Chronic inflammation can wreak havoc on you. When you eat foods that have inflammatory elements — ones that your body responds to as if it’s being attacked, it’s likely that chronic inflammation will crop up. You may notice that you have achy joints, puffiness in the face, bloating, an allergic response, or irritable bowel symptoms.

Dr. Mark Hyman explains that treating the symptoms of chronic inflammation rather than the cause(s) is like “taking a lot of aspirin while you’re standing on a tack. The treatment isn’t more aspirin or a strong immune suppressant, but removing the tack.”¹ He also notes that the overuse of prescription antibiotics and a proclivity toward antibacterial everything in developed countries can remove the good bacteria that our bodies need to flourish.

Introduce some less-than-good-for-you foods into an already overtaxed, unhealthy gut, and before you know it you’ll have chronic inflammation and infections. Fortunately, an anti-inflammatory diet can help you remove that pesky tack and get you on the road to better health, all while incorporating delicious foods into your diet.

Let’s take a look at some of these foods, and then we can examine their benefits.

Anti-Inflammatory Food Suggestions

Vegetables: Beets, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, onions, peas, salad greens (washed), sea vegetables, spinach, squashes, and Swiss chard.

Fruits: Apples, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, nectarines, oranges, peaches, pears, pink grapefruit, plums, pomegranates, raspberries, and strawberries, which are all lower on the glycemic index.

Fungi: Enoki, honey brown, oyster, shiitake, and white button mushrooms.

Seafood: Oysters, mussels, clams, sardines, roe, halibut, or wild Alaskan salmon.

Protein: Fish, pastured eggs, grass fed beef or bison, pastured pork, chicken, or wild game.

Fat: Coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, ghee, avocados, grass-fed butter, tallow, or duck fat.

Limit or Eliminate Caffeine: Two to four cups of green, oolong, or white tea or 1 cup of organic, fair trade coffee per day.

Beans and Grains: Legumes and pseudo-grains like quinoa and buckwheat are up for debate. They’re definitely a no-no for anyone with an autoimmune disorder. If you’re dealing with one, nuts and seeds should be eliminated as well. Modern-day grains, legumes, and pseudo-grains have been modified so much that they bear little resemblance to their original form. If you do choose to consume them, make sure they’re whole, heirloom varieties and non-GMO. Sprouting, soaking, or slow cooking them will make them easier for your system to process.

Spices: Turmeric, curry powder, ginger, garlic, Celtic sea salt, basil, cinnamon, rosemary, and thyme are fantastic additions to almost any diet.

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