Summary: Nearly 60% of Americans consume pro-inflammatory diets, increasing their risk for heart disease, cancer, and other health issues. The research shows that Black Americans, men, and people with lower incomes are more likely to follow diets high in inflammatory foods.
The study used the Dietary Inflammatory Index to measure the inflammatory potential of diets based on components like red meat and alcohol versus anti-inflammatory foods like leafy greens and fatty fish. Researchers suggest adding anti-inflammatory foods, such as garlic, ginger, and green tea, to improve health outcomes.
Key Facts:
- 57% of Americans consume pro-inflammatory diets, increasing health risks.
- Black Americans, men, and low-income individuals are more likely to have such diets.
- Anti-inflammatory foods like leafy greens, fatty fish, and turmeric can reduce inflammation.
Source: Ohio State University
Almost six in 10 Americans have pro-inflammatory diets, increasing the risk of health problems including heart disease and cancer, according to a new study that used a tool designed to examine inflammation in the diet.
The study also found that certain populations — including Black Americans, men and people with lower incomes — were more likely to eat a diet high in pro-inflammatory foods.
“Overall, 57% of U.S. adults have a pro-inflammatory diet and that number was higher for Black Americans, men, younger adults and people with lower education and income,” said lead author Rachel Meadows, visiting faculty in The Ohio State University’s College of Public Health.
The research team used the dietary inflammatory index, a tool developed a decade ago that includes 45 dietary components to examine the diets of more than 34,500 adults included in the 2005–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Based on self-reported diets, they used the tool to assign inflammation values ranging from −9 to 8, where 0 represents a neutral diet. About 34% of those in the study had anti-inflammatory diets, and the remaining 9% had neutral dietary inflammatory levels.
The study was recently published in the journal Public Health Nutrition.
Older dietary measures look at the intake of certain food groups (such as fruits, vegetables and dairy) or macronutrients (such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats) that align with national diet recommendations or certain diets like keto or paleo.
“But inflammation is an important element to consider and the overall balance of diet is most important,” Meadows said.
“Even if you’re eating enough fruits or vegetables, if you’re having too much alcohol or red meat, then your overall diet can still be pro-inflammatory.”
Meadows said she’s less interested in labeling foods as “bad” and more interested in thinking about anti-inflammatory foods as tools people can employ to boost health.
“There’s a potential here to think about positive interventions, such as adding more garlic, ginger, turmeric and green and black tea — which are all anti-inflammatory — to your diet,” she said.
“Moving toward a diet with less inflammation could have a positive impact on a number of chronic conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even depression and other mental health conditions.”
Other examples of anti-inflammatory foods are mostly unprocessed including whole grains, green leafy vegetables (such as spinach), legumes (such as beans and lentils), fatty fish (such as salmon) and berries.
Challenges to eating a less inflammatory diet include poor access to fruits, vegetables and other foods that can contribute to better health — and even when those foods are available, they can sometimes be more costly, creating a barrier for those with low incomes, Meadows said.
Many people also have elevated chronic inflammation due to non-dietary factors including stress and adverse childhood experiences, she said.
“There are a lot of factors that contribute to chronic inflammation, and they all interact – even sleep is a key component. Diet can be used as a tool to combat that,” Meadows said.
Other Ohio State researchers who worked on the study are Electra Paskett, Julie Bower, Gail Kaye, Stanley Lemeshow and Randall Harris.
About this inflammation and diet research news
Author: Misti Crane
Source: Ohio State University
Contact: Misti Crane – Ohio State University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Socio-demographic differences in the dietary inflammatory index from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2018: a comparison of multiple imputation versus complete case analysis” by Rachel Meadows et al. Public Health Nutrition
Abstract
Socio-demographic differences in the dietary inflammatory index from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2018: a comparison of multiple imputation versus complete case analysis
Objective:
Studies using the dietary inflammatory index often perform complete case analyses (CCA) to handle missing data, which may reduce the sample size and increase the risk of bias. Furthermore, population-level socio-economic differences in the energy-adjusted dietary inflammatory index (E-DII) have not been recently studied. Therefore, we aimed to describe socio-demographic differences in E-DII scores among American adults and compare the results using two statistical approaches for handling missing data, i.e. CCA and multiple imputation (MI).
Design:
Cross-sectional analysis. E-DII scores were computed using a 24-hour dietary recall. Linear regression was used to compare the E-DII scores by age, sex, race/ethnicity, education and income using both CCA and MI.
Setting:
USA.
Participants:
This study included 34 547 non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic adults aged ≥ 20 years from the 2005–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Results:
The MI and CCA subpopulations comprised 34 547 and 23 955 participants, respectively. Overall, 57 % of the American adults reported 24-hour dietary intakes associated with inflammation. Both methods showed similar patterns wherein 24-hour dietary intakes associated with high inflammation were commonly reported among males, younger adults, non-Hispanic Black adults and those with lower education or income. Differences in point estimates between CCA and MI were mostly modest at ≤ 20 %.
Conclusions:
The two approaches for handling missing data produced comparable point estimates and 95 % CI. Differences in the E-DII scores by age, sex, race/ethnicity, education and income suggest that socio-economic disparities in health may be partially explained by the inflammatory potential of diet.
