Anti-Inflammatory Foods: A Plain List, and What to Eat Less Of

An anti-inflammatory diet is a way of eating, not a single food or a product. The foods most often named are tomatoes, olive oil, green leafy vegetables, nuts, fatty fish and fruit such as berries, cherries and oranges. The foods to limit are refined carbohydrates, fried foods, sugar-sweetened drinks, red and processed meat, and margarine, shortening and lard.¹

No one food switches inflammation off. Harvard Health’s advice is to “aim for an overall healthy diet,” and it points to the Mediterranean diet as the eating plan that follows these ideas most closely.¹

The list: foods to eat more of

• Tomatoes
• Olive oil
• Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale and collards
• Nuts, such as almonds and walnuts
• Fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines
• Fruit, such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries and oranges

That is the list as Harvard Health gives it.¹ The Mediterranean diet it recommends is wider: high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fish and healthy oils.¹

Foods to eat less of

• Refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and pastries
• French fries and other fried foods
• Soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks
• Red meat (burgers, steaks) and processed meat (hot dogs, sausage)
• Margarine, shortening and lard

Harvard Health’s wording is to “avoid or limit these foods as much as possible.”¹ Limit is the workable word. A list of forbidden foods is hard to live with.

What breakfast, lunch and dinner can look like

These are examples built around the foods on the list, not a prescription:

• Breakfast: eggs with spinach and tomatoes cooked in olive oil, or plain yogurt with blueberries and walnuts.
• Lunch: a large salad of leafy greens with sardines or salmon, olive oil and an orange on the side.
• Dinner: baked salmon, greens cooked in olive oil, and a whole grain.
• Between meals: a handful of almonds, or cherries when they are in season.

How to start without overhauling your kitchen

1. Add before you take away. Put one food from the first list on your plate at each meal for two weeks. Nothing has to leave yet.
2. Change one drink. Swap one soda or sweetened coffee a day for water or unsweetened tea.
3. Change the cooking fat. Use olive oil where you now use margarine or shortening.
4. Move fish onto the weekly plan. Canned sardines and salmon count, and they keep.

What food can and cannot do

Food is one contributor among several. Sleep, stress, blood sugar and digestion all play a part, which is why diet alone sometimes disappoints. That wider picture is in Low-Grade Inflammation: The Quiet Fire.

Claims that a drink or a food will “flush out” inflammation in days are not supported by the source used here, and this page makes no such promise. Joint pain, swelling, lasting fatigue and other ongoing symptoms have many possible causes. See your doctor about them before changing your diet to manage them.

Working with Maria

Maria Zilka is a nutritional therapy practitioner in Beaverton, Oregon, seeing clients in person and by secure video. She helps people turn a list like this one into meals that fit their kitchen, budget and digestion, alongside their medical care. Read more about inflammation and food sensitivities, or request an appointment.

Sources

1. Harvard Health Publishing, “Foods that fight inflammation”. health.harvard.edu

Maria Zilka, NTP
Maria has practiced nutritional therapy for more than fifteen years. Her work centers on the nervous system, digestion and chronic inflammation. She sees clients in person in Beaverton, Oregon, and by secure video. More about Maria