The short answer: an anti inflammation diet means eating more vegetables, fruit, beans, whole grains, nuts, olive oil and fish, and less sugary drinks, refined carbs, fried food and processed meat. There’s no single official plan. In trials, Mediterranean-style eating lowers some blood markers of inflammation, though the drop is modest and it isn’t a treatment for any disease.
What is an anti-inflammatory diet?
An anti-inflammatory diet is a style of eating built on whole and minimally processed foods. Harvard’s Nutrition Source says there is no single anti-inflammatory diet plan, and Cleveland Clinic calls it an overall style of eating rather than a set regimen.
Inflammation itself is useful. MedlinePlus explains that short-term inflammation helps your body heal a cut or fight germs. The trouble starts when it lasts too long and damages healthy tissue. Harvard notes that this slow, low-grade kind usually causes no symptoms you’d notice, yet it has been linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and some cancers. Lack of exercise, high stress and calorie-rich diets can all feed it.
Doctors can measure one marker, C-reactive protein (CRP), which your liver makes in response to inflammation. MedlinePlus says a high-sensitivity CRP test is used to estimate heart disease risk, but a CRP result can’t tell you what is causing inflammation or where it is.
Does an anti-inflammatory diet work?
It lowers some markers of inflammation in trials, by a modest amount.
| Study | Who and how many | What it found |
|---|---|---|
| Mediterranean diet review, 2014 | 17 trials, 2,300 adults, at least 12 weeks | High-sensitivity CRP fell by about 1 mg/L more than on control diets. Another marker, IL-6, also fell. |
| Mediterranean diet review, 2026 | 33 trials, 3,476 people | High-sensitivity CRP, IL-6 and IL-17 fell. Standard CRP and several other markers did not change significantly. |
| Fiber review, 2015 | 14 trials in adults with overweight or obesity | A slight drop in CRP of 0.37 mg/L, seen only when people ate at least 8g more fiber a day. |
| Ultra-processed food survey, 2025 | 9,254 US adults | People getting 40% to 79% of their calories from ultra-processed foods were 11% to 14% more likely to have high hs-CRP than those under 20%. |
Three limits matter. Lower markers are not the same as less disease, and the 2026 review’s authors call for more high-quality studies. The ultra-processed food survey shows a link, not proof of cause. And Harvard says the exact way these foods work is still unclear.
Large long-running US studies of nurses and health professionals did find that people whose diets scored most inflammatory had more heart disease and twice the risk of type 2 diabetes. Those were observational studies too, but they point the same way as the trials.
What foods are on the anti-inflammatory food list?
Print this list for the fridge. It draws on Harvard Health, Harvard’s Nutrition Source and Cleveland Clinic.
| Eat more | Eat less |
|---|---|
| Leafy greens: spinach, kale, collards | Soda, sweet tea and other sugary drinks |
| Colorful vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, carrots | White bread, pastries and other refined flour foods |
| Fruit: berries, cherries, oranges, apples | Cookies, candy, ice cream and packaged desserts |
| Fatty fish: salmon, sardines, mackerel, tuna | Bacon, sausage, hot dogs and deli meats |
| Beans, lentils and chickpeas | Burgers, steaks and fatty cuts of red meat |
| Whole grains: oats, brown rice, barley | French fries, fried chicken and other fried foods |
| Nuts and seeds: walnuts, almonds, flax, chia | Chips, microwave popcorn and packaged snacks |
| Olive oil and avocado | Margarine, shortening, lard and lots of butter |
| Chicken and turkey | Processed cheese slices and cheese dips |
| Tea, coffee, herbs and spices like turmeric and ginger | Too much alcohol |
For olive oil and other fats, see our guide to the healthiest cooking oil. For fiber, our list of high-fiber foods ranks beans, grains and fruit by the gram. Fish is worth eating whole: our review of whether fish oil is worth taking found the case for pills much weaker.
Eggs don’t appear on either list in these sources. They’re in the plan below as an easy, cheap protein.
What is a good 7-day anti-inflammatory meal plan?
Each main meal below reaches 26 to 43 grams of protein, and each day lands at about 96 to 128 grams, worked out from USDA data. Fiber runs about 25 to 48 grams a day. Cook once and eat twice: the Tuesday chicken covers Wednesday’s lunch, and Thursday’s chili covers Sunday’s.
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Snack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Greek yogurt (1 cup), blueberries, walnuts, chia (30g) | Lentil and spinach soup, 1 slice whole-wheat toast (29g) | Salmon, baked sweet potato, broccoli, olive oil (38g) | Apple and 20g almonds (5g) |
| Tue | Oats cooked in milk, topped with Greek yogurt and strawberries (31g) | Tuna and white bean salad with tomato and cucumber (34g) | Chicken breast, brown rice, broccoli and peppers (38g) | Hummus and carrots (6g) |
| Wed | 2 eggs scrambled with spinach, toast, ½ cup cottage cheese (30g) | Chicken, quinoa and chickpea bowl (40g) | Tofu and vegetable stir-fry with brown rice (43g) | Greek yogurt and strawberries (16g) |
| Thu | Overnight oats with Greek yogurt, chia, blueberries (27g) | Sardines on 2 slices whole-wheat toast with tomato (32g) | Chicken and kidney bean chili (43g) | 1 cup edamame (18g) |
| Fri | Smoothie: Greek yogurt, soy milk, banana, spinach, flax (28g) | Chickpea, quinoa and feta salad with a boiled egg (29g) | Baked cod, sweet potato, kale (39g) | Apple and 2 tbsp peanut butter (8g) |
| Sat | Cottage cheese (1 cup), pear, walnuts (26g) | Chicken and hummus sandwich on whole-wheat bread (35g) | Whole-wheat pasta, white beans, tomato sauce, spinach, parmesan (29g) | Orange and 25g almonds (7g) |
| Sun | 3-egg omelet with peppers, spinach, feta, toast (28g) | Leftover chicken chili (43g) | Salmon, quinoa, green salad with avocado (40g) | Greek yogurt, cherries, walnuts (18g) |
Protein per serving is an estimate from USDA FoodData Central and varies with brands and portions. Fish portions are about 140g to 150g cooked, chicken 75g to 100g.
Want the Monday soup as a full recipe? Our high-protein soup recipes include a lentil version. Thursday’s breakfast follows our high protein overnight oats, and Monday’s dinner works well as sheet-pan salmon.
This plan leans on plain low-fat dairy for protein. Harvard’s quick-start guide suggests only a little low-fat dairy, so swap in tofu, soy milk, beans or eggs if you prefer.
What should be on an anti-inflammatory grocery list?
- Protein: salmon fillets, canned sardines, canned light tuna, frozen cod, chicken breast, eggs, firm tofu, plain Greek yogurt, cottage cheese
- Beans: dry or canned lentils, chickpeas, white beans, kidney beans, frozen edamame
- Grains: rolled oats, brown rice, quinoa, whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat pasta
- Produce: spinach, kale, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, sweet potatoes, onions, berries (frozen is fine), apples, oranges, bananas, pears, avocado
- Pantry: extra virgin olive oil, walnuts, almonds, chia or flaxseed, peanut butter, hummus, canned tomato sauce, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon
Our list of the cheapest protein foods shows which ones give the most protein per dollar.
How do you start an anti-inflammatory diet?
Start small. Cleveland Clinic advises giving yourself three to six months to change how you eat, adding one change at a time. Try these this week:
- Swap one drink. Replace one soda or sweet tea a day with water, unsweetened tea or coffee.
- Add a bean meal. Lentils, chickpeas or black beans bring fiber and protein for very little money.
- Plan two fish meals. Canned sardines, salmon or tuna count.
- Read the ingredient list. Cleveland Clinic’s dietitian suggests passing on foods with a long list that starts with sugar, salt or a processed oil.
- Buy more from the ground. Harvard’s advice is simple: fewer foods from packages, more that come from the ground.
Food is one part. Harvard’s Nutrition Source adds regular exercise, managing stress and enough sleep. If sleep is the weak spot, our look at magnesium glycinate covers what the evidence shows. For the holidays, try our healthy Christmas treats.
Can an anti-inflammatory diet help arthritis?
The research is early. Harvard’s Nutrition Source says there are no standard dietary guidelines for rheumatoid arthritis. In one 10-week crossover trial, people with rheumatoid arthritis had lower disease activity scores on an anti-inflammatory diet. Harvard calls the research limited. For knee osteoarthritis, see what one trial found about fiber for knee arthritis.
If you have arthritis, an autoimmune disease, inflammatory bowel disease or another diagnosis, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before changing your diet, and keep taking your medicines as prescribed.
Is an anti-inflammatory diet good for your heart?
The foods on this list are the same ones linked to heart health. Cleveland Clinic says research shows the Mediterranean and DASH diets help reduce inflammation along with cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar. To go further, read our guides to foods that lower cholesterol and how to lower blood pressure, or step back to what a balanced diet looks like.
If you’d like a full month of meals planned for you, with grocery lists for each week, our 4-week high-protein meal plan builds on the same foods.
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Quick questions
How long does an anti-inflammatory diet take to work?
There’s no fixed timeline. Cleveland Clinic suggests giving yourself three to six months to change your eating habits and see results. In the Mediterranean diet trials, many studies lasted 12 weeks or more before blood markers such as high-sensitivity CRP were measured.
Is the anti-inflammatory diet the same as the Mediterranean diet?
They overlap almost completely. Harvard Health suggests the Mediterranean diet if you want a ready-made plan that follows anti-inflammatory eating, since it’s high in fruit, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fish and healthy oils. The DASH diet, built to lower blood pressure, follows most of the same rules.
Is coffee anti-inflammatory?
Coffee may help. Harvard Health says coffee contains polyphenols and other compounds that may protect against inflammation, and Harvard’s Nutrition Source lists both coffee and tea as anti-inflammatory foods. Harvard’s quick-start guide names added sugar among the biggest offenders, so keep your cup plain or lightly sweetened.
Does an anti-inflammatory diet include dairy?
It can include some. Harvard’s quick-start guide lists a little low-fat dairy among foods to eat and cheese, butter and ice cream among foods to limit. Plain low-fat yogurt and cottage cheese are easy protein sources. If dairy upsets your stomach, tofu, soy milk, beans and eggs fill the same role.
Is the anti-inflammatory diet gluten free?
No. Whole grains such as oats, barley and whole-wheat bread are part of it, and Harvard lists their fiber among the food parts that may help fight inflammation. Gluten is a real problem for people with celiac disease, as Harvard’s Nutrition Source notes. If you think gluten bothers you, talk to your doctor before cutting it out.
Does an anti-inflammatory diet lower cholesterol?
The eating patterns behind it can. Cleveland Clinic says research shows the Mediterranean and DASH diets reduce cholesterol as well as inflammation, blood pressure and blood sugar. If you take cholesterol medicine, keep taking it and ask your doctor before changing anything.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If you have arthritis, an autoimmune or bowel condition, diabetes, heart or kidney disease, a food allergy, are pregnant, or take medicines, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before changing your diet.
Sources
- Harvard Health Publishing. Foods that fight inflammation (reviewed February 24, 2026)
- Harvard Health Publishing. Quick-start guide to an anti-inflammation diet (March 30, 2026)
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The Nutrition Source: Diet Review: Anti-Inflammatory Diet
- Cleveland Clinic. Should You Follow an Anti-Inflammatory Diet? (September 30, 2025)
- MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Test
- Schwingshackl L, Hoffmann G. Mediterranean dietary pattern, inflammation and endothelial function: a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention trials. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 2014
- Keshani M et al. Mediterranean Diet Reduces Inflammation in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutr Rev, 2026
- Jiao J et al. Effect of dietary fiber on circulating C-reactive protein in overweight and obese adults: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Int J Food Sci Nutr, 2015
- Sajan K et al. Ultra-processed foods and increased high sensitivity C-reactive protein. Am J Med, 2025
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (protein and fiber per 100g for each food in the meal plan)