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Nutrition
Fighting inflammation with food
- By Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter
Load your meals with healthy foods that offer maximum inflammation-fighting potential.
In the fight against chronic inflammation — a state of persistent activation of the immune system — your diet is a powerful weapon. Eating healthy foods helps quiet chronic inflammation, and it benefits your health in other ways (like lowering cholesterol levels). Chronic inflammation often is seen with, and may contribute to, chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline.
Where do you find inflammation-fighting foods? They’re all part of a Mediterranean-style diet, which consists of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, lean proteins, and small amounts of dairy foods and olive oil.
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About the Author
Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter
Disclaimer:
As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.
No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
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Foods that Fight Inflammation
In this Harvard Medical School Guide you’ll be introduced to foods—more than 120 in all—that will help you turn out meals that fight inflammation and disease. You’ll learn how plant-based chemicals called phytochemicals act as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents, helping to bring down levels of inflammation and to counteract inflammation’s harmful effects. And you’ll find dozens of anti-inflammatory foods with added health benefits that include lowering cholesterol, reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and of stroke, improving blood pressure, adding protection against heart disease, and even reducing pain and soreness after exercise.
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