Your Diet is Probably Inflammatory
Plus: How to find your productive flow
Welcome back to your weekly dose of wisdom and wellness, aiming to help you make tomorrow a little better than today. Below you’ll find informative and actionable articles by our team of topical experts, practicing professionals and trained journalists — all thoughtfully curated and professionally edited. First, this week’s newsletter-only feature…
New research estimates that nearly six in 10 Americans have a diet that encourages inflammation, an immune-system response which, when over-activated, elevates the risk of cancer, heart disease, chronic pain and numerous other debilitating and deadly conditions.
It’s no secret the typical Western diet—heavy on red meat and light on fruits and veggies—is unhealthy. But the new study didn’t look strictly at healthy vs. unhealthy food. Instead, the scientists mapped out the stuff we consume based on its tendency to produce or reduce inflammation. Then they analyzed the self-reported food intake of 34,500 US adults.
About 57% of those people had diets considered inflammatory, the researchers concluded in the journal Public Health Nutrition.
“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,” said lead author Rachel Meadows, PhD, a visiting faculty member in Ohio State University’s College of Public Health.
Here’s what we know about inflammation:
When your immune system spots a toxin—a virus or a harmful chemical—it sends out little proteins called cytokines, along with other anti-inflammatory cells, to fight off the invader and promote healing. Imagine that each time you consume something inflammatory, like alcohol or hot dogs, for example, you’re activating this inner chemical warfare.
Meadows would like people to think more about anti-inflammatory foods, and she has a few suggestions:
“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,” she said in a statement. “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.” Other anti-inflammatory foods on Meadows’ list: whole grains, leafy greens like spinach, berries, beans, lentils and other legumes, and fatty fish (such as salmon).
Conveniently, you’ll find several other suggestions for anti-inflammatory foods in the article below about best foods to eat.
Here’s what else is on Wise & Well this week…
Find Your Flow: The Magic of Deep, Joyful, Creative Focus
I know flow. It happens mostly when I get into a writing groove. But it can happen with other creative pursuits, too, when I get so focused I tune everything else out, even hunger. I can’t make it happen, it just does. I did not know it had a name. This psychologist explains the blissful feeling of flow, and tells us how to get into it.
In my work as a clinical psychologist, I hear clients bemoan their inertia, boredom, and lack of zest for life. Many may have previously experienced flow when immersed in a beloved hobby; but such seemingly “unproductive” activities are often relegated to the bottom of a long list of daily tasks that take precedence. Most of these clients eventually appreciate that finding the time and space to engage in a joyful, intrinsically motivating activity should also receive top billing on that to-do list.
—Gail Post, Ph.D.
What the Heck is ASMR? Here’s the Actual Science.
When I first heard about ASMR, I totally dismissed it as hoo-ha. When this psychiatrist/neuroscientist dug deeply into the phenomenon, though, he found that claims of benefits from this strange affinity for certain soft sounds and sensory experiences has scientific underpinnings. Bottom line, if you’re interested: Trying it can’t hurt.
I was vaguely aware that ASMR, which stands for autonomous sensory meridian response, was huge on the internet and had something to do with people whispering into microphones, and tapping or stroking objects, in ways that soothed people. When a patient asked whether ASMR might help them with sleep and anxiety problems, I decided it was time to learn more about it.
—John Kruse MD, PhD
Did Doctors Dismiss Her Pain Because She’s a Woman?
Many acute and chronic conditions go under-diagnosed among women, because doctors are more apt to dismiss their symptoms. Women going to an ER are less likely to get pain meds, a recent study found. And as I’ve reported previously, “women are grossly disregarded and underserved in the diagnosis and treatment of the slow creep of heart disease and also sudden heart attacks.” Randall H. Duckett’s wife, nicknamed MeK, had her own harrowing journey through physician neglect after a serious burn injury, and Randall tells the story:
After we waited awhile, the doctor at our local hospital emergency department dismissed MeK’s burns, sending us home with ointment for the wound. A week later, the blistered tissue hadn’t healed, in fact looked much worse, and MeK was in searing pain.
— Randall H. Duckett
Heat or Ice for Injuries?
Advice on whether to apply heat or ice to injuries has gone hot and cold so many times we’re all excused for having no clue. Our resident physical therapist clears it all up. Well, mostly. Turns out the science still isn’t clear this, but there are accepted protocols, and getting it right can be the difference between a swift recovery or making it worse. My take: The body often tells us what to do, if we just listen. And listen to Zach, too:
If you suffer an injury, the best thing you can do is support the healing process. This means remaining active but letting pain guide how intense the activity is.
—Zachary Walston, PT, DPT, OCS
Hive Mind in Medicine Harms People
Herd mentality is a widespread natural phenomenon. Herds of caribou or schools of fish go everywhere together in perfect unison. People do it, too, sometimes following others like sheep without really understanding why. A headier term for this is “hive mind,” and when physicians fall prey to it—prescribing off-label drugs because “everybody is doing it”—the consequences can be harmful.
It takes a lot to keep our medical system humming along, but hive mind may be guiding it too strongly. Often as doctors, we’re fumbling in the dark, trying to help people beyond what is definitively known. Even awareness of what generally works doesn’t guarantee successful treatment for every individual. But too often we ignore science as our guide, and just copy what others are doing. Too many get harmed by this process.
—John Kruse MD, PhD
The 28 Best Things to Eat, According to 10 Nutrition Experts
Amid all the confusion and hype over what we should eat, I reached out to registered dietitians and other nutrition specialists and asked: What handful of food items would you put at the top of your personal list of a core diet, if you had to choose? The result is a healthy selection of foods to draw from and build upon for a healthy pattern of eating. (And yes, a lot of their suggested foods have anti-inflammatory properties.)
The goal is to make healthy eating a simpler, more pleasurable experience that leaves you sated, while helping you ignore all the confusing and dangerous “eat only this” diet advice and not get caught up in outsized claims on so-called superfoods. One of the contributing nutritionists perfectly summed up the mindset I was going for: “Don’t let food (or food rules) control your life,” said Samantha Coogan, RDN, director of the Didactic Program in Nutrition & Dietetics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “Don’t get lost in the weeds of ‘diet culture’ trying to overthink if you should eat this or that.”
—Robert Roy Britt
Smile, Even if You Aren’t Feeling Happy
When you have a bad day, you might want to force a smile, because as psychologist Catherine Sanderson writes: “We think that smiling reflects how we feel, but the mere act of smiling — even if we are not happy — can actually change how we feel.”
I hope we’ve helped make your tomorrow a little better than today. If you like what you see, please follow Wise & Well and/or subscribe to this newsletter. If you’re interested in writing for us, see our quality standards and requirements.
Cheers,
Rob
So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.
—Franz Kafka