It’s Q&A time! You can ask your own question here for a chance to have it answered in an upcoming edition.
This week’s answer is for paid subscribers, but everyone can read the question.
Hi Christy, I see and hear so much about “inflammation” and “anti-inflammatory foods” and “chronic inflammation.” A long time ago, I attended a functional medicine workshop in which the NP said something along the lines of “digesting carbohydrates creates more inflammation than digesting protein.” She went on to make an analogy about clean energy (solar) vs dirty energy (coal.) I’ve read around and found a variety of sources—the usual suspects like Harvard Health Publishing, Healthline, etc.—stating that many chronic diseases “may” be traced back to chronic inflammation, a term that is badly lacking in any kind of real scientific explanation. From what I can make of it so far, it’s like when you fall and bump your knee, and it gets swollen, but then the swelling never really goes away, and it’s all because you haven’t been eating enough walnuts and avocados and too much meat and fried food?
As someone who lived with bulimia nervosa for over 20 years of my adult life, and who discovered intuitive eating and the anti-diet approach as an escape route, I get enraged reading and hearing this stuff. I have multiple friends who talk regularly about inflammation, how they can’t or won’t or shouldn’t eat certain things because they cause inflammation, and how they feel much better when they eat an anti-inflammatory diet—whatever the f--- that means! Anyway, long preamble. My actual question to you is this: Christy, can you please drop some knowledge on me and the world re: this issue? When I question the hype about inflammation, I would love to have actual information to point to. Thank you so much for all you do!
