Vegan Anti-Inflammatory Diet and Meal Plan

You’ve probably heard that reducing inflammation will result in optimal health. But you might have questions such as:

• What exactly is inflammation?
• Does a vegan diet reduce inflammation?
• What foods should I avoid to reduce inflammation?

This article will address the principles of the vegan anti-inflammatory diet and how it can help you in your chronic inflammation journey.

What even is chronic inflammation?

It can be easy to assume that all inflammation is bad, especially because we’re talking about anti-inflammatory nutrition. But that just isn’t true.

Inflammation is a crucial function of our immune systems! It’s designed to help protect us from disease and injury.

When you scrape your knee, inflammation goes to work, sending immune cells to the site of injury, engulfing any foreign microbes, and healing the wound. When the damage is fixed, inflammation shuts off. That’s inflammation in an acute situation. In this case, inflammation is our friend.

Chronic inflammation is a different pathway, governed by different immune cells. It represents a dysregulation.

It is caused by chronic stress, poor diet, inactivity, and even environmental pollutants. When chronic inflammation is firing, other normal body functions don’t work as well and cellular damage occurs.

This is when inflammation can be harmful for us. Unfortunately, chronic inflammation is all too common.

Conditions associated with chronic inflammation

• Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease
• Cancer 
• Arthritis and chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia
• Autoimmune disease 
• Digestive disease such as celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome
• Skin conditions such as acne and eczema

Principles of a vegan anti-inflammatory diet

It’s important that you recognize that no battle is ever won or lost on a single meal.

Plant-based anti-inflammatory eating isn’t about never eating out again or never having cake again. What’s most important is the overall pattern of how you eat.

A healthy, balanced, vegan anti-inflammatory diet is one of the best ways to do this.

Keep stable blood sugars

Maintaining hormonal balance and keeping inflammation at bay means keeping the blood sugar curve moderate.

Whole grains, fruits, and vegetables digest slowly which helps keep blood sugar low. Balancing carbohydrates with protein and fat keep insulin secretion moderate, too.

Spikes in blood sugar that can occur from eating white pasta, bread and sugary snacks increase inflammation in the body.

Choose healthy fats

Choose monounsaturated and omega 3 fatty acids over saturated and omega 6 fats. These healthy fats promote anti-inflammatory pathways.

Opt for extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil in cooking for monounsaturated fats. The best vegan sources of omega 3 are hemp seeds, chia seeds, walnuts and flax seeds.

Make sure that your daily diet includes these healthy fats. Consider taking a 250-500mg daily vegan omega-3 supplement if you don’t eat many vegan omega-3 food sources.

Eat more antioxidants

Research has shown that vegans that consume high quantities of fruits and vegetables often have lower inflammatory markers (such as C-reactive protein) when compared to meat-eaters.

To reduce inflammation, eat lots of colorful fruits and veggies. These are rich in antioxidants that neutralize pro-inflammatory compounds in the body. 

Examples of excellent antioxidant sources include onions, garlic, dark leafy greens, berries, carrots, green tea, and bell pepper.

Feed your gut bacteria

Your gut plays a huge role in modulating immunity and inflammation!

If you want to fight chronic inflammation, you need to keep your gut bacteria happy. A good quality probiotic can certainly help, but really, you need to feed your gut bacteria dietary fiber.

Beans, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are great sources of fiber. In fact, the more emphasis you place on whole foods, the more fiber your diet will provide.