Connection Between Inflammation and Weight Loss? :

The following is a guest article by Monica Reinagel, M.S., author of The Inflammation Free Diet Plan, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Diet Blog authors.

Chronic, "silent" inflammation is a common condition that researchers have recently been focused on as an underlying cause of diseases from heart disease to depression - however systemic inflammation could also be making it more difficult for you to lose weight.

Lifestyle-Driven
Low-level inflammation is largely lifestyle-driven: Stress, smoking (or second-hand smoke), lack of exercise, insufficient sleep, and dietary imbalances all contribute to the problem. But the dietary connection may not be what you think. Although sweets, fried foods, and other dietary no-no’s are indeed inflammatory, some foods that we think of as healthful, such as certain fruits, grains, and meats, can also promote inflammation if not eaten in the proper balance. Low-carb dieters need to be particularly careful: Research shows that low carbs diets can increase inflammation in as little as two weeks. ( Reference )

Just being overweight is in itself a risk factor for inflammation, because fat cells are potent producers of inflammatory chemicals. This is one reason that being overweight increases your risk of things like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer (all conditions in which inflammation plays a big role).

Influence on Leptin
But if you’re trying to lose weight, there’s another reason that you might want to pay attention to inflammation. Low-level inflammation also makes your cells less responsive to the hormone leptin, which can make losing weight even harder than it already is.

Normally, leptin helps guard against weight gain by down-shifting your appetite and up-shifting your metabolism. As Dr. Galland argues in The Fat-Resistance Diet, systemic inflammation creates “leptin resistance,” which makes it harder to lose weight. An anti-inflammatory diet will not only lower your risk of disease, it will also promote easier weight loss by overcoming leptin resistance.

An anti-inflammatory diet
Certainly, if you struggle to lose weight even when you diet faithfully, it’s worth putting this theory to the test. So, what’s an anti-inflammatory diet look like? Well, it’s a little more complex than the over-simplified guidelines you see in most magazine articles on the subject. (Just to be sporting, however, I’ve included my own “quick and dirty” guidelines below.)

As I noted earlier, some healthful foods have inflammatory properties. To reduce or avoid excessive inflammation, you must maintain a balance between the pro- and anti-inflammatory factors in foods.

Pro-inflammatory factors include saturated fats, trans fats, refined sugars, and arachidonic acid (an omega-6 fat that is metabolized into inflammatory compounds). Anti-inflammatory nutrients include antioxidants, monounsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins B6, B12, folic acid, and zinc. Compounds found in garlic, turmeric, ginger, chili peppers, and a few other foods have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. The glycemic impact and ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats also play a role.

That’s a lot of things to keep track of! In the course of my research into the effects of diet on inflammation, I developed a formula that rates foods based on the amounts of over two dozen pro- and anti-inflammatory factors, giving you a standardized gauge of a food’s effects on inflammation. IF Ratings for over 10,000 foods are available on NutritionData.com . The IF Ratings for individual foods can be combined to estimate the effect of recipes and meal plans.

Quick and Dirty Guide to an Anti-Inflammatory Diet, based on the IF Ratings:

Enjoy often:
·leafy greens and other colorful vegetables
·lentils
·berries
·citrus fruits
·“hot” spices like garlic, ginger, chili peppers, and curry
·Fish (with the exception of farm-raised salmon)
·Olive oil

Eat in moderation:
·Whole grain cereals and breads
·Beans
·Tropical fruits
·Poultry
·Eggs
·Nuts and seeds
·Lean cuts of red meat
·Low-fat dairy

Limit or avoid:
·Organ meats
·Veal
·High fat dairy products
·Farmed salmon
·Butter
·Margarine and shortening
·Corn and white potatoes
·Refined flours and sugar
·Fatty and fried foods

Monica Reinagel, M.S., is author of The Inflammation Free Diet Plan and creator of the IF Rating™ system. She is chief nutritionist at NutritionData.com, where she writes a blog on health and nutrition. Write to her at monica@inflammationfreediet.com

Continue reading �