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.

Kombucha fermenting in a glass jar with its culture of bacteria and yeast under a cloth cover

Kombucha

Kombucha is anti-inflammatory partly because of the polyphenols it keeps from the tea leaf, plant compounds researchers have studied for their possible role in reducing inflammation.

Fresh coconut cracked open showing the white flesh inside the brown shell

Coconut

Coconut is mildly anti-inflammatory when you eat the flesh rather than the oil.

Bowl of creamy mayonnaise on a slate board next to garlic cloves and black olives

Mayo

Mayo is inflammatory. It is refined oil whisked into egg yolk with vinegar until it thickens, and the oil makes up about three quarters of the jar.

Roast turkey breast on a white plate with brussels sprouts and carrots

Turkey

Turkey is anti-inflammatory when you eat it as plain roasted meat. A skinless breast is almost all protein and carries very little saturated fat.

Glass of plain kefir beside a bowl of fresh curds and a milk can on a wooden table

Kefir

Kefir is anti-inflammatory, and the reason is the mix of live microbes it carries.

Bunch of raw green asparagus spears with tight tips on a wooden board

Asparagus

Asparagus is anti-inflammatory, and most of that comes down to a fibre it carries called inulin.

Close-up of fresh curly kale leaves with ruffled edges

Kale

Kale is anti-inflammatory, and the compound doing most of that work is kaempferol.

Edamame pods and shelled green soybeans on a white surface

Edamame

Edamame is anti-inflammatory. It is a soybean picked while still green and soft, then boiled in its pod.

Whole celery bunches with their leaves stacked on a market stall

Celery

Celery is anti-inflammatory. Apigenin, what the research actually shows, and what to look for when you buy it.

Dried red cayenne peppers piled in a wicker basket on a white wooden table

Cayenne Pepper

Cayenne pepper is anti-inflammatory, and the heat and the effect come from the same compound, capsaicin.