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how diet and supplements can work together to manage chronic inflammation
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the mediterranean diet is widely considered the most anti-inflammatory because of its plant-based and whole foods-first approach.
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this article was produced by the healthing editorial team with the support of a grant from aquaomega. while aquaomega made the production of this article possible, they did not have any editorial influence or control over the content, including review prior to publication.
inflammation is an important physiological response. when you cut yourself, get injured or even catch a cold, the body ramps up inflammation to signal that something has gone wrong and it needs fixing. this acute inflammation supports the healing process.
but when inflammation becomes long-term and systemic, often referred to as a chronic inflammatory response, your immune system remains activated even when it shouldn’t be, leading to potential damage to healthy tissues and organs over time.
while specific forms of inflammatory conditions or other health issues marked by chronic inflammation may require more in-depth medical intervention, diet and supplements can play a significant role in helping the body combat chronic inflammation.
the damage done by chronic inflammation
when a person experiences chronic inflammation, damage at the cellular level can lead to various issues. if it goes on unchecked for years, the body begins to feel the effects. for example, if inflammation affects the metabolic system, it can lead to insulin resistance and high blood sugar, along with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
it can also contribute to the onset of inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) by affecting the gut lining and microbiome.
the bigger issue is that chronic inflammation, left to its own devices, may cause health issues, but these issues can also perpetuate more chronic inflammation, leading to a vicious cycle of declining health for the person experiencing it.
“all systems in our body are interconnected in some way,” said dr. christine cho-d’souza, a naturopathic doctor with the
pain and wellness centre in vaughan, ont. “our brain controls lots of what we do, so that when our body is perceiving a threat because of a chronic pain situation or chronic inflammatory state, then it’s going to do a lot of different things.”
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eventually, she notes, sleep will be disrupted, which leads to mood disruptions, then less daily movement, which could cause weight gain and high blood sugar and poorer food choices, which can encourage more inflammation. and the wheel simply keeps on spinning.
foods that help and foods to limit
when it comes to eating to lower inflammation, it isn’t about sticking to one specific plan. rather, it’s about learning which foods support healing and lower inflammation, and which can make things worse.
“there are certain types of diets and anti-inflammatory diets and things like that that can sometimes be helpful in changing how your body’s responding to the inflammation that’s happening,” said dr. cho-d’souza. “[it] isn’t necessarily one really specific standardized diet, but there are a few patterns and tenets within what an anti-inflammatory diet might look like.”
the mediterranean diet, for example, is known to be anti-inflammatory because of the specific foods people eat and the ones they avoid or limit. this type of diet is full of “staples” including colourful fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and plant-based foods.
dr. cho-d’souza notes that plant-based proteins high in fibre are also part of a good anti-inflammatory diet. fish is another food that fits an anti-inflammatory diet because it provides omega-3s, a nutrient many canadians do not get enough of.
“really, the most common staples are high fibre, low refined sugar, high-quality fats that include omega-3s like fish, and some plant-based fats as well, like olive oil, sometimes walnuts and almonds, that kind of thing,” she said.
as she noted, refined sugar is one food to limit, along with dairy and certain grains, depending on how a person tolerates them. excess alcohol use, red meat and ultra-processed foods should also be avoided or limited because they can fuel inflammation rather than help reduce it.
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supplements shouldn’t replace diet
supplements are a great way to get certain nutrients that can combat inflammation if you don’t get enough through diet, such as omega-3s, “more commonly in your fish oil supplements.”
“those have a lot of evidence supporting their anti-inflammatory effects,” said dr. cho-d’souza.
another well-studied option is curcumin, which is the anti-inflammatory ingredient found in turmeric. studies have also investigated the effects of vitamin d and c, as well as ginger, as potential anti-inflammatory supplements and found they are all viable options for improving systemic, chronic inflammation.
it’s much easier to get vitamins c and d naturally, though, because you can eat foods or spend time outdoors to meet your daily needs that way. however, some supplements may be more potent than eating the foods that contain their anti-inflammatory properties.
“i don’t think you can really eat enough ginger to get the constituent that you need in high amounts of it to actually make it analgesic,” said dr. cho-d’souza.
other potential options dr. cho-d’souza recommends include devil’s claw, skullcap and pea. however, just going out to a health food store and buying these supplements isn’t recommended.
“the issue with supplementation is that oftentimes, the therapeutic dosage that’s cited in research is not actually what’s being prescribed or used,” she said. “you may need several grams of something, but then each capsule might only be 200 milligrams … no one’s going to take 10 capsules of something, right? so, it’s sort of finding the right products using companies that can back up their products, do third-party analyses, that kind of stuff.”
people also need to be aware of potential interactions that can occur between other supplements or medications they may be taking, or side effects that can occur. for example, if you want to take something that affects the way the liver metabolizes drugs, the new supplement could interfere with medication you’re already on and need.
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because you can never truly predict how a supplement will interact with your current health, lifestyle and medications or other supplements you’re taking “it’s important to always discuss with the prescribers what the best way to take things are, if you should avoid things completely.”
it’s also important to note that if you believe you’re experiencing chronic inflammation, seeing a doctor before at-home treatment with supplements should always be your first step toward fighting back. you can always eat anti-inflammatory foods during that time, but supplementation is a bit of a different story.
“it’s always good to check with your health-care provider to see what the cause actually is because … many things can happen when you’re in that chronic phase, so it’s a good idea to get other investigations. maybe you need imaging, maybe you need some blood tests,” said dr. cho-d’souza.
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