Written by Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE on December 13, 2018

Inflammation is a natural process that helps your body heal and defend itself from harm.

However, inflammation is harmful if it becomes chronic.

Chronic inflammation may last for weeks, months, or years — and may lead to various health problems.

That said, there are many things you can do to reduce inflammation and improve your overall health.

This article outlines a detailed plan for an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle.

What Is Inflammation?

Inflammation is your body's way of protecting itself from infection, illness, or injury.

As part of the inflammatory response, your body increases its production of white blood cells, immune cells, and substances called cytokines that help fight infection.

Classic signs of acute (short-term) inflammation include redness, pain, heat, and swelling.

On the other hand, chronic (long-term) inflammation often occurs inside your body without any noticeable symptoms. This type of inflammation can drive illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver disease, and cancer (1, 2, 3, 4).

Chronic inflammation can also happen when people are obese or under stress (5, 6).

When doctors look for inflammation, they test for a few markers in your blood, including C-reactive protein (CRP), homocysteine, TNF alpha, and IL-6.

What Causes It?

Certain lifestyle factors — especially habitual ones — can promote inflammation.

Consuming high amounts of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup is particularly harmful. It can lead to insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity (7, 8, 9, 10, 11).

Scientists have also hypothesized that consuming a lot of refined carbs, such as white bread, may contribute to inflammation, insulin resistance, and obesity (12, 13).

What’s more, eating processed and packaged foods that contain trans fats has been shown to promote inflammation and damage the endothelial cells that line your arteries (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20).

Vegetable oils used in many processed foods are another possible culprit. Regular consumption may result in an imbalance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, which some scientists believe may promote inflammation (21, 22, 23).

Excessive intake of alcohol and processed meat can also have inflammatory effects on your body (24, 25, 26).

Additionally, an inactive lifestyle that includes a lot of sitting is a major non-dietary factor that can promote inflammation (27, 28).

The Role of Your Diet

If you want to reduce inflammation, eat fewer inflammatory foods and more anti-inflammatory foods.

Base your diet on whole, nutrient-dense foods that contain antioxidants — and avoid processed products.

Antioxidants work by reducing levels of free radicals. These reactive molecules are created as a natural part of your metabolism but can lead to inflammation when they're not held in check.

Your anti-inflammatory diet should provide a healthy balance of protein, carbs, and fat at each meal. Make sure you also meet your body's needs for vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water.

One diet considered anti-inflammatory is the Mediterranean diet, which has been shown to reduce inflammatory markers, such as CRP and IL-6 (29, 30, 31).

A low-carb diet also reduces inflammation, particularly for people who are obese or have metabolic syndrome (32, 33, 34).

In addition, vegetarian diets are linked to reduced inflammation (35).