This document discusses inflammation and diet. It begins by defining inflammation and listing conditions it can cause or prompt. It then contrasts historical diets with modern Western diets, noting people historically ate equal amounts of anti-inflammatory omega-3 and pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids, unlike today. Foods are categorized by their omega-6 to omega-3 ratios, with whole foods like fruit and fish generally anti-inflammatory and refined foods pro-inflammatory. Dietary modifications, grains, supplements like fish oil and vitamin D that fight inflammation are also outlined.

1. Shane J. Lynch, D.C.

2. Overview
 Introduction
 Inflammation
 Historical diet versus modern diet
 Inflammatory and anti-inflammatory foods
 Grains
 Supplements

3. Health

4. Inflammation
 Vasodialation of the local blood vessels
 Increased permeability of the capillaries
 Blood clotting at injured area
 Migration of white blood cells (immune cells) to
injured area
 Swelling of affected tissue
Inflammation is a normal healthy response, but with
chronic cases this can lead to injury of healthy
surrounding tissue.
Guyton AC & Hall JE. Textbook of Medical Physiology. Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania: Elsevier Saunders; 2006: 397.

5. Inflammation

6. Diseases and conditions caused or
prompted by inflammation
 Osteoarthritis
 Rheumatoid arthritis
 Osteoporosis
 Cancer
 Diabetes
 Heart disease
 Peripheral vascular disease
 Parkinson’s disease
 Multiple sclerosis (MS)
 Alzhemier’s disease
 Generalized aches and pain
 Etc.

7. Historical eating patterns versus
the modern diet
 Dairy products (10%), cereals (20%), refined sugars
(20%), refined vegetable oils (20%), and alcohol make
up 72.1% of the total daily energy consumed by all
people in the United States, these types of foods would
have contributed little or none of the energy in the
typical preagricultural hominin diet.
Cordain L et al. Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for
the 21st century. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005; 81(2):341-54.

8. Historical eating patterns versus
the modern diet
Human beings evolved consuming a diet that contained
about equal amounts of n-3 and n-6 essential fatty
acids. Over the past 100-150y there has been an
enormous increase in the consumption of n-6 fatty
acids due to increased intake of vegetable oils from
corn, sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, cottonseed and
soybeans. Today, in Western diets, the ratio of n-6 to
n-3 fatty acids ranges from ~20-30:1 instead of the
traditional range of 1-2:1.
Simopoulos AP. Essential acids in health and chronic disease. Am J Clin Nutr.
1999; 70 (suppl):560S-9S.

9. Foods with anti-inflammatory
ratios
Food n-6:n-3 ratio
Fruit 3:1 or better
Green vegetables 1:1
White potato 3:1
Sweet potato 4:1
Grass-fed meat 3-5:1
Wild game 3:1 or better
Fresh fish 1:1 or better
Farmed-raised salmon 1:1 or worse
Flax seeds 1:3.6
Hemp seeds 2.5:1
Chia seeds 1:3
9
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10. Foods with pro-inflammatory ratios
Food n-6:n-3 ratios
Nuts 5:1 or worse
Grain-fed meat 5:1 or worse
Grain-fed chicken (white meat) 15:1
Grain-fed chicken (dark meat) 17:1
Grains (wheat, rye, oats, rice, barley, etc.) 20:1
Potato chips
(and similar foods with added n-6 seed oils)
60:1 or worse
n-6 Seeds and seed oils
(corn, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, peanut)
70:1 or worse
10
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11. Inflammatory foods
 Those containing corn, sunflower, safflower,
cottonseed, soybean and peanut oils.
 This includes: salad dressings, mayonnaise,
margarine, Crisco, cooking oils, potato chips,
fried foods and many baked goods.
 Sugary foods and drinks, especially those with high
fructose corn syrup.
 Grains, whole and especially refined
 This includes breads, pastas, baked goods,
pretzels, cereals, and many processed foods.

12. Anti-inflammatory foods
 Fruit and vegetables
 Lean meats/grass fed animal products (chicken, beef,
eggs, etc.)
 Wild fish (i.e. not farm raised)
 Olive oil

13. Dietary modifications
 Olive oil and vinaigrette instead of salad dressing
 Olive oil or coconut oil in place of other cooking oils
 Butter in place of margarine
 Rice pasta (no gluten) in place of regular pasta
 Spelt flour products (less gluten than regular wheat)
 Gluten free products
 Water and tea in place of energy and sugary drinks
 Stout beer or red wine in place of other alcoholic
beverages

14. Grains
 Generally speaking there are two types: whole and refined.
 Refined grains include: white breads, white flour, pasta, white
rice, hominy.
 Whole grains include: Wheat, oats, barley, spelt, brown rice, rye,
maize, triticale, and sprouted grains.
 Refined grains have a high glycemic index meaning they cause a
rapid increase in blood sugar and insulin levels and with time
this can contribute to the development of type-2 diabetes.
 Whole grains have a lower glycemic index and are not suspected
in the development of type-2 diabetes. Whole grains also
contain fiber which is beneficial for the digestive system and for
this reason some experts label whole grains as “anti-
inflammatory”.

15. Grains and inflammation
 All grains (whole and refined) and rice contain: n-
6 fatty acids and no n-3 fatty acids, lectins (block
nutrient absorption and cause “leaky gut
syndrome”), phytates (block absorption of mg and
other minerals), acidic pH, glycemic regulation
problems and no vit-C, A, B-12, β-carotene.
Cordain L et al. Cereal grains: humanity’s double-edged sword. World Rev
Nutr Diet. Basal, Karger, 1999, vol 84, pp 19-73.

16. Grains and gluten
 Wheat (spelt, kamut, triticale and semolina), rye and barley (including malt)
contain gluten, which can cause neurological and digestive complications.
 Conditions and symptoms related to gluten sensitivity:
 Celiac disease
 Unexplained attacks of diarrhea
 Headaches
 Peripheral neuropathy (numbness and tingling in extremities)
 Cerebellar ataxia
 ADHD
 Psychologic conditions (depression, aggravation of schizophrenic symptoms)
 ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
*Hadjivassiliou M et al. Gluten sensitivity as a neurological illness. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 2002;72;560-563.
** Zelnik N et al. Range of neurological disorders in patients with celiac disease. Pediatrics 2004; 113:1672-76.
***Arnason JA et al. Do adults with high gliadin antibody concentrations have subclinical gluten intolerance? Gut 1992; 33: 194-197.
**** Turner MR et al. A case of celiac disease mimicking amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Nature Clinical Practice Neurology 2007; 3: 581-584.
•

17. Supplements
 Fish or cod liver oil is a great form of n-3 (omega 3 fatty
acids) and is commonly labeled as α-linolenic acid
(ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
You can take this in a liquid or capsule form. 1
gram/day is the recommended amount.
Lee JH et al. Omega-3 fatty acids: cardiovascular benefits,
sources and sustainability. Nature Reviews Cardiology 2009;
6: 753-758.

18. Supplements
 Vitamin D can also help prevent the inflammatory response. Inadequate intake or lack of exposure
to sunlight limit the quantity of vitamin D circulating in the body and can “cause muscle aches,
muscle weakness, and bone pain at any age”.1 The current Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for
vitamin D (50 µg/d, or 2000 IU) established by the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) “is not based on
current evidence and is viewed by many as being too restrictive…the absence of toxicity in trials
conducted in healthy adults that used vitamin D dose ≥250 µg/d (10 000 IU vitamin D3) support the
confident selection of this value as the UL”.2 Those with “certain health conditions such as sarcoidosis
and Mycobacterium infections, and those treated with thiazide diuretics are reported to be extremely
sensitive to excessive vitamin D”2, and should check with their physician before supplementing with
this vitamin.
 “Chronic exposure to sunlight in outdoor workers at the end of summer season produce serum
25(OH)D (i.e. vitamin D) concentrations equivalent to those with an oral intake of 70-125 µg vitamin
D/day”.2
 “…long term vitamin D production from sun exposure is unlikely to exceed ≈ 125 µg/d in North
America and Europe”.2
 “…ordinary dietary sources usually provide ≈ 2.5 µg vitamin D/day, but can go as high as 5 to 10 µg
with the use of fortified foods”.2
 Fortified milk, fish liver oil, butter, egg yolks, liver.1
 Our main source of vitamin D is from ultraviolet irradiation of the skin (i.e. exposure to sunlight).
 Best form of vitamin D supplementation is cholecalciferol (vitamin D3).
2
1 Beers, MH et al. The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. Whitehouse Station, New Jersey: Merck Research Labatories; 2006. 42, 29.
2 Hathcock JN et al. Risk assessment for vitamin D1,2. Am J Clin Nutr 2007; 85:6-18.

19. Resources
 For more information regarding this topic and
additional nutrition tips I recommend the website
deflame.com.