An anti-inflammatory diet can help prevent osteoporosis
A newly published study found that people with signs of systemic inflammation (as measured by blood markers such as C-reactive protein and IL-6) lost more bone mineral density over three years than those with lower levels of these markers. Translation: Chronic inflammation may increase your risk of osteoporosis.
This sort of systemic inflammation, which is often completely without symptoms, is quite common and increases your risk for all kinds of other health problems as well, including heart disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and depression. Inflammation can be driven driven by stress, smoking, being overweight, and diet choices. As a result, an anti-inflammatory diet has become a popular prescription for all that ails us.
The IF (Inflammation Factor) Ratings can be a useful tool in identifying which foods tend to fuel inflammation and which foods tend to quell it. Foods with positive IF Ratings are considered anti-inflammatory and those with negative Ratings are considered inflammatory.
However, it's not necessary to avoid all negatively-rated foods in order to have a healthy diet. The idea here is simply to balance your choices so that the combined IF Rating over the course of an entire day is in the positive range.
For more on the IF Ratings see our Inflammation Help page as well as several FAQs that I answered in this recent blog post.
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Posted by: James | Apr 14, 2009 11:11:54 AM
Hi
I suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and psioratic arthritus at the grand old age of 36!!!!
Can anyone suggest the food groups i should be eating and avoiding. I ski and clcle a lot so need energy as well as anti inflamitory foods. I have had a look at the Garmin Slipstream cycle team diet but there is no specific meals.
Help please
Thanks for any answers
James
Posted by: Margaret Bailey | Feb 2, 2009 7:43:36 PM
Are any rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients getting information from their doctors or rheumatologists?
Or, do you get your information from the Internet or other sources?
Thanks for answers you can give me,
Margaret
Posted by: Hershey | May 27, 2008 8:52:21 AM
I'm looking to start a weight loss plan. This site is loaded with nutritional information.
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | May 25, 2008 6:04:18 PM
Kristen,
That's quite unusual. Are you using ND's total consumption report to analyze your diet? If so, email me a typical day using the email a friend link at the top of the report. Email to monica@nutritiondata.com. I'll take a look and see if I can spot what's going on.
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | May 25, 2008 5:55:26 PM
Shelley, you can find three week's worth of sample meal plans in The Inflammation Free Diet Plan.
Posted by: Kristin | May 24, 2008 6:07:15 PM
I have found ND's IF ratings to be more frustrating than helpful. Although my diet is extremely low in "bad" fats and refined carbohydrates, I find it almost impossible to keep my IF rating in the positive range. I think I would have to eat fish liberally spiced with ginger and curry at almost every meal to achieve this. It just doesn't seem doable on a practical, daily basis.
Posted by: Kaaren | May 24, 2008 3:07:01 PM
Please give the reference so I can look at the study myself. Thanks.
