11/05/2026
Excessive inflammation may play a role in a number of leading causes of death and disability, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
Within hours after eating an unhealthy meal, inflammatory markers like interleukin-6 (IL-6) can skyrocket, doubling within six hours.
When researchers essentially gave people straight butter fat and no carbs, they still saw a spike in inflammation within hours, proving that the added fat itself is pro-inflammatory. However, when the study participants got straight sugar water without any fat, they saw the same result, proving that the added sugar is pro-inflammatory, too.
Now, not all high-fat foods cause inflammation. More than a dozen studies have shown that whole plant foods do not increase inflammatory markers, even if you eat handfuls of nuts a day, for instance. In fact, if you top a beef burger with half an avocado, you may be able to blunt some of the inflammation caused by the meat—even lean meat.
When individuals switched to strictly plant-based nutrition, their diets flipped and become anti-inflammatory. Not all plant-foods are anti-inflammatory, though. If all you do is boost your intake of less healthy plant foods, like juice, white bread, white potatoes, soda, and cake, you can end up with more inflammation.
A really clean diet of whole plant foods can significantly reduce levels of Lp(a), which we didn’t even think was possible, as well as drop LDL cholesterol and reduce levels of inflammatory markers. We’re talking about a 30 percent drop in C-reactive protein and a 20 percent drop in IL-6. Cutting down on animal products and processed foods may be the most effective dietary strategy to combat inflammation.
Watch the videos “Foods That Cause Inflammation” at https://see.nf/Inflammation and “Which Foods Are Anti-Inflammatory?” at https://see.nf/plantshift
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