Simple Diet to Fight Arthritis and Alzheimer’s Disease

The latest diet craze is nothing like the usual offerings. You don’t have to count calories or even cut your food intake drastically. There’s also no promise of instant weight loss, though you probably will become more trim.

What this diet will do is help prevent illnesses such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s and possibly cancer, and significantly ease the pain of chronic conditions such as arthritis.

The ‘anti-inflammatory’ diet is based on the principle that many health problems are linked to chronic inflammation caused by an over-active immune system.

The theory is that certain foods help calm the immune system.

Those who have jumped on the bandwagon include Barry Sears, creator of the Zone diet, and dermatologist Dr Nicholas Perricone (the Perricone diet).

But what sets this latest trend apart from other dietary fads is the growing number of medical experts who agree there might be much to gain from it.

The idea that chronic inflammation can lead to ill health is well established. It occurs when the immune system begins attacking the body – it’s not clear why this happens, but, as a result, the body tissues are damaged. In turn, they release chemicals that cause inflammation.

Because this initially causes no pain, people often don’t realise they’re suffering from chronic and ‘silent’ inflammation until years later – when the symptoms of arthritis or other conditions emerge.

Until recently, scientists were unsure of the role diet played in preventing inflammatory disease, but emerging evidence suggests it might be more helpful than previously thought.

In a review published recently in the British Journal Of Nutrition, Professor Philip Calder and his team at the University of Southampton looked at all the existing evidence for anti-inflammatory eating and suggested the approach might help a range of conditions.

The key foods in the diet are oily fish, fruit and vegetables, legumes and spices.

Research has shown that certain nutrients, such as the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oils and compounds in spices, have direct anti-inflammatory properties.

‘What seems to happen is that these nutrients dampen the production of the chemicals that trigger inflammatory processes,’ says nutritional immunologist Professor Calder.

Meanwhile, antioxidants in fruit and vegetables help curb the action of free radicals, which destroy healthy cells, exacerbating the damage at inflamed sites.

While each of the anti-inflammatory diets takes a slightly different approach – some concentrate on anti-ageing benefits, while others focus on preventing specific diseases – the principles remain the same: eat plenty of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and fibre.

At the same time, you’re meant to limit or cut out foods thought to cause inflammation, such as trans fats (artificially created fats) and saturated fats (found in red meat and dairy foods), processed foods and refined carbohydrates such as white bread and sugars.

All these are thought to produce free radicals or cause blood sugar levels to spike, leading to inflammation.

If all this sounds vaguely familiar, it is. As Professor Christopher Cannon, of Harvard Medical School and a co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide To The Anti-Inflammation Diet, explains, the basic idea closely resembles the Mediterranean diet – which is rich in oily fish, fruit and vegetables.

But there are additional ingredients, such as spices and garlic, known to reduce inflammation.

The benefits of the diets are twofold: disease prevention and a reduction of symptoms of chronic diseases.

‘Although specific studies haven’t yet been done on some of the popular anti-inflammatory eating plans, the related Mediterranean diet has been studied and is associated with improved outcomes in some diseases,’ says Professor Cannon.

Studies have shown that people taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), such as ibuprofen, for other reasons were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s. This led scientists to ask if an anti-inflammatory diet could have a similar benefit.
Scientists have shown that taking certain painkillers protects against Alzheimer’s

Copy cat effect: Scientists have shown that taking certain anti-inflammatory painkillers protects against Alzheimer’s

Indeed, researchers at Columbia University in New York recently found that a diet high in fish oil and vegetables prevented people with mild memory loss from getting full-blown dementia.

Meanwhile, neurologists at the University of California are investigating whether a combination of omega-3 fatty acids and curcumin, an antioxidant found in turmeric, can be used to prevent Alzheimer’s.

‘We’d like to keep down inflammation with something that doesn’t cause bleeding in the stomach lining (which some painkillers can do if taken long term),’ says Professor Greg Cole, leading the study.

Other studies have shown some anti-inflammatory painkillers help prevent tumours in people with inherited colorectal cancer. Getting the right amounts of omega fats in the diet is considered crucial to any anti-inflammatory diet.

There are good and bad omegas, and too much of the bad could boost inflammation.

Diets too high in omega-6 fatty acids, found in fast foods, and low in omega-3 can cause the release of proteins that trigger inflammation.

This anti-inflammatory approach may also be helpful in tackling disease once it’s developed.

The Arthritis Research Campaign says changes in diet cannot cure the condition, but there is ‘strong evidence that eating more oily fish and fresh fruit and vegetables is likely to help if you have an inflammatory type of arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

‘They reduce inflammation and, as a result, the pain this causes.’

Professor Calder says more studies need to be carried out before the benefits are confirmed.

‘It is certainly not a miracle cure,’ he says. ‘But it is one factor, along with genetic predisposition and other lifestyle habits such as smoking, that can affect inflammation and the likelihood of getting related diseases or at least make living with them more bearable.’

For most people, switching to these more healthy foods will result in weight loss, and this has benefits in itself because fat causes inflammatory chemicals to be released.

‘Inflammation reduces in people who lose weight, so following this diet can only be a good thing,’ says Professor Calder.

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