Dietary Changes Prompt Swift Improvements in Inflammation

In the inflammation is a primary trigger for a number of chronic diseases ranging from cardiovascular disease to cancer, Alzheimer’s disease to arthritis, a number of researchers are pursuing the role of changes in diet to reduce the inflammation response.  Lynnette Ferguson, from The University of Auckland (New Zealand), and colleagues studied 30 healthy men and women, selected for their initially “poor” diets, who were encouraged to eliminate refined and processed foods and to follow a Mediterranean type diet over six weeks – featuring increased amounts of fish, vegetables, unrefined cereals, and “good” fats such as olive oil and avocado. A prominent feature of the diet was also that it was gluten-free. Recipes were supplied to the participants.  After six weeks, the team observed that biomarkers of inflammation, most notably C-reactive protein (CRP), were markedly reduced.