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Getting the Red Out: Low-Inflammatory Foods for Weight Loss

Dr. Ralph Ofcarcik, Ph.D.
Director of Nutrition Services

With Red Mountain's inaugural voyage of our new "Reenergizing Through Weight Loss" program just around the corner (September 17-24), preflight checklists of all program-related issues are nearing final countdown - apples to exercise, training to treatments. Meal plans - central to the RTWL effort - are, as I write, being stroked and poked under the critical glare of key staff/management personnel. There must be variety, foods served together should make sense, projected nutrient intakes must conform to recognized standards and support anticipated physical activity, energy intake should vary minimally from day to day, etc.

Plan designs also include consideration of inflammatory suppressive potential. Huh? . . . For most of us, inflammation means redness - the inherent rubor accompanying a bruise or cut. However, nearly half of all Americans endure a condition known as chronic inflammation - a (mostly) unnoticeable, insidious and continuous bombardment of our cells with pro-inflammatory chemicals having foreboding names such as tumor necrotic factor-alpha (TNF-a), interleukin-6 (IL-6), etc.. This non-ending cellular exposure to a regimen of rubor is not without consequences, chronic inflammation being a strong indicator of atherogenesis, cardiac events, risk of some cancers, and resistance to weight loss. Logically, chronic inflammation, being an ongoing process, must be fueled by other ever-present influences. Of no surprise, years of exposure to inflammatory poor diets, stress, poor sleep health, and unhealthful environments are the most likely suspects.

There are plenty of reasons why living in today's turbulent and unhealthful world is keeping our immune systems hopping. How we react to global uncertainty, unattainable deadlines, and quarts of ice cream can all initiate a cellular code red - a rubor shower (TNF-a, IL-6, etc.) in our fat (and other) cells. To prevent the creation of excessive (unnecessary) pro-inflammatants, our bodies produce chemicals known as SOCS (suppressors of cytokine signaling) - anti-inflammatory regulators that prevent an inflammatory over-response. For chronic inflammation, then, SOCS are ever-present. But unfortunately, these prevalent anti-inflammatants also inhibit the action of a fat-borne protein known as leptin - a weight-regulating hormone that should counter the effects of increasing body fat by decreasing appetite and stoking basal metabolism. For many, however, the downstream effect of chronic inflammation is leptin resistance, a condition characterized by difficulty in losing weight. By limiting the sources of inflammation, such as pro-inflammatory foods, leptin sensitivity increases resulting in decreased appetite, bolstered metabolic rate, and lowered body fat.

With improved leptin sensitivity, there are other rewards. Adiponectin, another adipocyte hormone, is produced in greater amounts as body fat declines. Since adiponectin functions in lowering the risk of metabolic syndrome (decreasing insulin resistance, body weight, hypertension, atherosclerosis) and further suppresses appetite, it's not unlike receiving a heavy dose of positive reinforcement for controlling inflammation and leptin resistance - making weight loss a bit easier. (Note: Adiponectin also increases when we consume more anthocyanin pigments contained in blue corn, red cherries, etc.)

A new prerequisite for weight loss, then, is reducing inflammation through a diet of healthier foods (as well as controlling chronic debilitating stress and reducing insomnia). In the development of meal plans for the RTWL Program, we purposely sidestepped table sugar, corn syrup, and white flour (all renown for increasing intestinal inflammation), opting instead for fruit, fruit sugar adjuncts (fruit juice, agave syrup, etc.), vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. In my opinion, a valid way of gauging inflammatory suppressing potential of day's food intake is by total fiber consumed. A diet containing significant portions of non-inflammatory whole plant foods should contain approx. 25 grams of fiber per day or more (RTWL average = 33 grams/day). By comparison, the average American diet - high in burgers and milled flour, low in fruits and veggies - contains only a rubor-rendering 11 grams per day.

Foods high in saturated fat, such as some red meats, tend to have high levels of arachidonic acid - the pinnacle of the inflammatory-inducing arachidonic acid cascade (our worst dietary nightmare, per Dr. Sears). For this reason, a goal in the development of RTWL meal plans was to limit daily saturated fat intake to no more than 10% of total calories (final tally averaged 6% ). Diets high in beef, pork, cheese, sugary desserts, and fried snacks may contain upwards to 18%.