Anyone Have Success With An Anti-Inflammatory Diet?

My family is just starting this plan, due to my joint pain, husband's blood pressure and daughter's asthma. It will be interesting to see how it goes! There does not seem to be a good consensus on what an anti-inflammatory diet is according to the books I have researched, so we will follow a plan similar to the one posted by Miasapearl. It makes sense to me. The hardest part, of course, will be cutting out the sweets!

Be careful with commercial diet books especially if written by journalists/ health writers/ alternative therapists, they frequently 'bastardise' healthy eating regimes which have their roots in research/ healthcare/ medicine, the GI diet is a prime example (system invented for diabetics not to sell weight loss books and supplements). It's not at all difficult to manipulate the official healthy eating guidelines to an anti inflammatory diet that supplies a balance of all the nutrients needed for optimum health, the guidelines being minimums and maximums. There is tons of scientific information on reputable and (relatively) independent websites like universities, governments, UK National Health Service, charities and other non profit organisations, World Health Organisation. if you go for a book look carefully at the publishing house, author's credentials (renowned dietician, consultant doctor or research fellow ideally), how many research papers are referenced, date of publication since new research is out all the time.

Having said that be aware you do not have to be perfect - get your sugary/ processed/ white refined/ processed/ junk down to 10% of daily calories, up your intake of oily fish (ideally daily or a supplement), low sugar fruit and non starchy vegetables to nine servings a day, and you should already be massively reducing the inflammation factor of your diet without doing anything controversial or unsustainable. Obviously be sure you are also eating enough other lean protein, healthy fats and mineral/ fibre rich whole foods, when you have done that for a few weeks you can start adjusting further: hopefully you will change for life so it doesn't ALL have to start this week, you can take baby steps so you know what is working and what is not.

I agree! Very good advice.

when i was at my heaviest i hurt in every joint i had in my body .. i had every problem in the world you could think of. after i lost 80 lbs all them aches and pains went away... however i did research on foods that fight inflammation and i incorporated those foods in to my diet . i swear by berries and dark cherries. you can buy them frozen in the store and they last longer naturally. i put them in my nonfat plain greek yogurt or my protein shakes. i try to have at least 1-2 servings a day. i also make sure i have omega 3s in my diet . chia seeds , milled flax seed, flax seed oil, olive oil and coconut oil are great sources if you dont like fish. whether those foods helped or not remains to be seen.it couldve been just the weight loss who did it . i can tell you one thing though i feel way better than i ever did

When you exercise (especially with weight lifting) the muscles inflame. So why would you want to inhibit that? Doubt it works anyway. You can eat to reduce free radicals by diet, but I haven't seen any conclusive evidence by clinical study that an anti inflammation diet truly works.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

With all due respect, you may be very well educated in kickboxing and exercise, etc, but apparently you are not educated well enough in the area of nutrition to understand the damage that long term inflammation can do to the body. Temporary water retention in the muscles after a workout is necessary, or course, as well as temporary inflammation after any injury, to bring needed fluids to the injured area. However, when the inflammation remains and becomes chronic, it can cause a lot of damage to organs, joints and other tissues.

There is quite a lot of reputable research on the effects of long term inflammation in the body, and how adding or eliminating certain foods can help reduce chronic inflammation.

Please don't immediately dismiss ideas simply because they don't apply to you in your current situation. Thank you.

I googled black cherries and inflammation and found this on Livestrong. I am going to try to find the capsules.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/500802-black-cherry-benefits-for-arthritis/

Cherries and Inflammation

Black cherry can help reduce arthritic inflammation, according to a study published by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in 2004. Participants were asked to abstain from cherries, fruit, strawberries and red wine two days before the start of the study. During the study, participants were fed a bowl of 45 cherries for breakfast; blood inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein and nitric oxide, were then tracked. C-reactive protein levels increase with arthritic inflammation, and nitric oxide is thought to damage arthritic joints. Three hours after cherry intake, levels of both C-reactive protein and nitric oxide within the bloodstream decreased, indicating lower levels of inflammation in the participants.
Gout

In the study conducted by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the effect of black cherries on gout was analyzed. Since uric acid levels are strongly associated with gout, the urate levels of the participants were tracked. Plasma urate levels dropped significantly within five hours after cherry consumption, and urate levels within the urine increased. Cherry intake may help reduce your risk of developing gout by stimulating the excretion of excess uric acid.
Cherry Intake

It is not necessary to eat 45 cherries for breakfast as the participants in the Agricultural Research Service study did. Eating six cherries each day, or even taking cherry concentrate or extract, may be enough to help your arthritis or keep gout at bay. Cherry concentrate is available as a capsule. The benefits of cherries may also be derived from health bars; just read the label to see how much cherry a bar contains. Before increasing your intake of cherries or using a supplement, consult with your physician regarding safety for your condition.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/500802-black-cherry-benefits-for-arthritis/#ixzz2Gl0w0ENd

Yes, I did. But it was by accident. I was having a lot of joint pain. Dr. had run tests for arthritis and they came back neg so he said it was imflammation. I found black cherry juice helped a lot, but then I wanted to lose weight so I started a diet. I said that if the pain got too bad, I would just have to go back on the cherry juice (which was probably 300 calories a day), I wanted a quick start to the diet so for the first week all I had was adkins shakes and salads. Miracle of miracles, by the end of the week the pain was gone. All of it, for the first time in probably 3 years. I managed to lose 22 pounds, and then gain it back. The inflammation has come back a little, but nothing like it was before. I can't explain it. The only thing that I have not resumed since is diet soft drinks. I don't know if that was the problem, or whether it was something else. But it the pain comes back I will go back on nothing but the Atkins and salads again. Anyone who has not dealt with constant pain doesn't understand how i affects every aspect of your life. I hope you find something that works for you.

A friend with a bad case of arthritis is really careful about not eating ANY nightshade family foods and her pain almost goes away. Just one little tomato or a bit of potato and her pain flairs back up again. It works for her!!!

bump

When you exercise (especially with weight lifting) the muscles inflame. So why would you want to inhibit that? Doubt it works anyway. You can eat to reduce free radicals by diet, but I haven't seen any conclusive evidence by clinical study that an anti inflammation diet truly works.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

With all due respect, you may be very well educated in kickboxing and exercise, etc, but apparently you are not educated well enough in the area of nutrition to understand the damage that long term inflammation can do to the body. Temporary water retention in the muscles after a workout is necessary, or course, as well as temporary inflammation after any injury, to bring needed fluids to the injured area. However, when the inflammation remains and becomes chronic, it can cause a lot of damage to organs, joints and other tissues.

There is quite a lot of reputable research on the effects of long term inflammation in the body, and how adding or eliminating certain foods can help reduce chronic inflammation.

Please don't immediately dismiss ideas simply because they don't apply to you in your current situation. Thank you.

I didn't reply out of disrespect. If there is any peer reviewed clinical study showing an anti inflammatory diet actually reduces chronic inflammation, I'm open to read and research it. That's all.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I'm thumbs up for an anti-inflamatory diet. I avoid diary, gluten, and sugar... having very little each day. Also avoid the nightshade vegetables and I can see a big difference in how I feel. Very little joint pain. I also find that when I eat like this my blood pressure is nice and low without any medication. My doctor strongly encourages me to eat this way! I also use the spices such as ginger, turmeric and cumin which are considered anti-inflammatory herbs and incorporate them into recipes!

Sounds very interesting. I avoid most of those and a few extras as I have alot of inflammation in the glands which cause pain. I find if I sway from it, I pay dearly for it. So my suggestion is try it for yourself if you feel like it will give some relief. Some people will never have the pain you may be experiencing. Myself proof only comes from those who have experienced it first hand, not in some scientific mumbo jumbo paper that has been slanted either way for proof.