Reasons why a plant based diet reduces inflammation

There are several reasons why a plant based diet helps reduce inflammation.

Humans don’t produce the substance Neu5Gc, but it is found in dairy products and red meat while it is rare in fish and poultry and absent in plants. We have also developed antibodies towards Neu5Gc.

This means that we can react with an inflammatory response when exposed to it.

When we ingest Neu5Gc some of it is absorbed and metabolically incorporated and can cause an increase in inflammation (Tangvoranuntakul P, et al. 2003).

Neu5Gc has, however, not been found in plants.

Lipopolysaccharides which are debris from the cell wall of gram negative bacteria are found in fat from animal sources and will trigger inflammation when ingested (Erridge C, 2011). Lipopolysaccharides can not be removed by heat. It does not matter if the food is cooked, neither is the digestive system able to remove this.

Lipopolysaccharides are not found in plants.

These are some of the reasons that are not so commonly known, but there are many other reasons as well, why a plant based diet helps to reduce inflammation.

It is, however, important to follow certain guidelines when putting a meal together.

Learn to Eat:

Recommendations that work. This is not a regular diet program.

Erridge C¹. The capacity of foodstuffs to induce innate immune activation of human monocytes in vitro is dependent on food content of stimulants of Toll-like receptors 2 and 4. Br J Nutr. 2011 Jan;105(1):15-23. doi: 10.1017/S0007114510003004. Epub 2010 Sep 20.

Tangvoranuntakul P¹, Gagneux P, Diaz S, Bardor M, Varki N, Varki A, Muchmore E. Human uptake and incorporation of an immunogenic nonhuman dietary sialic acid. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Oct 14;100(21):12045-50. Epub 2003 Oct 1.