"Inflammation" has gone from clinical term to wellness buzzword, and most of the content written about it online is unhelpfully vague. Here's the practical version: what chronic low-grade inflammation is, which foods influence it, and where sensible supplementation fits around the food side.
The difference between acute and chronic inflammation
Acute inflammation is healthy — the redness around a cut, the soreness after a hard gym session, the fever when you catch a flu. It is the body healing itself and clears quickly.
Chronic low-grade inflammation is different. It is a persistent, subclinical inflammatory tone the body carries in the background, driven by a combination of diet, lifestyle, body composition, stress and sleep. Over years it raises the risk of many age-related conditions, including cardiovascular and metabolic ones. Diet is one of the biggest modifiable inputs.
What "anti-inflammatory diet" means
Researchers use a metric called the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII), which scores foods and whole diets based on how they influence blood markers of inflammation — C-reactive protein (CRP) being the most common. A diet with a strongly negative DII reliably lowers CRP and related markers in studies. A positive DII (sugary, highly processed, low in plants) raises them.
The useful takeaway: anti-inflammatory eating is not a single rigid "diet" — it is a pattern that overlaps heavily with the Mediterranean, DASH and plant-forward omnivorous patterns. The PREDIMED trial (n≈7,447 high-risk adults) found a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts cut major cardiovascular events by roughly 30% over 4.8 years compared with a low-fat control.[1] The specific rules all point in the same direction.
Foods that genuinely lower inflammatory tone
Vegetables — half the plate. Leafy greens (spinach, kale, rocket), cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower), peppers, beetroot, onions, carrots. These deliver polyphenols, carotenoids and fibre that feed the gut microbiota and lower CRP over time.
Berries and colourful fruit. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, citrus. The anthocyanins and flavonoids in darker berries have the most consistent research for lowering inflammatory markers.
Oily fish — two portions a week. Salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, trout. The EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids contribute to the normal function of the heart when you hit 250 mg daily (authorised EFSA claim).[2] They also anchor the anti-inflammatory nutrition pillar more broadly.
Olive oil — extra virgin. The polyphenol oleocanthal has a measurable anti-inflammatory effect at reasonable kitchen doses. Use it as the main cooking and dressing fat.
Nuts and seeds. Walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseed. Provide vitamin E, magnesium and fibre. Vitamin E contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress (authorised claim).
Whole grains. Wholemeal bread, oats, barley, buckwheat, brown rice, quinoa. The fibre feeds the gut microbiome, which in turn modulates systemic inflammation via short-chain fatty acid production.
Legumes. Lentils, chickpeas, beans, soya. Plant protein with fibre and polyphenols.
Herbs and spices. Turmeric, ginger, garlic, rosemary, oregano, cinnamon. Small amounts, consistently used, carry polyphenol load and flavour that reduces reliance on salt and sugar.
Green tea and unsweetened coffee. Both have polyphenol profiles that show up favourably in DII scoring when consumed without added sugar.
Foods that push inflammatory tone up
- Added sugar in all its forms — the single most consistently pro-inflammatory component of modern diets.
- Ultra-processed foods — packaged snacks, sugary cereals, soft drinks, fast food.
- Industrial trans fats — hydrogenated margarines and shortenings (now mostly phased out in the UK but still worth reading labels).
- Excess refined carbohydrates — white bread, white rice, pastries in large quantities.
- High alcohol intake — especially beyond UK guideline limits (14 units per week).
- Large amounts of processed red meat — bacon, salami, hot dogs. Moderate red meat is fine; the issue is the processed-meat tier specifically.
The principle is not "never eat these things." It is "make them the exception, not the base of the diet."
The role of body composition, sleep and movement
Diet is the biggest lever for inflammation, but it is not the only one. Excess body fat is itself an active inflammatory tissue — adipocytes secrete cytokines that raise systemic tone. Poor sleep and sedentary living independently raise inflammatory markers. A genuinely anti-inflammatory lifestyle addresses all four: food, sleep, movement, body composition.
Where supplements fit
Three supplement categories have meaningful research in the anti-inflammatory space:
Omega-3 EPA and DHA. The authorised heart claim is at 250 mg daily. Research on higher-dose EPA/DHA for inflammatory markers and cardiovascular outcomes is one of the more active areas in nutrition science. Our Omega-3 fish oil in re-esterified triglyceride form and our life'sOMEGA algae oil both comfortably clear the 250 mg threshold.
Curcumin. The yellow polyphenol in turmeric has one of the more active research files among dietary polyphenols, with a meta-analysis pooling several RCTs showing curcumin around 1000 mg/day reduces arthritis symptoms with effects comparable to NSAIDs.[3] The challenge has always been that standard curcumin is poorly absorbed — kitchen turmeric barely registers in blood. A pharmacokinetic comparison showed liquid micellar curcumin reaches blood concentrations roughly 185× higher than native powder.[4] Our Licur 7000 uses NovaSOL® micellar curcumin, developed and studied specifically for its bioavailability profile.
Vitamin D. UK adults sit below optimal through winter, and SACN recommends 10 µg/day from October to March.[5] Vitamin D contributes to the normal function of the immune system (authorised claim). Our Licur 7000 includes vitamin D in the same capsule; our D3+K2 covers the standalone case.
Secondary: magnesium, zinc and polyphenol-rich foods like berries — all helpful, none "anti-inflammatory" in isolation. The effect is cumulative across the pattern.
A practical week
Not a rigid meal plan — a realistic shape:
- Breakfast: oats or Greek yoghurt with berries and a spoonful of nuts.
- Lunch: big salad or grain bowl with leafy greens, chickpeas or lentils, olive oil dressing, plus protein (fish, eggs, tofu or chicken).
- Snack: fruit, a handful of nuts, hummus and vegetables.
- Dinner: oily fish twice a week; otherwise vegetables (half the plate), whole grain or legumes, olive oil, herbs and spices.
- Drinks: water, unsweetened tea or coffee, minimal alcohol.
Consistency over weeks and months beats any single "superfood" moment.
In practice
An anti-inflammatory diet is not an invention of the wellness industry — it is a pattern that sits at the intersection of Mediterranean eating, modern nutrition science, and gut-microbiome research. It works by making high-polyphenol plant foods, oily fish, olive oil and whole grains the base of the diet, while keeping sugar, ultra-processed food and processed meat occasional rather than daily. Sensible supplementation — omega-3, bioavailable curcumin, vitamin D — sits on top of that base, not instead of it. The food side does most of the work. The supplement side makes the harder nutrients (EPA/DHA, curcumin at effective doses, winter vitamin D) practical to hit consistently.
References
- Estruch R, Ros E, Salas-Salvadó J, et al. Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet Supplemented with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil or Nuts. N Engl J Med. 2018;378(25):e34. PubMed: 29897866
- European Commission. EU Register of Nutrition and Health Claims Made on Foods. ec.europa.eu
- Daily JW, Yang M, Park S. Efficacy of Turmeric Extracts and Curcumin for Alleviating the Symptoms of Joint Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. J Med Food. 2016;19(8):717–729. PubMed: 27533649
- Schiborr C, Kocher A, Behnam D, et al. The oral bioavailability of curcumin from micronized powder and liquid micelles is significantly increased in healthy humans and differs between sexes. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2014;58(3):516–527. PubMed: 24402825
- Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition. SACN Vitamin D and Health Report (2016). gov.uk
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