Why You Should Switch to an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

‘Anti-inflammatory’ has become a new wellness buzzword for a good reason — inflammation, which can be caused by a variety of factors, impacts nearly all aspects of your health, from your emotions to your gums to your weight management.

Modifying your lifestyle is a powerful tool in addressing inflammation, but one of the best things you can do for your body is switch to an anti-inflammatory, plant-based diet, one low in saturated fats, fried and processed foods, and refined sugar and carbs. Eating foods that don’t trigger inflammation can help improve your wellbeing in a variety of ways so you feel healthier and happier from the inside out.

1. It’ll Help Keep You Healthy

Reducing inflammation has been shown to help fight everything from the common cold to cancer. When immune cells become inflamed, the immune system deteriorates, creating an environment where bad cells and foreign invaders can thrive. Inflammation can also wreck havoc on other organs, increasing the risk of health conditions like asthma, lung infections, diabetes, and heart disease.

2. It’s Your Skin’s New Ally

Struggling with psoriasis? Worried about wrinkles? Annoyed at acne? Inflammation can be blamed for a lot of annoying — but common — skin conditions. It causes collagen, which is responsible for keeping skin supple and bright, to break down more quickly and makes it more difficult for the skin to repair itself. In other words, inflammation is going to make you look like you’re ageing a lot more rapidly while you’re tackling additional breakouts.

3. It Aids in Weight Loss

It makes sense that switching to diets rich in fruits and vegetables would lead to weight loss, but there are additional reasons why an anti-inflammatory diet helps you maintain a healthy weight. Inflammation interferes with your body’s ability to receive appetite-suppressing signals and slow metabolism — you’re eating more while burning through fewer calories. Reducing inflammation can also help reduce the risk of diabetes. Though not directly related to weight loss, inflammation can also attack the gut, partly contributing to digestive issues like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

4. It’s Good for Your Smile

Inflammation in your gums, or periodontitis, can make life harder for your pearly whites, eventually causing gum recession and damage to the skeletal structure around teeth. Studies have found that inflammation in your mouth can also be linked to inflammatory responses throughout your body, including increased risks of heart disease and dementia. Luckily, regularly flossing and brushing and eating anti-inflammatory foods can offset this.

5. It’ll Make You Feel Happier

If you’re working to treat anxiety or depression, your diet is a factor you don’t want to overlook. A 2015 study found that patients with depression had 30 percent more brain inflammation than those without it. Inflammation has also been associated with other negative mental and emotional symptoms, such as problems sleeping, brain fog, or a loss of appetite. Why does this happen? It’s been found to reduce production of hormones like serotonin, which help you feel happy and calm.

Want to learn more about inflammation? Check out our anti-inflammatory cheat sheets and our guide to our favourite anti-inflammatory foods.

At Soulara, we’re passionate about helping you feel happy, healthy, sexy, and strong. Delivered straight to your door, our plant-powered meals are as nutritious as they are delicious.

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