Anti -inflammatory diet

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Hi,
I am doing some personal research into the Anti-inflammatory diet and tracking foods inflammatory (IF) rating along with my calorie tracking. Has anyone else done this? How did it work for you in reducing pain, inflammation and/or managing your illness...?
I am early in my research and reading the book The Inflammation Free Diet Plan by Monica Reinagel as well as the Anti- inflammatory Zone Diet by Dr. Sears. Do you have books/resources that you recommend?
I would love to hear your thoughts or experiences with this sort of eating plan.
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Replies

  • dixiech1ck
    dixiech1ck Posts: 769 Member
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    I would love to know this as well. I suffer from psoriatic arthritis. It's worse in the winter time and the last two days have been unbearable. The pain is out of control. The humidity as well as the cold affects my joints so I know the pain is tied to this. I signed up for Track and React on my phone through the Arthritis Foundation but have not a clue how to use it.

    I did read that Tart Cherry Juice (in 12oz per day doses) is supposed to be good. Trader Joe's sells it at $3.99 a bottle. I also heard celery root seed help (you can pick up at Whole Foods) and obviously glucoasamine and chondroitin. I stopped drinking anything with caffeine because that's an aggravator.
  • verzinoviolet
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    So far this eating plan has proven to be very complex. There is no easy way to know if a food is inflammatory or not. I have cross referenced many sources and there does not seem to be consensus on what foods are inflammatory and what foods are anti-inflammatory. There is little scientific evidence to back any of it. What they all seem to agree on is that eating more cold water fish and getting more Omega 3 fatty acids may be beneficial. Here is an article about fish oil
    http://www.nature.com/news/fish-oil-supplement-research-remains-murky-1.11484
    The Inflammation Free Diet Plan book that I mentioned above seems like it is based on good evidence as it uses databases such as the USDA National Nutrition Database and Glycemic Index Research Institute of Sydney in conjunction with the nutritional components and preparation of each food to assign it an inflammatory rating. Dr. Andrew Weil has an anti-inflammatory food pyramid that I find interesting http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02995/Dr-Weil-Anti-Inflammatory-Food-Pyramid.html
    I was hoping to find good scientific evidence to back my choice, but there have just not been enough studies to confirm or deny the benefits.
    Even so, I don't feel that this will hurt me nutritionally and may have benefits worth the trial and error. I think starting small and making a few changes at a time is the right choice for me. I have began taking fish oil supplements and I am going to try to add more fish in my diet. I am also going to try to cut some of the foods touted as the most inflammatory from my diet while increasing foods that have been touted to have anti-inflammatory effects. If you find a plan that works for you, I'd love to hear about it.
    I saw that Acerola cherries are rated as highly anti-inflammatory. I may check out that Trader Joe's juice. Thanks for the suggestion :)
  • verzinoviolet
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    I am sorry that your arthritis has been painful in these last few days. I hope you feel better soon :) I am trying to keep autoimmune issues at bay right now as well. I haven't heard of the Track and React from the Arthritis Foundation? It sound interesting. Is it for your i-phone?
  • verzinoviolet
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    I would love to know this as well. I suffer from psoriatic arthritis. It's worse in the winter time and the last two days have been unbearable. The pain is out of control. The humidity as well as the cold affects my joints so I know the pain is tied to this. I signed up for Track and React on my phone through the Arthritis Foundation but have not a clue how to use it.

    I did read that Tart Cherry Juice (in 12oz per day doses) is supposed to be good. Trader Joe's sells it at $3.99 a bottle. I also heard celery root seed help (you can pick up at Whole Foods) and obviously glucoasamine and chondroitin. I stopped drinking anything with caffeine because that's an aggravator.
    I looked up the Track and React what a neat resource!
  • dixiech1ck
    dixiech1ck Posts: 769 Member
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    Sorry, I do MFP by phone which doesn't have the community section. But yes, it's an app for Android and IPhone. I'm still trying to figure it all out. It's a bit time consuming.
  • Tall_E
    Tall_E Posts: 182 Member
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    I'm so glad you're bringing this up as I've also been reading a lot about inflammation, nutrition and its role in pain and illness. I'd love to become friends so we can support each other on this. I recommend you read "The China Study" by Campbell and Campbell and check out http://www.trivita.com/Web/default.aspx for info on Nopalea which has anti-inflammatory properties. I'm going to look for the book you're reading. I've already found that eating a vegan diet has had a positive effect on my pain and energy levels and eating raw foods even more. So please consider becoming pals.
  • Tall_E
    Tall_E Posts: 182 Member
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    How do you track the inflammatory properties of what you eat? Is there a chart or rating you use? I'd love to do this too.

    One of the reasons I've completely eliminated animal flesh and virtually eliminated sugar and dairy from my diet is because of their inflammatory properties. I'd still like to track the rest of what I eat because I'm sure there's other things that contribute inflammation.
  • dyannajoy
    dyannajoy Posts: 466 Member
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    I have eliminated all grains except flaxseed, and only eat lower carb veggies. And no processed foods. My pain levels went
    waaaaaayyyyy down almost immediately! Good luck! Dyanna:flowerforyou:
  • Amazon_Who
    Amazon_Who Posts: 1,092 Member
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    bump
  • lhulewsky
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    I've been reading a lot too and am taking small steps to change my diet. I have had intense pain over the past several months (more than usual) and I'm hoping a shift in my eating will help. I'm moving toward a vegan diet. Not there yet but making steps. Caffeine is a major trigger. It has been difficult for me to eliminate the caffeine but I am working on it. Thanks for the information you have all shared...
  • swfloridagal
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    Thanks for the topic and thanks for sharing everybody. I saw real evidence on the correlation between meat and cancer and other chronic diseases. I have the film "Forks over Knives" and leafed through "The China Study" which gave me enough evidence to cut way back on processed "anything with a face on it". I haven't eliminated it completely but limit it to only one meal a day and only a few days a week. This is signifcant progress from where I started back in May.

    I have been reading a lot on Dr Joel Furhman's website and got his book "Eat to Live" where he has coined the term "nutrarian", meaning eat for nutrition sake instead of for pleasure. He then put out other books on how to do both. I take fish oil supplements and am on significant immune suppresant drugs as well as steroids.

    In conjunction with my statin drugs, my cardiologist suggested I take 3 fish oil EPA/DHA supplements a day and eat flaxseed, walnuts or chia seeds daily. However, Dr Oz did a show saying the newest studies don't support continued use of the EPA supplements as earlier reports suggested. Instead, the Cleveland Clinic Integrative Medicine Dept along with Oz put out this statement: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/ should-you-be-taking-omega-3s


    My food plan has been to refrain from processed foods. Mostly i'm eating whatever comes out of the ground (both raw and cooked) but not entirely unprocessed. For example, I switched to almond milk from cow's milk. It comes out of the ground but it's processed. Brown rice and other grains are "processed" because its washed and dried and packaged.

    i have been living with chronic pain from a severe car wreck and have lupus and fibromyalgia along with a few other things that cause pain. I haven't noticed much pain relief from switching my diet, but like othes have said, I do notice more energy and a more posititve outlook on life overall.... which of course helps everything feel better. My pain level is exactly the same however. Some days are better than others.

    I asked my Rheumatologist if reducing processed carbs and sugar is helpful to reduce inflammation. He said he doesn't have any studies to support it, but mentioned that he had 3 patients that same week who reported lower levels of pain after eliminating flour, sugar and processed wheat. That was enough for me to give it a try and thats how I got started on losing weight. Lately they have been creeping back into my food plan and I'm glad for this opportunity to tighten my belt and stop that old behavior! Its gonna be tough through the holidays. I keep tell myself that Thanksgiving is only one day and Xmas is only one day.... I can handle THAT!!!
  • mom2ericm
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    Spices help: I'm brand new to MFP, a New Years Resolution after I noticed an extreme increase in pain following a flare. I have seen Dr. OZ talk about the anti-inflamatory properties of certain spices. He suggests Curry Powder, Pepper, Cinnamon, Cumin and others that I can't remember. They seem to be the "warm" spices. I have just added these to my daily diet and will let you know.
  • MountainMamaMarissa
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    Thanks for posting this topic. I'm new here to this group and looking forward to reading more about anti-inflammatory foods. I am 41 years old and was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 30. I injured my back and neck in a fall and have herniated discs. I also have gouty arthritis and have definitely noticed there are trigger foods that can cause a flare up. I've lost 40 pounds so far and have at least 40 more to go. Here's a link to my 'halfway' there post : http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/874417-half-way-there-40-pound-loss-photo

    I am feeling a flare up coming on - which is my own fault, as I've been having too much sugar and bread this week. I bought a bag full of broccoli today and I will definitely be having some for dinner. Thanks for the info!
  • annepage
    annepage Posts: 585 Member
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    bump.
  • Kxgz
    Kxgz Posts: 198 Member
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    I am on day 3 of Whole30 in hopes that I will see a difference in my pain levels. Dealing with spinal arthritis and some other fun stuff and the pain is just out of control. I am also reading up about tart cherry juice, supplements and extracts. Anyone have success with the tart cherry or the Whole30?
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    So now that you're in to your Whole30 a couple of weeks how is it going? Are you noticing a decrease in pain or anything? I know food impacts my pain levels so I'm always trying to be aware of how I feel after eating. I recently learned that potatoes hate me. If I eat them it's like someone beat me up and my entire body feels achy, sore and bruised. It comes on pretty fast too, within a couple of hours. A friend asked me if I had tried organic potatoes as the non organic are notoriously filled with whatever was sprayed on them while growing. I will admit I hurt SO bad eating potatoes I haven't been able to bring myself to test out the organic theory. Maybe someday I'll get brave and try it.
  • Kxgz
    Kxgz Posts: 198 Member
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    Today is week 2 of Whole30 and I am actually having pizza today, so 30 days solid is not happening. I don't think I find my pain levels changed due to the Whole30. It has only been 2 weeks but for sure there has not been drastic difference in pain. My eating before was pretty clean but not entirely so this way of eating for me wasn't a huge change. I am going to continue eating in this way tho with adding organic dairy and maybe some other small changes. I would think the Whole30 would be great for someone that is ready to make some serious changes in their eating, going from horribly over processed foods to good, healthy food. Also, I did not lose any weight over the 2 weeks.
  • xstarxdustx
    xstarxdustx Posts: 591 Member
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    bump.
  • Becka77
    Becka77 Posts: 284 Member
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    I just downloaded the Track and React app, thanks for that tip. I had a really bad flare-up last summer and I tried an anti-inflammatory diet. It did help but it wasn't instant. I try to incorporate anti-inflammatory foods on a regular basis.

    During my flare-up which was going past 2 months, I did some research for natural anti-inflammatories and found Nopal which is prickly pear cactus. I take the capsule form. It worked rather quickly and within 4 days my pain was starting to go away. it was a life saver for me. It is supposed to help with other things too including blood sugar. it's worth researching if you are looking for a natural supplement.

    I still take it although I don't take it daily, just as needed. Fortunately I have been able to manage my pain with mostly natural methods so far. I have refused all the meds the doctors have tried to force on me. I'm just not ready to go that route yet, as I believe pharmaceuticals cause more harm than good, but I won't get on that soapbox right now.

    I do keep a Rx for Lortab on hand for those days I just can't handle the pain and I have to have something, like when I travel.
  • xstarxdustx
    xstarxdustx Posts: 591 Member
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    Cactus....very intriguing. Going to look into it. Thanks.