Anti-Inflammatory Diet: What Works and a Sample Week

An anti-inflammatory diet is a way of eating built on vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, nuts, olive oil and fish, with less processed meat, sugar and refined food. In practice it looks like the Mediterranean diet. The best evidence shows it lowers heart risk and may lower inflammation markers a little. It does not replace medical treatment.

Dr. Pedro Yelamo Vera is a GP licensed in Spain (Colegiado No. 484814280).

For a medical emergency, call 112 or go to the nearest local emergency department. Do not wait for a video consultation or an online reply.

What is an anti-inflammatory diet?

Inflammation is the body's normal response to injury and infection. Low-level, long-term inflammation is linked with heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other long-term conditions. An anti-inflammatory diet aims to calm it through food.

It is not a single plan with fixed rules. Most versions share the same core:

• Plenty of vegetables, fruit, beans, lentils and chickpeas.
• Whole grains instead of white bread and refined cereals.
• Olive oil as the main fat, plus a handful of unsalted nuts.
• Fish several times a week, including oily fish such as sardines or mackerel.
• Little red meat, very little processed meat, and few sugary foods and drinks.
• Water as the main drink.

In Spain you will hear dieta antiinflamatoria, but doctors mostly talk about the dieta mediterránea.

Does an anti-inflammatory diet really work?

It depends on what you hope it will do. Here is what the trials show.

• Heart disease. The PREDIMED trial in Spain followed 7,447 people aged 55 to 80 at high heart risk. Major heart events happened in 3.8% of the olive oil group and 3.4% of the nuts group, against 4.4% on low-fat advice. That is about 30% fewer in relative terms. The first report was withdrawn over randomisation errors. A 2018 re-analysis gave similar results.
• Inflammation markers. A review of six trials with 2,650 overweight adults compared Mediterranean and low-fat diets. After two years, CRP was about 1 mg/L lower on the Mediterranean diet. Weight, blood pressure and cholesterol also improved a little. But a review in people who already had heart disease found mostly no clear effect on inflammation markers.
• Arthritis. A Cochrane review of diets for rheumatoid arthritis called the effects uncertain. One small trial of a Mediterranean diet found less pain, but the studies were small. Diet may help how you feel. It does not replace arthritis medicines.

In short: it is good for the heart and may lower inflammation a little. It cures no inflammatory disease.

Which foods are anti-inflammatory?

The trials tested whole eating patterns, not single foods. These are the building blocks, matched with official advice.

• Vegetables and fruit. The NHS says at least five portions a day, of 80 g each. Spain's food agency, AESAN, advises at least three portions of vegetables and two to three of fruit a day.
• Beans, lentils and chickpeas. AESAN advises at least four portions a week.
• Whole grains. Wholemeal bread, brown rice, oats and wholewheat pasta.
• Olive oil. AESAN names it the fat of choice for cooking. The WHO advises moving from saturated and trans fats to unsaturated fats.
• Nuts. Unsalted, plain nuts. AESAN suggests three or more portions a week.
• Fish. The NHS advises at least two portions a week, one of them oily. AESAN suggests three or more, mainly oily fish.

What foods should you cut down on?

• Processed meat, such as sausages, ham and bacon. AESAN advises keeping it to a minimum, and meat in general to three portions a week at most.
• Sugary drinks, sweets and pastries. The WHO advises keeping free sugars under 10% of your energy intake, and ideally under 5%.
• Salt. The WHO says under 5 g a day. The NHS limit is 6 g a day for adults. The NHS says most salt is already in the food you buy.
• Butter, cream and fried food. Swap them for olive oil, and grill, bake or steam instead.
• Alcohol. If you do not drink, there is no health reason to start.

What does a week on an anti-inflammatory diet look like?

This is a sample week of food ideas, not a set plan. Swap days, use leftovers and adjust portions to your hunger. Snacks can be fruit, plain yoghurt or a handful of nuts.

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	Wholemeal toast with olive oil and tomato, a piece of fruit	Lentil stew with vegetables, salad	Baked sardines, roast peppers, wholemeal bread
Tuesday	Plain yoghurt with oats, walnuts and berries	Wholewheat pasta with tomato, courgette and chickpeas	Vegetable omelette, green salad
Wednesday	Porridge with sliced apple and cinnamon	Chickpea and spinach stew, brown rice	Grilled salmon or mackerel, steamed broccoli, potato
Thursday	Wholemeal toast with avocado, an orange	Chicken with roast vegetables and bulgur	Cold tomato soup (gazpacho), wholemeal bread with tuna
Friday	Yoghurt with fruit and almonds	White bean and vegetable soup, salad	Baked hake with tomato and onion, green beans
Saturday	Wholemeal toast with olive oil and fresh cheese	Vegetable and seafood rice (paella) made with olive oil	Large mixed salad with lentils, egg and olives
Sunday	Porridge with nuts and a banana	Roast chicken, roast vegetables, salad	Vegetable soup, wholemeal bread, fruit

Drink water with meals. Season with herbs, garlic and lemon instead of extra salt.

Do you need supplements or special products?

Usually not. The trials that showed benefit used ordinary foods: olive oil, nuts, fish, vegetables and beans. The Cochrane review of arthritis diets left out supplements, so it says nothing about them. Be wary of products sold as "anti-inflammatory" with big health claims. Ask a pharmacist or doctor before taking a supplement, especially if you take other medicines.

Can an anti-inflammatory diet help with weight and blood tests?

It can help a little. In the review of six trials, people on a Mediterranean diet lost about 2 kg more than on a low-fat diet over two years. Their blood sugar and cholesterol also improved slightly. A diet change alone rarely fixes a very high result. If your CRP, cholesterol or blood sugar is raised, a doctor should look for the cause too. Our guides to high CRP and high LDL cholesterol explain the next steps.

Who should talk to a doctor before changing their diet?

• People with diabetes treated with insulin or tablets that can cause low blood sugar.
• People with kidney disease, or on a special diet from a specialist.
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women, who need advice on which fish are safe.
• Anyone with a past eating disorder.
• Children, who need enough energy to grow.

See a doctor too if you have joint swelling, weight loss you cannot explain, or a raised blood result. Diet is not the treatment for these until the cause is known.

Talking it through with a doctor by video

Dr. Yelamo is a GP licensed in Spain. He sees adults, children and pregnant patients by video, every day from 07:30 to 20:30 (Spain time). In the visit he will:

• Go through your blood results, weight and the medicines you take.
• Check whether your symptoms need tests before any diet change.
• Help you plan small, lasting changes to how you eat.

He does not promise any test or prescription before the visit. Where clinically appropriate, following a genuine evaluation. Treatment and prescriptions are issued solely at the doctor's discretion based on evidence-based clinical guidelines.

A prescription is never guaranteed: it is issued only where clinically appropriate after a genuine evaluation, as a private electronic prescription under Spanish law. This service is for urgent, non-emergency care. In an emergency, call 112.

See how the Urgent Care video visit works. It lasts 15 minutes and costs €50. For a fuller review of weight and metabolic health, the Weight Optimization visit lasts 30 minutes and costs €70.

This guide is general information. It does not replace a consultation with your doctor.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Estruch R et al. PREDIMED: Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with a Mediterranean diet. N Engl J Med, 2018
• Nordmann AJ et al. Mediterranean vs low-fat diets for cardiovascular risk factors: meta-analysis. Am J Med, 2011
• Cochrane: Dietary interventions for rheumatoid arthritis
• WHO: Healthy diet fact sheet
• NHS: 8 tips for healthy eating

Related guides

• Medically guided weight loss
• High CRP: what it means
• High LDL cholesterol explained
• Fatty liver and weight loss
• Type 2 diabetes remission and weight loss
• Obesity as a chronic disease: BMI and waist