Inflammatory foods?
determined_14
Posts: 258 Member
Help me out, people! What is the low-down about inflammation? I hear that word all the time, and I don't know what to think about it! Is it a buzz word, like when everyone was worried about candida? Or is it a thing? What causes it? What fixes it?
I had a nutritional minded acquaintance tell me today that certain foods (grains, dairy, meat) are inflammatory and others (veggies, Fruits, nuts and seeds) are not. Is there any truth to that?
Someone point me in the right direction!
I had a nutritional minded acquaintance tell me today that certain foods (grains, dairy, meat) are inflammatory and others (veggies, Fruits, nuts and seeds) are not. Is there any truth to that?
Someone point me in the right direction!
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Replies
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you might like t look up some information on youtube- I know there is an anti-inflammatory diet or eating plan-0
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Thanks. I'm not actually looking for a dietary change-- I want to know if inflammation really is the chronic problem that some people say it is, and if the above mentioned foods help or hurt.0
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If you have an actual problem, it's something to be aware of. If you don't, it's nothing to worry about. It's like the gluten thing. Some people need to avoid it, tons of others have just joined a trend.1
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@determined_14
The medical use of the word is about very specific conditions.
My doctor was running blood tests for C-reactive protein (CRP) which can indicate whether inflammation is present in the body.
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003356.htmC-reactive protein (CRP) is produced by the liver.
The level of CRP rises when there is inflammation throughout the body.
It is one of a group of proteins called "acute phase reactants" that go up in response to inflammation.
Why the Test is Performed
The CRP test is a general test to check for inflammation in the body. It is not a specific test.
That means it can reveal that you have inflammation somewhere in your body, but it cannot pinpoint the exact location.
The CRP test is often done with the ESR or sed rate test which also looks for inflammation.
You may have this test to:
Check for flare-ups of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or vasculitis.
Determine if anti-inflammatory medicine is working to treat a disease or condition.
However, a low CRP level does not always mean that there is no inflammation present.
Levels of CRP may not be increased in people with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The reason for this is unknown.0 -
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@determined_14
The medical use of the word is about very specific conditions.
My doctor was running blood tests for C-reactive protein (CRP) which can indicate whether inflammation is present in the body.
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003356.htmC-reactive protein (CRP) is produced by the liver.
The level of CRP rises when there is inflammation throughout the body.
It is one of a group of proteins called "acute phase reactants" that go up in response to inflammation.
Why the Test is Performed
The CRP test is a general test to check for inflammation in the body. It is not a specific test.
That means it can reveal that you have inflammation somewhere in your body, but it cannot pinpoint the exact location.
The CRP test is often done with the ESR or sed rate test which also looks for inflammation.
You may have this test to:
Check for flare-ups of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or vasculitis.
Determine if anti-inflammatory medicine is working to treat a disease or condition.
However, a low CRP level does not always mean that there is no inflammation present.
Levels of CRP may not be increased in people with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The reason for this is unknown.
ESR too
*edited:oops that is mentioned too1 -
This is good. It seems incomplete though. Is inflammation common, or only associated with specific problems as listed in someone else's comment above? Can you have it and not know it? I have a hip joint that is chronically a little stiff. I know that my hips are not in perfect alignment, and I get regular chiropractic care to help correct that, but is this omnipresent "inflammation" a factor? Are there certain foods that help/hurt?queenliz99 wrote: »
(I'm not seriously considering a diet change, because I don't really believe that grains and dairy are at all connected to my problem. But I do want to understand what we do and don't know, so I have answers to the evangelists. And I'm open to being wrong!)
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https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/magic-diet-not-so-much/
I'm glad the author got it right...food =/= medicine, sorry Thomas Edison0 -
determined_14 wrote: »
This is good. It seems incomplete though. Is inflammation common, or only associated with specific problems as listed in someone else's comment above? Can you have it and not know it? I have a hip joint that is chronically a little stiff. I know that my hips are not in perfect alignment, and I get regular chiropractic care to help correct that, but is this omnipresent "inflammation" a factor? Are there certain foods that help/hurt?queenliz99 wrote: »
(I'm not seriously considering a diet change, because I don't really believe that grains and dairy are at all connected to my problem. But I do want to understand what we do and don't know, so I have answers to the evangelists. And I'm open to being wrong!)
Inflammation is the body's normal reaction to injury so it is usually not a problem. Usually it is pretty evident when you have an inflammatory disease as you are usually very ill. This inflammation is not caused by diet per say but from things like an overactive immune system in autoimmune diseases.2 -
Only way to know if you can help alleviate inflammation is an elimination diet. Cut out the usual suspects then add them back one at a time and see how your body reacts. Some people cannot tolerate Omega 6 fatty acids, some can't eat anything from the nightshade family, others have to do away with grains, etc. Each instance will be related to a specific food allergy or intolerance. I know wheat makes me ill. Bloated and in severe pain because of IBS-C0
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I wonder if your friend was referring to foods that can cause the body to bloat and not inflametory conditions caused by food, hummm
In healthy adults food that is vleaned and handled properly shouldn't cause inflammation, but some will cause the body to retain water.
Some athletes will carb cycle, cut out dairy, and eat very specific types of meats to reduce water retention in hopes of getting into a low weight class and other reasons.
When it comes to anti inflametory however food is medicine. You can use turmeric, ginger, and more as anti inflametory agents and ppl like me who react negatively to prescription meds use them in concentrated amounts when we have pain or see that part of our body is inflamed.
Good luck hun0 -
Chiropractor and inflammatory foods...
Your hips are probably fine no matter what the quack chiropractor says.
Why do so many people fall for this stuff.....3 -
I have no idea if an anti inflammatory diet is a real thing or not. A year and a half ago I was eating ibuprophen and naproxen like candy because I hurt all over. All. The. Time. I started seeing a new Dr who suggested eliminating alcohol because it causes inflammation. I promptly ignored his advice. Fast foreward a year and a half, during which I joined mfp, cleaned up my diet and (mostly) eliminated/cut down processed sugar and alcohol simply because they are unnecessary calories. One day I woke up and realized I don't hurt anymore. Even on my busiest work days. I haven't taken a pill except for tbe rare headache in months.
Is it due to changes in diet? Weight loss? I have no idea but I am thankful for the improvement and am not going back to my old ways!2 -
Inflammation is the normal body response to injury that ultimately promotes healing. It begins with the release of vasoactive and chemoactive factors like histamine, prostaglandins, and interleukins, which will help to promote vasodilation (the diameter of blood vessels local to the injury increasing), increased capillary permeability (it's easier for white blood cells to leave the capillaries and go to the injured area), and white blood cells going to the area to clear it of any potential pathogens or dead cells. The local effects of inflammation are redness (due to vasodilation), swelling (due to the histamine release causing increased capillary permeability), warmth (because of vasodilation),pain (due to the prostaglandin release), and loss of function (which will promote healing). Systemic effects include fever, lethargy, occasionally increased levels of white blood cells, and increased erythrocyte (red blood cell) sedimentation rate and increased c-reactive protein. With chronic inflammation, the signs and symptoms may be less itnense.
In terms of food directly causing inflammation, the only things that come into my head right now are the following:- Severe food allergies that cause anaphylaxis. Person eats a food they're allergic to, those molecules bind to basophils (white blood cells) which then go into histamine release overload. Histamine is a vasodilator, so the blood vessels around the neck area may increase, which could decrease the diameter of the trachea/larynx and cause restriction of air (plus many other signs and symptoms that occur due to the inflammation response).
- Celiac disease. Person eats something containing gluten, the immune system freaks out and starts destroying the villi of the small intestine. This could result in things like diarrhea, gas, fatigue, and malabsorption of nutrients (which can then lead to weight loss and/or failure to thrive)
- Though this might be a far-stretch, if someone has an estrogen-feeding cancer (think breast cancer), consuming high-estrogen foods (soy products) may help to fuel the growth of that cancer (I haven't done much research into this, and this was a passing comment in one of my pharmacology lectures, so I'm not 100% certain of the pathology).
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I assure you that my hips are not fine. The right one is stiff and sore chronically and on an x-Ray, they are clearly not aligned correctly. Chiropractic is a perfectly legitimate treatment for *some* issues.Chiropractor and inflammatory foods...
Your hips are probably fine no matter what the quack chiropractor says.
Why do so many people fall for this stuff.....
And I do not believe what I was told about inflammatory foods; just came here to see if I could gather more complete information for curiosity's sake. So I haven't "fallen" for anything.
Did you even read the rest of this thread?2 -
To all the others, thanks for chiming in! I appreciate the info.
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I have arthritis. Yes, it does work.0
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I often hear the term "anti-inflammatory" foods used to refer to foods that contain antioxidants, which help eliminate the free radicals that can lead to cancer. I believe it is true that some foods are more oxidizing (contribute to the formation of free radicals and therefore increase risk of chronic diseases) than others. I don't know enough about the physiology to know if this is directly related to the inflammatory process.
Interested to hear more info on it from others.0 -
Run it by your doctor and see what s/he says. There's a lot of woo-woo online masquerading as real medical info. If you do have a food related condition, you'll want good medical information to guide you.0
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That said, if you want an ANTI inflammatory food ingredient, eat or encapsulate turmeric daily. It's been medically proven. You need to have it along with a healthy fat because the curcumin in it is fat soluble. By all means run that by your doctor as well.1
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Yes. woo-woo abounds.
A friend has done great on the Paleo AIP. Her skin condition, weight, energy, mood, hair texture - all better. But she retired at the same time! so I am thinking that might have had something to do with getting better.
On the other hand, an elimination diet an immunologist put my then 2 year old son on solved the mystery of his health problems fairly quickly - an allergy to milk that was making him (and his parents) miserable.0 -
I think this is really an individual thing and people respond differently to different foods. In my case, life long sinus issues mean I react badly to dairy despite not having an allergy (my sinuses cling to something in the dairy and it blocks my airways if I have too much) and a few years ago I had a bout of stomach bugs which have led to a sensitivity to spicy food and certain fruits which I used to be able to eat by the bucket load. I have been reading books around microbes in the gut and how to help them thrive so I can hopefully enjoy spices again (yes, science books written by scientists for you pernickerty folk). What I'm saying is that I believe we each respond to foods based on our own circumstances and there is not a one size fits all approach towards reactions experienced.1
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Stay away from those Flamin' Hot Cheetos.1
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