Marie Spano

Can You Fight Inflammation with Food?

Marie Spano, MS, RD, FISSN, CSCS

Inflammation is related to everything from heart disease to gum disease to sinusitis to acne to arthritis to muscle soreness. And, some scientists have indicated that elevated C-reactive protein (a measure of inflammation in the body) may even increase fat storage in fat cells. As if the rest weren't bad enough! Not only can inflammation increase your risk for various diseases or make them worse, but it may make your skin breakout and make you fat! Not exactly a winning combination!

"Inflammation typically manifests itself as pain, redness, swelling, and heat to the injured area (or a rise in body temperature if you're sick)."

What Is Inflammation?

Inflammation is your body's immune response to an injury, allergies, bacterial infection, virus, parasite, autoimmune disease, or anything else the body may consider foreign or harmful. It typically manifests itself as pain, redness, swelling, and heat to the injured area (or a rise in body temperature if you're sick).

Inflammation does serve a valuable purpose, however. It tells you what part of your body is hurt and needs attention. And, it may help prevent further movement and therefore damage to the area. If you can't bend your knee because it is so swollen, you won't walk much, which helps prevent you from inflicting further injury upon yourself. Finally, inflammation provides an increase in blood flow and antibodies to the damaged area to begin the repair process.

Of course, if you look at the list above about all of the causes of inflammation, you might wonder if we're sometimes in a chornic state of inflammation. And the answer is… quite possibly. And that's definitely not good!

Fortunately, nature created a little something to help us fight inflammation. As it turns out, many of the foods we love can help fight inflammation. Phew! Here's a list of several foods or food components that have anti-inflammatory properties:

1) Omega-3's

Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the best inflammation fighters around. Take a look at the simplified diagram below. While omega-6 fatty acids (common in many foods) produce pro-inflammatory eicosonoids, the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA produce anti-inflammatory eicosanoids. DHA and EPA are found primarily in fish. Another omega-3 fatty acid, ALA, is found in plant-based sources such as flaxseed oil and walnuts. While ALA is a healthy fat, when broken down by the body, it competes for enzymes with omega-6 fats. Because of this, only about 8 to 21% of ALA is converted into EPA and about 4 to 9% is converted into DHA. By the way, men are on the lower end of that conversion scale, so if you are a man and you want to fight inflammation, it's a good idea to make fish your friend!

DHA and EPA have been shown in scientific studies to decrease pro-inflammatory markers and increase anti-inflammatory markers. The best sources of EPA and DHA are fatty fish like mackerel, herring, halibut, lake trout, salmon, sardines, and anchovies. (For some absolutely delicious fish recipes, click here. If you choose to supplement instead, choose one that is enteric coated to prevent fish burps because, let's fact it, fishy breath isn't pleasant. Let your physician know about any supplement you are taking, especially omega-3's, if you plan on having surgery in the near future or if you are taking a blood thinner such as aspirin or Coumadin.

"If you are a man and you want to fight inflammation, it's a good idea to make fish your friend!"

2) Berries

After adding omega-3's to your diet, berries are your next best bet. In the winter, you can throw frozen berries into your protein shake (in a blender, of course) or simply drink juice with no added sugar. Tart cherry juice, blueberry, mixed berries, etc., are all tasty choices. One caveat: Make sure the actual type of berry or fruit is the first ingredient on the ingredients list of the juice you choose.

Berries are rich in the antioxidant pigment anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are anti-inflammatory and block Cox 1 and 2 (the same enzymes that anti-inflammatory agents target). They also limit tissue degradation, improve local circulation, and promote a strong collagen matrix.

Great sources of anthocyanins are blue, purple, and red fruits and vegetables such as:

"After adding omega-3's to your diet, berries are your next best bet."

• Acai
• Red & black legumes
• Chokeberry
• Eggplant
• Black current
• Cherries
• Red currant
• Cranberry, blueberry, huckleberry, bilberry
• Red grapes

3) Betaine- and Choline-Rich Foods

Studies show that populations with the highest choline and betaine intake have significantly lower plasma C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor—all of which are measures of inflammation in the body. So where do you find these powerful anti-inflammatories? Choline-rich foods include beef liver, chicken liver, eggs, wheat germ, bacon, dried soybeans, and pork. Betaine-rich foods include wheat bran, wheat germ, spinach, pretzels, shrimp, and wheat bread.

4) Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAA's)

"Studies conducted at the University of Georgia have shown that caffeine taken after eccentric exercise decreased delayed onset muscle soreness."

The BCAA's leucine, isoleucine, and valine mediate muscle soreness and damage. Studies have examined the effects of BCAA's on muscle damage induced by both long distance runs and resistance exercise. BCAA's have been shown to decrease markers of muscle damage in the runners and delayed onset muscle soreness after resistance training.

5) Caffeine

Most of us love caffeine to help us wake up every day. However, caffeine has a number of other interesting properties as well. Have you ever wondered why caffeine-free soda tastes different than regular soda? Well, caffeine is a flavoring agent in foods. The same is true for decaf coffee and tea.

Another interesting thing about caffeine is it may mitigate pain. Studies conducted at the University of Georgia have shown that caffeine (5 mg/kg body weight about two cups of coffee for a 120-lb female) taken after eccentric exercise decreased delayed onset muscle soreness.

How? Caffeine binds to adenosine receptors in our central nervous system. It may decrease pain levels by blocking adenosine reduced during inflammation. Caffeine taken with carbohydrates after exercise may also increase glycogen storage (though the most recent study on this used large amounts of caffeine).

Bottom Line

Try including some or all of the anti-inflammatory foods and supplements into your diet. At the very least, you'll be doing your heart and arteries a big favor! And, you may also decrease the soreness associated with intense exercise, acne blemishes, gum disease, sinusitis, and other health conditions. Along with staying lean and healthy. Now that's what I call a win-win!

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