7 Day Anti Inflammatory Diet Plan and Recipes

Meal ideas, food list, shopping list and 15 recipes for a 1500 calorie, 7 day anti-inflammatory diet plan.

(JUMP TO PRINTABLE)

A few months ago, my sister texted me asking what she could eat that was anti-inflammatory. That’s a bit of a vague request though because I personally believe that different foods will cause inflammation to different people.

But, the reason diet is so important in calming inflammation is because there’s some foods our immune system recognizes as foreign substances, and it will create inflammation to damage or destroy those foods. It becomes problematic when the immune system out of control and causes excessive inflammation.

In my sisters case, her ulcerative colitis was flaring up and she was tired of being on steroids. They just kept making her gain weight. So, she was ready to make diet modifications to see if it could help.

Some symptoms of inflammation include:

• headaches
• brain fog
• bloating
• joint pain
• rashes
• fatigue
• weight gain
• gum disease
• mood disorders

So, how does diet fight inflammation?

Diet modifications are one of the best natural interventions to avoid or reduce systemic inflammation. Anti-inflammatory Diets are one of the new treatments for inflammation and disease prevention. However, to successfully reduce inflammation, we must aim for a healthy diet and lifestyle. I

Anti-inflammatory diets include the Mediterranean diet, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (or DASH) diet, the Okinawan, or the Nordic diet. 

​​These diets’ are similar in that the foods are

• fruits
• vegetables,
• whole grains
• Proteins (like legumes and lean proteins from fish and chicken.)
• unsaturated fats, like olive oil.  

Risks of Chronic Inflammation

Inflammation is a natural process of our body’s immune system response to irritants, and Chronic inflammation is linked to several diseases we should prevent. We don’t want to scare you, but here’s the list:

• Cancer
• Heart disease
• High Blood Pressure, High Blood Sugar, High Cholesterol
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
• Autoimmune conditions
• Arthritis
• Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis
• Chronic Kidney Disease
• Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of Dementia
• Depression
• Osteoporosis

Beyond food, constant stress and being sedentary contribute to inflammation as well. But as far as diet, eating foods that can help reduce inflammation is strongly recommended. Let’s dive into what we can do to modify our diet!

Eat These: Foods That Fight Inflammation

One of the best tools in combating inflammation does not always come from the pharmacies but from the supermarkets or groceries. The following list consists of the foods that are said to be “good choices” to reduce or prevent inflammation in our bodies:

• Vegetables
• Fruits 
• Whole grains
• Nuts 
• Proteins

What foods Contribute to Inflammation?

One thing that contributes to inflammation is highly processed foods. According to the University of Chicago Medicine, examples of these highly processed foods are corn chips, fried foods, and too much red meat, sugar, wheat, rye, and barley – in people with gluten allergies or celiac disease.

Harvard Medical School also specifies foods that need to be avoided or limited as much as possible, such as refined carbohydrates such as white bread and pastries, French fries and other fried food items, soda, and other sugar-sweetened beverages, red meat which was also mentioned by the Chicago Medicine specifically the ultra-processed ones, margarine, shortening and lard.

There’s also a list from a study conducted by J.K Kiecolt-Glaser, who enumerated food items that cause inflammation, which are also mentioned from the abovementioned prestigious schools:

• Diets high in refined starches like white flour and white bread such as Italian bread, bagels, rolls, buns, wraps, and English muffins. Pastries, cookies, and cakes are on the list too. Waffles, pancakes, white flour crackers and pretzels, pizza dough, and white rice.
• Sugar
• Saturated fats such as butter, ghee, suet, lard, coconut oil, palm oil, cakes, biscuits, fatty cuts of meat, sausages, bacon, cured meats like salami, chorizo, and pancetta
• Trans fats such as commercial baked goods like cakes and cookies and pies, shortening, microwave popcorn, frozen pizza, and refrigerated dough
• Diets Low in Omega 3 Fatty Acids
• Diets Low in Antioxidants and Fibers

BUT! We are not saying that you need to avoid them all! Let us remind you again that there is no good food or bad food. It depends on how we consume it unless your physician highly restricts it. 

We just have to consume them in moderation, variety, and balance. If a recipe happens to have a minute or very small amount of certain food items listed in the foods to avoid, it will be fine. Just ensure you don’t consume it more often, like almost every day, 3x a day!

Aside from foods, other factors that contribute to your inflammation could be psychological stress and depression. We need to improve not only our dietary intake but our mental and emotional health as well.

The printable of all the recipes, the meal plan, and the food list

(Downloadable and printable material – Foods to Avoid vs. Foods to Consume)

Making a diet shift does not have to be abrupt like any other diet or activity; you can take small steps towards this. We recommend transitioning slowly to a new diet so the body and your system can adjust. As to the anti-inflammatory diet, you can slowly lessen the consumption of processed food first since processed foods are one of the major contributors to inflammation. Processed foods usually come in a package and are usually ready to eat, which is the most consumed due to convenience.

An article from Harvard also suggests that it is better to make slow changes to a lifestyle shift as well.

Because overeating also contributes to inflammation, I kept this meal plan to 1500 calories. You can make adjustments as neceesary.

Your 7-Day Anti-Inflammatory 1500 calorie Meal Plan: Delicious and Easy Recipes to Reduce Inflammation 

All the anti-inflammatory recipes in this Printable:

1. Breakfast hash with ground turkey, zucchini, carrots, and peppers
2. Paleo chicken patties with sweet potato fries and cucumber slices
3. Vegan roasted cauliflower and broccoli with mixed seeds and spinach
4. Vegan avocado tofu toast
5. Cinnamon roasted sweet potato fries
6. Sweet potato ground beef stew with tomato
7. Chicken and mushroom over cauliflower rice
8. One pan chicken breast, carrots, and quinoa
9. Baked garlic salmon and zucchini
10. Air fried lemon salmon with potatoes and zucchini
11. Vegan seitan bolognese
12. Vegan breakfast potatoes with spinach and tofu
13. Herbed baked salmon with cucumber and celery salad
14. Paleo chicken, zucchini, and sweet potato bake
15. Turkey skillet supper

SAVE TO PINTEREST!