Avoiding Inflammatory Foods Might Be Good For Your Mental Health

I stumbled upon the anti-inflammatory diet in 2012 through a close friend who was fighting cancer. His doctors had recommended this diet to him. To support him I changed to this diet as well. We studied Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Eating Plan and created meals based on the foods recommended on this plan. Soon I noticed how these foods also helped keep my moods and mental health in a balance.

Since then, many studies have linked symptoms and signs of chronic inflammation to mental health instability and that following an anti-inflammatory diet can reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and hearing threatening voices.

How bad is inflammation?

It is important to know, that inflammation is not all bad. In fact, inflammation plays an important role in keeping you healthy. Inflammation is the body’s way of protecting itself from harmful bacteria, viruses, and injury. When anything starts to cause damage to your cells, the first thing your body does is to release chemicals, which trigger your immune system to respond. Without inflammation, infections would become deadly. However, if the inflammation process goes on for a long time and turns into a chronic inflammation or if it occurs in places of the body where it is not needed, it ends up becoming problematic.

Certain foods and food groups help promote inflammation in your body, and others reduce inflammation.

How can you use this knowledge?

Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to convince you to eliminate your favorite foods entirely or think of foods you “cannot” or “should” eat. That would be stressful for your mental health as well.

It is important to be aware of the different effects foods can have on your body and mental health. Look at how many foods you normally eat that promote inflammation and slowly, piece by piece, try to exchange these foods to ones that reduce inflammation. Check the ingredients of all the foods you buy, many processed foods add inflammatory ingredients that can be left out or exchanged for anti-inflammatory ingredients when you cook these products yourself.

After you’ve done this, see if you can feel a positive difference in your physical or mental state.

The more foods you eat that REDUCE INFLAMMATION in your body the better, such as:

Turmeric (Curcumin)
Ginger
Water, or drinks like tea that are mostly water (for tea a matcha green tea or any green tea is best)
Colorful Organic fruits and vegetables, especially leafy greens, onions, and berries
FISH: Wild salmon, wild fatty fish
Whole grains (lower gluten), such as spelt, barley, and rye
Whole grains (no-gluten), such as quinoa and millet
Whole nuts or as milk and oils
Whole seeds or as milk and oils, such as chia, hemp, flax, sesame
OILS: Olive, walnut, grapeseed, safflower, and canola (sunflower only if it is high oleic)
Chili Peppers
Organic soybeans in the form of tofu or whole beans (edamame)
Dark chocolate

These are the foods that PROMOTE INFLAMMATION in your body:

Sugar
Saturated fats: most meats, eggs, cheese and other animal products, fried foods
OILS: Soy, corn, and sunflower (high linoleic)
High gluten wheat (modern conventional wheat) including commercial baked goods, crackers and white bread
Carbohydrates that are high glycemic
Any food containing artificial flavor, or other chemical ingredients
Artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame and saccharin
Beverages with sugar or sugar substitutes
Instant rice & oatmeal
Processed and fried vegetables, such as onion rings and potatoes chips
Canned fruit preserved in corn syrup or sugar