Inflammation: The Silent Struggle for Employees

If you’re an employee constantly relying on takeaways and forgoing a good night’s sleep for the sake of meeting deadlines – your unhealthy habits may be silently increasing the inflammation in your body and making you susceptible to poor gut health, poor work performance, and several health conditions. Here’s what you can do to help fight inflammation!

What is inflammation?

Inflammation is part of our body’s defence system. It’s a response by our immune system to irritants such as infections or injuries, similar to an alarm system going off in response to an intruder. This process initiates a sequence of immune responses that aid in recovery. It can be painful but is essential for healing as it signals the body to pay immediate attention to injured tissues.

If inflammation becomes a constant presence, this is when it can cause more harm than good. This is what we call chronic inflammation – it's when our normal inflammatory response doesn't know when to quit, and just keeps going in the background.

Chronic inflammation, poor gut health, and disease are all interconnected. We're learning that inflammation in the gut can contribute to various diseases and physical health conditions. It plays a significant role in heart disease, cancer, neurological disorders, autoimmune diseases, anxiety, depression, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, and weight issues and more [1-4]!

Nutrition to fight inflammation

In general, we know that what your overall dietary pattern looks like is more important than consuming certain nutrients when it comes to fighting inflammation. Many studies now look at the “inflammatory potential” of a diet using a measure called the dietary inflammatory index (DII). The higher the DII score the more inflammatory foods it contains, whereas a lower DII score indicates a diet is anti-inflammatory.

For example, the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats is well researched and can positively impact gut health and lower inflammation, as indicated by a low DII score [5,6].  However, there are key nutrients that likely make this diet anti-inflammatory. Below are some key components of a Mediterranean diet:

Plant-focused: A plant-rich diet is an effective way to combat inflammation. Plants are packed with phytonutrients, bioactive plant compounds that boost your immune system, aid in tissue repair, and act as antioxidants. This includes fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.

Rich in wholegrains: Whole grains, a good source of fibre, benefit the immune system and help combat inflammation. Examples include brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa, and whole grain bread or wholemeal pasta.

Rich in Omega-3 fats: Omega-3 fatty acids are known for their anti-inflammatory properties. Foods rich in Omega-3 include oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and tuna, as well as walnuts and flaxseeds.

Limits ultra-processed foods: Ultra-processed foods, like sugar-sweetened drinks, processed meat, refined grains, chips, fast foods, and commercial baked goods, can increase inflammation and disrupt the immune response. Regular consumption can negatively impact the inflammatory response, even with an otherwise healthy diet, and so it’s best to limit them.

How to Follow more of a Mediterranean-Style Diet

How can you put all of this into practice? Use the guide below for dietary adjustments to eat more of a Mediterranean-style diet and help to reduce inflammation:

Include the following foods daily:

• 5+ serves of vegetables
• 2-3 serves of fruit
• 2 – 3 serves of dairy (or dairy alternatives).
• a handful of nuts
• 2-3 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 5 – 8 serves of wholegrains and cereals
• ~ 8 glasses of water

And weekly:

• 3 – 4 serves of legumes (such as kidney beans or lentils)
• 1 serves of lean red meat
• At least 2 serves of fish (aiming for oily fish such as tuna, sardines, salmon or mackerel, as these contain healthy omega 3 fats essential for our gut and brain health)
• 2 -3 serves of poultry

A Final Word

Remember, balance is key for managing inflammation and promoting overall health. Along with these dietary strategies, it's also important to keep moving, get enough sleep, and manage stress levels. All of these can help reduce inflammation and promote good health!

References

[1] Tilg H, Moschen AR, Kaser A, Pines A, Dotan I. Gut, inflammation and osteoporosis: basic and clinical concepts. Gut. 2008 May;57(5):684-94. doi: 10.1136/gut.2006.117382. PMID: 18408105.

[2] Beal MF. Mitochondria, oxidative damage, and inflammation in Parkinson's disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003 Jun;991:120-31. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2003.tb07470.x. PMID: 12846981.

[3] Dowlatshahi EA, van der Voort EA, Arends LR, Nijsten T. Markers of systemic inflammation in psoriasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Dermatol. 2013 Aug;169(2):266-82. doi: 10.1111/bjd.12355. PMID: 23550658.

[4] Esser N, Legrand-Poels S, Piette J, Scheen AJ, Paquot N. Inflammation as a link between obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2014 Aug;105(2):141-50. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2014.04.006. Epub 2014 Apr 13. PMID: 24798950.

[5] Mentella MC, Scaldaferri F, Ricci C, Gasbarrini A, Miggiano GAD. Cancer and Mediterranean Diet: A Review. Nutrients. 2019 Sep 2;11(9):2059. doi: 10.3390/nu11092059. PMID: 31480794; PMCID: PMC6770822.

[6] Itsiopoulos C, Mayr HL, Thomas CJ. The anti-inflammatory effects of a Mediterranean diet: a review. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2022 Nov 1;25(6):415-422. doi: 10.1097/MCO.0000000000000872. Epub 2022 Aug 30. PMID: 36039924.