Anti-inflammatory Diet Guidelines

Inflammation and foods triggers can cause many symptoms in the body, including the digestive system, skin, joints, mood, brain fog, sleep, energy, etc. 

Following an anti-inflammatory diet for a short period of time (3 to 6 weeks) can significantly help decrease inflammation in the body and help bring a healing response from the body.

Below are general guidelines of foods to emphasize and foods to avoid. Any foods that aren’t listed to avoid are ok to have, unless they contain an ingredient that is on the ‘Foods to Avoid’ list.

Foods to Emphasize

Whole foods

  • Fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables

  • Lean meats

  • Fish (salmon, trout, sardines, herring, cod, etc.)

  • Tofu (choose organic, non GMO)

  • Whole grains

  • Healthy fats (olive oil, olives, avocados, nuts, coconut oil, MCT oil, avocado oil)

  • Nuts (limit to one serving / 1/4 cup per day) & Seeds

  • Vinegars, herbs and spices.

Natural Sweeteners

  • Maple syrup and honey in SMALL amounts

  • Xylitol

  • Stevia

Whole grains (gluten-free)
(1 serving = 1/4 to 1/3 cup cooked)

  • Quinoa

  • Brown or wild rice

  • Buckwheat

  • Gluten-free oats

Non-dairy milks and yogurts

  • Almond milk

  • Coconut milk

  • Cashew milk

  • Coconut yogurt

  • Almond yoghurt

  • Other non-dairy products

*Always choose unsweetened

All other vegetables and fruit

  • Beets

  • Carrots

  • Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts

  • Kale, Collard greens, Swiss chard

  • Lettuce, Zucchini, Wax beans

  • Artichoke

  • Onions, garlic (unless you have severe heartburn/acid reflux/GERD)

  • All fruit (avoid citrus if you have severe heartburn).

  • Etc.



Beverages

  • Water

  • Herbal tea

  • Green tea

  • Limit coffee or avoid it completely

Foods To Avoid

All Artificial Ingredients & Processed foods

  • Artificial colours and flavours

  • Fake  dairy substitutes

  • Margarine

  • Food additives

  • Food colouring & dyes

  • Food preservatives

  • Fried foods

  • Vegetable oil, Corn oil

  • Processed meat

  • Sugar or MSG containing condiments

  • Soy sauce

  • ANY FOODS YOU KNOW YOU DO NOT TOLERATE.

All Sugar and Sweeteners

  • Artificial sweeteners

  • Fruit juice and pop

  • High fructose corn syrup

  • Sugar 

  • Agave

Gluten containing grains and some cross reacting grains

  • Wheat

  • Spelt

  • Kamut

  • Barley

  • Rye

  • Corn

  • Oats (unless gluten-free)

*Please note that corn is gluten-free, but it can cause inflammation in some people.

Dairy products

  • Cheese

  • Cottage cheese

  • Cream cheese

  • Yoghurt

  • Ice cream

  • Kefir

  • Milk

  • Coffee cream


Nightshade family

  • Tomatoes

  • Peppers

  • Hot peppers

  • Eggplant

  • White, yellow and red potatoes

    *Sweet potatoes are ok

    **These are important to avoid if you have heartburn, Crohns or Ulcerative colitis.

Beans & Legumes

  • Chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, black beans, etc. Limit as these can cause bloating for many people.

Beverages

  • Alcohol

  • Coffee with sugar

*Minimize your coffee intake, avoid it completely if possible. Avoid coffee with added sugar, dairy or flavours

Instructions

Follow your anti-inflammatory diet for 3 to 6 weeks. This means avoiding the foods on the ‘foods to avoid’ list and eating from the ‘foods to emphasize’ list.

There is no need to count calories, but measure your servings of grains and protein for a few days to make sure you are getting the right amount:

Grains: 1/4 to 1/3 cup cooked, per serving.

Protein (meat, chicken, fish): 4 to 6 ounces (raw) per serving.

Do not skip meals and have snacks in between meals if needed. Limit your snacks to one in the morning and one in the afternoon. If you don’t need snacks, there is no need to have them.

Keep foods that can cause temptation out of reach and out of your home.

Do not eat on the run or at your desk. Enjoy your meals without any distractions, and eat slowly so you feel when you are full.

Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated as this is important for our body to detox properly, and help prevent cravings.

If you need a dessert, have a small piece of dark chocolate (minimum 70%) or some fruit, such as strawberries if they are in season, or a cooked apple with cinnamon, lemon juice and a drizzle of maple syrup.

After your 3 to 6 week period, begin slowly re-introducing foods that you enjoy on the ‘foods to avoid’ list, one at a time. Enjoy this food for 3 days to gage how your body responds to it. If you feel bloated or have any digestive symptoms, fatigue, lethargy, headaches, skin reactions, increased pain, or any other type of reaction, this means that you likely have some degree of intolerance to this food and it is best to limit it or avoid it completely.

Repeat this process until you are finished re-introducing all the foods.

Please feel free to repeat this process anytime you need. I like to do this once per year as a sort of nutrition ‘reset’.

Bon appétit!