EATING AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET: THE SCIENTISTS’ VIEW

Type “anti-inflammatory” into Amazon, and you’ll be confronted with thousands of books, each promising to curb inflammation by making better food choices. What most of these books have in common is the picture on their cover: usually of colourful fruits and vegetables; olive oil; whole grains and nuts; possibly some salmon; and a glass of red wine.

“If I was to write a book on the Mediterranean diet, I would have that exact same picture,” says Philip Calder, a nutritional immunologist at the University of Southampton. “There isn’t a magic anti-inflammatory diet; an anti-inflammatory diet is a generally healthy diet.”

Omega-3 fatty acids in oily fish and polyphenols found in some fruit and vegetables, red wine and olive oil help control inflammation in several ways, including by maintaining a beneficial balance of fats in the outer membranes of our cells, particularly our immune cells.

Polyphenols reduce inflammation by acting as antioxidants.

The daily influx of fats and sugars is associated with an inflammatory response that lasts several hours, in part, because metabolizing them generates free radicals which cause cellular damage. Antioxidants mop them up. Polyphenols also interfere with the production of inflammatory molecules by immune cells.

Of course, another benefit of a healthy diet is that it helps you reduce body fat — another potent source of inflammation. “Diet, exercise, healthy lifestyle, minimizing stress, getting enough sleep; all of these things are beneficial at the molecular level and the cellular level, as well as just making you feel a lot better,” says Lynne Cox, a biochemist at the University of Oxford.