Eating more dietary fiber can help reduce inflammation levels in the body! Which foods have good anti-inflammatory effects?

Inflammation is the common "soil" for many diseases. The International Agency for Research on Cancer once stated that 1/6 of the world's cancers are caused by bacterial and viral infections, which are commonly known as "inflammation."

Previous studies have shown that consuming more dietary fiber can help reduce inflammation levels in the body.

Recently, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association-Online Open Edition found that:

■ Although grains, vegetables, and fruits are all major sources of dietary fiber, not all dietary fiber has the same effect on inflammation levels;

■ Research shows that cereal fiber is associated with lower levels of inflammation, while fruit or vegetable fiber has no such effect.

Grains are better at reducing inflammation than fruits and vegetables

Researchers from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in the United States selected a large prospective cohort data set, including 4,125 participants aged ≥ 65 years.

The researchers collected dietary data from the participants and assessed their intake of dietary fiber, including total fiber and dietary fiber from grains, vegetables, and fruits.

At the same time, the researchers also measured inflammatory markers in the participants' blood samples, including C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, etc., and then followed up to investigate whether they would develop cardiovascular death events such as stroke and myocardial infarction.

■ The analysis showed that high intake of total fiber (specifically fiber from grains, not fruit or vegetable fiber) was consistently associated with lower inflammation and lower incidence of cardiovascular disease.

■ Researchers believe that cereal fiber may have an anti-inflammatory effect by improving lipid and glucose metabolism, possibly by improving gut function and increasing satiety (reducing fat and total energy intake).

In summary, the findings suggest that dietary fiber from grains may be more effective in reducing inflammation than dietary fiber from vegetables or fruits.

As to why dietary fiber from grains has better anti-inflammatory effects, the reasons are not clear at present and further research and testing are needed in the future.

Grains bring benefits throughout the body

Grains, which can be divided into "refined" and "whole grains":

In pursuit of a delicate taste, the husk of the grain is ground off during the grain processing process, and the germ is peeled off, leaving almost only the endosperm, becoming "refined grains", such as white rice and white flour.

Whole grains refer to grains that have not been finely processed, or that have been milled, crushed, flaked, etc., but still retain the endosperm, germ, bran and natural nutrients.

Rice, wheat, barley, oats, corn, sorghum, millet, etc. can all be used as sources of whole grains if they are processed properly.

Compared with refined grains, whole grains provide more dietary fiber, B vitamins and other nutrients. Although they taste rough, whole grains are more friendly to the body and are frequently praised.

In addition to helping control inflammation levels, whole grains have the following health benefits:

Less likely to get diabetes

In April this year, a study published in the journal Food Science and Nutrition showed that eating 50 grams of whole grain foods per day can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 23%; when the whole grain intake reaches 60 grams, the risk of type 2 diabetes is lowest.

Helps control waistline

A 2021 study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that:

The more refined grains middle-aged and elderly people eat, the more their waist circumference increases and the more likely their triglyceride levels are to increase;

Whole grains can help maintain waistline and lower blood pressure and blood sugar;

Women derive more benefits from eating whole grains than men.

Reduce the risk of stomach cancer

A study published in the International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition showed that people who consume more whole grains can reduce their risk of stomach cancer by 40%.

Reduces colorectal cancer risk

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a comprehensive analysis of 34 domestic and foreign studies on whole grains, finding that whole grains can not only reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, but are also beneficial for preventing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and weight control.

How to feed your body enough whole grains?

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)" recommends that healthy adults should consume 200 to 300 grams of cereals per day, including 50 to 150 grams of whole grains and miscellaneous beans; and 50 to 100 grams of potatoes.

How to eat enough "daily grains"? Try the following tips:

Eat at home and have some cereal at every meal

Whole grains such as millet, corn, and oats can be used directly as staple foods, and at least one of the three meals can be used to completely replace refined white rice and noodles with whole grains and miscellaneous beans.

When cooking staple foods, rice can be eaten with other grains such as oats, millet, buckwheat, and corn. Traditional two-grain rice, bean rice, and eight-treasure porridge are all good ways to achieve a combination of coarse and fine grains.

Make cereals softer

Whole grains have a rough texture, so some people don't like to eat them. You can make them softer by using a soymilk machine to make five-grain soymilk or whole-grain rice paste, using a rice cooker or pressure cooker to cook eight-treasure porridge, or using an electric steamer to steam corn cobs and whole-grain steamed buns.

Read the ingredient list when buying cereal products

Common whole grain foods include whole wheat crackers, whole wheat bread, whole wheat noodles, oatmeal, brown rice and coarsely ground cereals.

Look at the ingredient list

If the first ingredient in the list is "whole-wheat flour," "whole grain," "whole wheat," or "whole wheat," then this is a whole-wheat food.

For example, if the first ingredient in the ingredient list is whole wheat flour and the amount of whole wheat flour added is no less than 51%, then this is a whole grain food.

See the nutrition facts table

Look at the dietary fiber content and try to choose the one with higher fiber content for the same product.

The state stipulates that if every 100 grams of product contains at least 6 grams of dietary fiber, it can be called "high or rich in dietary fiber." If the dietary fiber content in the food reaches this standard, the amount of whole grains added will usually not be low.

For example, the dietary fiber contents of three types of whole wheat bread, A, B, and C, are 6.6 g/100 g, 6.1 g/100 g, and 4.8 g/100 g, respectively. Obviously, both A and B are high in dietary fiber. From the perspective of dietary fiber supplementation, the priority order of selection is: A>B>C.

It should be noted that people with gastrointestinal ulcers or poor digestion may feel uncomfortable when eating whole grains, so they can reduce the amount appropriately. Diabetics should try to eat brown rice instead of porridge.