25 Keto-Friendly Anti-Inflammatory Foods You Should Eat Every Week
/Chronic inflammation is associated with many diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, and even Alzheimer's disease. Source. Removing foods that cause inflammation (like highly processed foods) from your diet and adding in foods with anti-inflammatory properties can help reduce your risk of these diseases, ease joint pain, improve symptoms of IBS, decrease your risk of depression, and help you lose weight.
If you follow a ketogenic diet you might wonder what anti-inflammatory foods are keto-friendly.
Keto-friendly anti-inflammatory foods consist of low-starch vegetables, low-sugar berries, healthy fats like avocados and extra-virgin olive oil, bone broth, fatty fish, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices. Anti-inflammatory foods are those high in antioxidants and polyphenols (protective properties found in plants) or omega-3 fatty acids.
Anti-inflammatory foods are delicious and many (most!) are perfectly suitable for a ketogenic diet. Keep scrolling for 25 keto-friendly foods that are not only anti-inflammatory but also taste delicious.
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25 Keto-Friendly Anti-Inflammatory Foods You Should Eat Every Week
Keto-friendly anti-inflammatory foods include vegetables, especially brightly colored ones (think yellow bell peppers, dark green kale, red cabbage), berries, fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices. These are real, whole, delicious foods like what you might find at a farmer's market or in the produce section of your grocery store.
Here are 25 anti-inflammatory foods you can eat on a keto diet:
Extra-virgin olive oil
Wild-caught salmon
Walnuts
Spinach
Avocado
Grass-fed beef
Kale
Blueberries
Tuna
Almonds
Pumpkin seeds
Strawberries
Bone broth (I like to either make my own using this recipe or purchase a quality bone broth like this one on Amazon)
Tomatoes
Avocado oil
Broccoli
Asparagus
Garlic
Eggplant
Mushrooms
Green tea
Seaweed
Coconut oil
Blackberries
Onions
Some anti-inflammatory foods are tasty and healthy but not suitable (at least in large quantities) on a ketogenic diet. Some anti-inflammatory foods to avoid if you eat low-carb are potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, bananas, and apples.
This meal is PACKED with anti-inflammatory foods. Pan-sautéed Arctic char with a salad loaded with low-carb veggies, avocado, and extra-virgin olive oil. I made this recipe when doing Dr. Mark Hyman’s 10-day detox/blog/dr-hyman-10-day-detox-diet-review-and-results.
Don't stop at this list of 25!
All vegetables have anti-inflammatory properties, so include veggies like cauliflower, carrots, and cucumbers in your low-carb diet. Herbs and spices, like basil, turmeric, and ginger are anti-inflammatory so use lots of fresh or dried herbs and spices in your cooking.
Though delicious produce like sweet potatoes, corn, bananas, and pineapple are anti-inflammatory, you should limit the amount of high-carb plant foods you consume on a keto diet.
All fruits are anti-inflammatory too, but not all fruits are suitable for a keto diet, at least in large quantities. Same with legumes. They have anti-inflammatory properties and are linked to a reduced risk of heart disease and obesity, but the amount of carbs makes legumes like pinto or black beans unsuitable for a keto diet.
“Include a wide variety of plant foods in your keto diet to reduce inflammation, and avoid processed foods, diet drinks, and artificial sweeteners which are known to increase inflammation.”
RELATED: Health experts suggest we eat 30 different plant foods each week for optimum gut health. Check this out: How to Eat More Veggies on a Keto Diet - Free Low Carb Eat the Rainbow Tracker
What are anti-inflammatory foods?
Anti-inflammatory foods are all varieties of fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, whole grains and legumes (though whole grains and legumes are not necessarily suited for a low-carb diet), healthy fats like extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil,and coconut oil, bone broth, fatty fish, nuts and seeds.
Anti-inflammatory foods are ones high in antioxidants and polyphenols, which are protective compounds found in plants. Other foods, like wild-caught salmon and extra-virgin olive oil, are considered anti-inflammatory because they contain large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for heart health. Source.
RELATED: I did a 5-day detox that eliminated inflammatory foods and included lots of tasty, healing anti-inflammatory foods like bone broth, collagen, and fresh vegetables and I not only lost weight but felt great! Read my review here.
Make your keto meals veggie-forward to add more anti-inflammatory foods.
Why should you eat lots of anti-inflammatory foods?
Eating a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods lowers your risk of disease. You may lose weight, experience less joint pain, and have overall better health, both physically and emotionally (since an anti-inflammatory diet may lower your risk of depression). Source.
RELATED: Plant foods are anti-inflammatory. I like to support local farmers by ordering through Market Wagon, which is an online farmer's market delivered straight to your door. Read all about it here.
What foods cause inflammation?
Most processed foods can cause inflammation in the body, so it is best to eat whole, real foods and avoid fast food restaurants, packaged foods, sugar and sweets, soda, and trans fats which are still common in store-bought baked goods).
Inflammation-causing foods are linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression, as well as many other chronic diseases.
RELATED: For busy weeks when I want healthy keto meals packed with anti-inflammatory plants and no icky chemical additives, I order Factor meals. Read all about it here.
This Vietnamese Beef Salad is chock full of anti-inflammatory foods. This recipe is from Dr. Kellyann’s Bone Broth Diet and I served it with homemade spicy Sichuan Chili Oil! (Here’s the recipe.)
In particular, avoid these highly inflammatory foods:
refined carbohydrates, like cookies, bread, cereal
sugar
wheat flour
artificial sweeteners (and things containing them, like diet soda and even keto treats!)
French fries and other fried foods
highly processed meats like sausages and bacon
margarine and butter substitutes
vegetable oils like corn oil, canola, and soybean oil
trans fats (think shortening and commercially produced baked goods, some microwave popcorns. non-dairy creamers, restaurant fried foods)
Anti-inflammatory foods are a tasty way to boost your diet with healing compounds and decrease your risk of chronic inflammation. Most anti-inflammatory foods, with the exception of whole grains and legumes, are suitable for a ketogenic diet and should be included in your meals every single day.
--The Keto Minimalist
