Two kinds of inflammation
Cut your finger and the redness, heat, and swelling are inflammation doing its job: contain, clean, repair, resolve. That process is supposed to end.
Chronic low-grade inflammation never resolves. Markers like C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 sit slightly elevated for years, contributing to insulin resistance, atherosclerosis, joint pain, and cognitive decline. Estrogen has anti-inflammatory effects, so its decline nudges the baseline upward.
The dietary levers, ranked
Omega-3 fats. Oily fish two to three times a week supplies EPA and DHA, the precursors to resolvins, molecules that actively end inflammation rather than just failing to start it.
Fiber and fermented food. Short-chain fatty acids from fermentation regulate immune signaling in the gut wall, where most of your immune system lives.
Polyphenols. Olive oil, berries, herbs, spices, tea, coffee, and dark chocolate. Extra virgin olive oil contains oleocanthal, which acts on the same pathway as ibuprofen at a far gentler dose.
What to reduce: ultra-processed foods, refined starch eaten alone, industrial seed oils in large amounts, and alcohol above modest levels.
The non-food levers
Sleep below six hours raises inflammatory markers within days. Visceral fat is metabolically active tissue that secretes inflammatory cytokines. Chronic psychological stress does the same through the HPA axis.
Any honest anti-inflammatory plan addresses sleep and stress with the same seriousness it applies to salmon.
