Anti-inflammatory eating: where to start

Step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: Learn what an anti-inflammatory eating pattern looks like

   Think more whole foods, more variety, and less highly processed food. Build your meals around:

   • Vegetables: leafy greens, gourds, beans, carrots, tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage and other seasonal vegetables
   • Fruit: whole fruit such as oranges, guava, berries, apples and papaya
   • Protein-rich foods: dal, beans, chana, rajma, curd, paneer, eggs, fish or other foods you eat
   • Whole grains and traditional staples: oats, brown rice, whole-wheat roti, millets and other minimally refined grains
   • Nuts and seeds: walnuts, almonds, peanuts, flaxseeds and chia seeds
   • Healthy fats: mainly unsaturated fats such as those found in nuts, seeds and olive oil
   • Flavour from herbs and spices: turmeric, ginger, garlic, cumin and other spices can make healthy food more enjoyable

   At the same time, try to eat less of foods that are easy to overconsume and provide little nutritional value, such as sugary drinks, sweets, packaged snacks and heavily processed foods.

   This is not about labelling foods as “good” or “bad”. Your overall eating pattern matters more than any single food.

   Learn more: Anti-inflammatory basics
2. 2

   Step 2: Build a balanced plate

   You do not need a special recipe or expensive ingredients. Start with the meal in front of you. A simple guide is:

   • Half the plate: vegetables
   • A quarter of the plate: protein, such as dal, beans, paneer, curd, eggs or fish
   • A quarter of the plate: whole grains or other minimally refined carbohydrates such as roti, brown rice or millets

   Add a portion of whole fruit when it fits the meal, and use nuts or seeds regularly in sensible portions.

   For an Indian meal, this could be as simple as vegetable sabzi, dal, roti, curd and a piece of fruit. Or vegetable pulao, raita, a side of beans or paneer, and fruit.

   You do not have to make every meal perfect. Improving one meal at a time is a much easier habit to maintain.

   Learn more: Nutrition basics

A simple way to start this week

Rather than changing your entire diet, try these swaps:

• Replace a biscuit or packaged snack with fruit and a few nuts.
• Add one extra vegetable to lunch or dinner.
• Choose dal, beans, curd, paneer, eggs or fish more regularly as your protein source.
• Use whole fruit instead of juice most of the time.
• Add walnuts, flaxseeds or chia seeds to meals you already eat.
• Choose home-cooked food more often when possible.

What about turmeric, ginger and other anti-inflammatory foods?

Turmeric, ginger, garlic, berries, nuts and other foods contain compounds that have been studied for their potential effects on inflammation. But no single food or spice can make an overall unhealthy diet anti-inflammatory.

Think of these foods as useful additions to a balanced eating pattern, not as treatments.

One thing to remember

You do not need to buy special anti-inflammatory products. The food already in an Indian kitchen can give you most of what you need: vegetables, fruit, dal, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, curd and spices.

The goal is not a perfect diet. It is a pattern of eating that you can enjoy and maintain.

All topics in this guide

• Anti-inflammatory basics
• Anti-inflammatory swaps for an Indian kitchen
• Nutrition basics
• Protein at every meal: how to actually get enough

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