Overview
About Inflammation
Anti-inflammatory compatibility shows how well foods fit a pattern built on fatty fish, leafy greens, olive oil, and berries, and lighter on processed foods.
An anti-inflammatory diet focuses on foods that help reduce chronic inflammation in the body. It emphasizes fruits, vegetables, fatty fish, nuts, and whole grains while limiting processed foods, refined sugars, and certain oils.
In the data
What the grading picks up
- Graded borderline for lectins and pro-inflammatory on an inflammation-focused diet, which is a diet-pattern note rather than a sensitivity trigger
- Often preserved with sulfites, a further additive trigger, and it is pro-inflammatory overall thanks to the sugar and processing
- Not vegetarian or vegan, and scored pro-inflammatory as a red meat if you are following an anti-inflammatory pattern
- Nightshade vegetable, so it is one of the first foods cut on a nightshade-free or AIP protocol for joint pain and inflammation
Examples
A few ingredients either way
Grading
How we grade Inflammation
Every ingredient in the database carries one grade for inflammation, and this page, the checker and the app all read that same grade. It describes the ingredient as it is usually eaten. Portion size and preparation move it.
Inflammation is kept as a matter of degree. In the app, a borderline ingredient shows on the ingredient screen without counting against the day.
Practical
Following Inflammation
- Focus on omega-3 rich foods like salmon, sardines, and walnuts.
- Limit processed foods, sugar, and refined carbs.
- Focus on omega-3 rich foods like fatty fish, walnuts, and flaxseed
- Colorful fruits and vegetables provide anti-inflammatory antioxidants
- Extra virgin olive oil is a cornerstone of anti-inflammatory eating
- Limit refined sugars, processed foods, and industrial seed oils
- Turmeric and ginger are powerful anti-inflammatory spices
Method
Test it with a diary
Most people find their own triggers by logging meals and symptoms for a few weeks and reading the result back. Three steps.
- 1Log every meal for a few weeks. Type it, say it out loud, or scan a barcode, and it lands as a list of ingredients.
- 2Rate how you feel through the day on whatever you are tracking, whether that is bloating, headaches, skin or sleep.
- 3Read the pattern back. Every ingredient you logged is scored against the days you felt worse, and the result ranks inflammation against everything else you eat.
Questions
Questions people ask
Is pork inflammatory?
Pork grades pro-inflammatory (E), in line with fatty red and processed meats. Lean cuts eaten occasionally are gentler, but pork is not a food an anti-inflammatory eating pattern leans on.
More about pork
Read next
Where to go next
References
Inflammation sources
Where the inflammation grades come from: food composition databases, clinical guidelines and patient organisations.
5 sources from peer-reviewed research, regulatory bodies, and clinical guidelines.
Get started
Following Inflammation?
Log what you eat and how you feel, and the app finds the pattern for you. Or look an ingredient up here first.
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