Understanding The Dietary Inflammatory Index & Foods That Reduce Stress

Raise your hand if you know the best way to de-stress. Alcohol? Dessert? How about consulting with the dietary inflammatory index first? For those who don’t know, the dietary inflammatory index is a guide to the best foods that aid in stress relief and lowering inflammation.

Stress is linked to inflammation, which leads to susceptibility to infections, cancer, obesity, depression, etc^1,2. The dietary inflammatory index (DII) weighs the impact of our food on the state of inflammation and stress in our bodies, using data from multiple countries¹. It helps inform us as to which foods reduce stress and by changing how many anti-inflammatory foods versus pro-inflammatory foods (such as saturated/total/trans fats, cholesterol and carbohydrates) we consume in a day, we could tilt the scales on how much we are plagued by stress and inflammation.

Let’s get into the 9 best foods that reduce stress and help lower inflammation:

1. Turmeric: One of the highest scoring anti-inflammatory foods on the dietary inflammatory index, it has a long history in traditional holistic medicine³. It is often available in powder form and can be easily added to many liquid foods/drinks such as soups, sauces, coffee, tea and smoothies.
2. Fiber: Daily recommended intake for women and men are around 25g and 38g, respectively, but some studies have found even just increases of 5 additional grams of fiber daily can be helpful2. High fiber sources include chia seeds, lentils, chickpeas, brussels sprouts, oranges and soybeans. Also, consider eating the skin of your fruits and vegetables to add more fiber to your diet. Make sure to clean them well first.
3. Polyphenols: This group of compounds is the reason why many plant foods are so beneficial to our health³. Foods that are plentiful in polyphenols include coffee, cacao/chocolate, legumes, and red wine/grapes. In fact, consuming certain types of polyphenols (such as flavanols, flavones and flavanones, found especially in tea, herbs, olive oil, tomatoes, potatoes, spices, citrus fruits, nuts, beans and apples), have also been associated with weight loss. Another common polyphenol found in berries (called ellagic acid) can even help with reducing skin wrinkles from radiation as well as controlling blood pressure and cholesterol.
4. Beta carotene: Common foods that contain this include spinach, kale, cantaloupe, oranges, and blackcurrant juice². Easy ways to incorporate these foods into your diet are to blend them into juices or add them to salads.
5. Magnesium: This mineral is generally found in seeds (such as pumpkin or chia), nuts, beans and whole grains⁴. Start your day right by throwing a few of these foods together into a nice warm bowl of oatmeal. For an added boost, you could even mix in some polyphenol containing foods, such as dark chocolate and berries for a healthy diet that reduces inflammation.
6. Ginger, garlic, onions: These flavorful plants have long been recognized for their various health benefits and also ranking well in the dietary inflammatory index all while adding some zest to your meal. Of the three, ginger is ranked highest in benefit¹. Make sure to drink up on those ginger teas!
7. Vitamins: We all know vitamins are good for us, but which vitamins are best? In the context of reducing inflammation¹, it seems vitamin D (found in fish, eggs, fortified milk, mushrooms²) > vitamin C (found in peppers, citrus fruits, kiwis, broccoli⁵) > vitamin E (found in nuts/vegetable oils, seeds and grains²) > Vitamin A (found in leafy greens, orange and yellow fruits/vegetables, tomato products, fish oils⁶) > Vitamin B6 (found in chickpeas, fish, poultry, starchy vegetables⁷).
8. Omega 3 fatty acids: Fatty fishes and other seafood (such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, tuna and oysters) are great sources of essential DHA/EPA omega 3s⁸. Meanwhile, plant sources, including seeds and nuts, supply the ALA type of omega 3s, which is also important and can be converted to limited amounts of EPA and DHA in our bodies.
9. Zinc: This common mineral, often taken for colds/flus, is found in shellfish (i.e. oysters, crabs and lobsters) as well as pumpkin/squash seeds, and nuts⁹. Whip up a healthy dose of zinc by making a nice soup or your own trail mix with these foods that help lower inflammation.

Now that we know how to reduce inflammation in our diets, what about foods for stress relief? It turns out, many of the foods that help lower inflammation are also good for stress relief:

1. Omega 3 fatty acids: Seafood sourced omega 3s are involved in regulating the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, which are imbalanced in depression and anxiety¹⁰. While not typically something we think to eat in times of stress, it can be helpful to keep a few cans of ethically sourced seafood in our pantry for an easy, stress-free meal to cheer us up. Even eating just 8 oz a week is enough to meet the weekly recommendations by the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans¹¹.
2. Magnesium: Being deficient in magnesium can lead to changes in mood and increased anxiety¹⁰. Consider adding some nuts and seeds to yogurt for a healthy, stress reducing, guilt free dessert.
3. Zinc: Like magnesium, not eating enough zinc can affect both mood and anxiety levels¹⁰. Oysters top the list of best foods to reduce stress whilst increasing zinc in the diet⁹. How about some dollar oysters at happy hour?
4. B vitamins: This group of vitamins, especially folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12, are important in optimal functioning of our nervous systems¹⁰. Most meat/seafood and dairy products will provide enough of these B vitamins and include some of the best foods to eat for stress relief. Meal prep a batch of stews or whip up some low fat milk/yogurt smoothies for a stressful week ahead of time.

Now that you know about the best foods to reduce stress and have a better understanding of the dietary inflammatory index, try to incorporate more of them into your diet.  Balance the pro-inflammatory foods you usually stress eat, with the anti-inflammatory foods above.  Many of these healthy, flavorful foods can be prepared ahead of time, so keep some handily ready, as you never know when stress may strike.  Then, while others sit around stress eating, you can raise your hand and share the best foods to de-stress.