salt that may contribute to disease and inflammation. But is “processed” always a bad word when we talk about food? It shouldn’t be.
Processed foods can be less healthy than consuming whole foods, but by processing foods, we can make them more delicious, more convenient, and preserved to make nutritionally beneficial foods more readily available to areas of the country (or the world) where they may not be available in any other form.
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Monique Carvahlo Templeton has just completed her PhD work at the Plants for Human Health Institute. She was studying the differences in bioavailability and bioaccessibility of polyphenols in blueberries compared to a minimally processed blueberry protein bar. Her focus was to build a model to study how phytochemicals in fruits are used and eliminated by the body. In other words, did the body “see” the health beneficial phytochemicals differently when the blueberries were “processed?”
She found evidence that the amount of bioavailable polyphenols are similar when comparing whole food blueberries to a minimally processed blueberry bar. More research is needed to evaluate different fruits and vegetables as well as different processing methods. The key takeaway is that processing may help increase the phytochemicals consumed in a day or offer another way to get these nutritious foods to the people who need them the most, especially for fresh produce that may not be shelf-stable.
Checking food nutrition labels is a great way to evaluate whether processed foods have the nutrition that we need without the added sugars, refined flours, and added fats that can make processed foods unhealthy. Look for keywords like “whole grain” when grains are in the ingredient list. Be wary of words that end in “-ose”, like “maltose” or “sucrose” that may indicate hidden sugars. Aim for less than 24 grams (or 6 tablespoons) of sugar per day and try to eliminate all trans fats from your diet.
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Citations
1. García-Montero, C., Fraile-Martínez, O., Gómez-Lahoz, A. M., Pekarek, L., Castellanos, A. J., Noguerales-Fraguas, F., ... & Ortega, M. A. (2021). Nutritional components in Western diet versus Mediterranean diet at the gut microbiota–immune system interplay. Implications for health and disease. Nutrients, 13(2), 699.
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Let's connect!
Cheri Granillo
Translational Nutrition Program Manager
704-250-5492
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