Can an Anti-Inflammatory Diet Help You Lose Weight? | Women's Health

It doesn’t have a cute name, nor does it promise to shrink your belly by the weekend. Still, the anti-inflammatory diet has serious buzz, as well as real science behind it. What’s it about? Basically, it involves kicking high-fat, starchy, processed foods to the curb and packing your plate with natural foods that haven’t been flooded with chemicals. We’re talking fish and poultry, low-fat dairy, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables—all the good stuff you can find along the outer aisles of the supermarket.

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“Consuming processed food causes your body to build up inflammation, which is an immune response your system experiences when it senses toxins,” says best-selling author Joy Bauer, R.D, nutrition and health expert for the Today Show.  “Natural foods don’t trigger this inflammatory response, so people who eat anti-inflammatory foods tend to have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity.” Even if you’re only trying to subtract a few pounds, anti-inflammatory foods can make a big difference. “They make you more energetic, are digested easier, and fill you up more, so you shed pounds without feeling like you’re on a diet or depriving yourself,” says Bauer. And since it takes more energy to burn natural foods, your metabolism gets cranked up and you torch more calories while you’re at rest.

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If you’re the kind of person who likes a weight-loss plan with lots of rules and regulations to help you stick with it, this one may backfire. The anti­-inflammatory diet isn’t really a diet in that sense: There’s no calorie limit, no cheat days, no app to download to help you track what you put in your mouth. Basically, any unprocessed food is on the menu—while crappy packaged stuff should get the heave-ho or only be eaten occasionally, says Bauer. 

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