Food Psych #303: Do You Really Need an Anti-Inflammatory Diet?
What was once called “clean eating” is now being rebranded as “anti-inflammatory.” This week we unpack the evidence behind this wellness-culture trend—and discuss what to do if it’s harmed your relationship with food.
Resources Mentioned
Subscribe to the weekly newsletter, Food Psych Weekly
Submit your questions for a chance to have them answered in the weekly newsletter
My online course, Intuitive Eating Fundamentals
My first book, Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating
My upcoming book, The Wellness Trap: Break Free from Diet Culture, Disinformation, and Dubious Diagnoses and Find Your True Well-Being
PREDIMED paper on inflammation (CW: nutritional minutiae, weight-stigmatizing language)
2019 analysis of PREDIMED trial
Food frequency questionnaires are notoriously unreliable
Inflammatory biomarkers in the blood are not particularly sensitive or specific indicators of chronic inflammation (CW: weight-stigmatizing language)
Higher-income, better-educated people with fewer traumatic incidents in their past (CW for both: food- and weight-stigmatizing language) also tend to be the ones who eat fewer “inflammatory” foods.