This is the first of a three-part series on popular nutrition topics to celebrate March as nutrition month. Click here to find the second and third entries.

National Nutrition Month® is a great time to take a step back and evaluate your eating and lifestyle habits. Are there specific areas that need improvement? Are there specific nutrients that need to be supplemented? Today, we are going to focus on the topic of inflammation and how your diet can greatly reduce inflammation.

A growing body of scientific research suggests a connection between modern foods, inflammation and autoimmune illnesses. Diseases that are epidemic in contemporary Western countries are rare or nonexistent in less Westernized societies. These diseases are linked to foods and food products made popular during the industrial era—including dairy products, refined cereals, refined vegetable oils and fatty meats. In fact, modern food processing techniques and the resulting products have fundamentally altered critical nutritional characteristics of the human diet: glycemic load, fatty acid composition, macronutrient composition, micronutrient density, acid-base balance, sodium-potassium ratio and fiber content.

Many foods and chemicals can cause inflammation in the gut, and once the intestines are inflamed, absorption of nutrients is compromised. The intestinal lining becomes porous, which allows large particles of undigested food to pass through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream. This intestinal permeability can lead to a host of problems, such as fatigue, depression, food intolerances, irritable bowel syndrome, autoimmune diseases, asthma and many other conditions.

Over time, inflammation subsides with the elimination of certain foods—like gluten-containing grains, sweeteners and dairy products—and the gut can heal, which means the immune system can begin to work properly again. This leads to an improved immune response to airborne contaminants and allergens, industrial contaminants, viruses, parasites and bacteria. This means individuals will be less affected by these toxins and infections, making them sick less often.

Another important point is that the intestinal lining is made of cells that replace themselves about every two to four days. This means in the span of a single week, every cell in the intestinal lining is digested or sloughed off and a new cell grows to take its place. Removing foods that cause inflammation from the diet makes this newly formed gut tissue stronger and healthier. Thus, it is important not only to remove potentially harmful foods from the diet, but also to supply the body with healthy, anti-inflammatory whole foods—especially those containing healthy fats, fiber and an array of phytonutrients.

Adopting an anti-inflammatory lifestyle can have many benefits. Inflammation in the body is known to contribute to several chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, inflammatory gut disorders, arthritis, obesity, cancer and dementia. Eating an anti-inflammatory diet may help to lessen inflammation and decrease chronic disease.

Submitted by: Julie Marsh, RDN, LD, Clinical Nutrition Manager at Aultman Hospital with AVI Foodsystems, Inc.