Inflammatory & Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Some foods calm inflammation. Others fuel it. And most of what you eat every day falls somewhere in between.

We've reviewed the scientific evidence behind each food and assigned it a score from 1 to 10 on the inflammation scale. Here you'll discover why a food may be inflammatory or anti-inflammatory, what to eat instead when it scores poorly, and recipes featuring foods with potential health benefits. Start with the food you eat most often.

Two fresh raw sardines on a plain white background

Sardines

Sardines are anti-inflammatory, and the reason is the fat packed into such a small fish.

A heap of finely ground almond flour with a spoon in it and whole almonds beside it on a wooden board

Almond Flour

Almond flour is anti-inflammatory, and it is just almonds milled to a powder.

Pale golden vegetable oil being poured from a glass bottle into a frying pan on a gas hob

Vegetable Oil

Vegetable oil is inflammatory. The bottle sold under that name is a blend of soybean, rapeseed or sunflower oil, refined until it keeps for months and tastes of nothing.

Three plain puffed rice cakes on a white plate on a wooden table

Rice Cakes

Rice cakes are inflammatory, even the plain ones. They are made by heating milled white rice under pressure until the grains puff and stick together in a disc.

Scoops of vanilla ice cream in a dark bowl topped with blueberries

Ice Cream

Ice cream is inflammatory. It is milk and cream churned with sugar and frozen, and sugar sits near the top of the ingredient list, just behind the dairy.

Fresh white cauliflower head surrounded by its green leaves

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is anti-inflammatory, and it carries the sulphur compounds known as glucosinolates, like the rest of the cabbage family.

Whole pecans in their shells and shelled pecan halves on a rustic wooden surface

Pecans

Pecans are anti-inflammatory. Most of the fat in a pecan is the monounsaturated kind that makes up olive oil, and it comes with gamma-tocopherol, a form of vitamin E that protects fat from being damaged by oxygen.

Two whole mangoes and a cut mango half showing the orange flesh, in a white bowl

Mango

Mango is anti-inflammatory, and the reason is a family of plant compounds called gallotannins.

A whole purple eggplant with its green stem on a white background

Eggplant

Eggplant is not inflammatory, thanks in part to nasunin, the pigment that makes the skin purple.

A glass jar of almond butter flecked with brown almond skins, with a wooden spoon and whole almonds

Almond Butter

Almond butter is anti-inflammatory when the jar holds nothing but almonds.