How do we age? Can the diet we follow help us fight free radicals, oxidative stress and aging? Is there an anti-inflammatory diet?

This is the question of a group of Spanish researchers, who have tried to understand if  an anti-inflammatory diet acts on a genetic level , preventing and delaying aging.

First of all, I clarify the definition of an “anti-inflammatory” diet. The anti-inflammatory diet is a diet that theoretically should reduce a defined process of chronic inflammation in the body . According to one theory, there are foods that cause this chronic inflammation, such as red meats, saturated fats, sugars, refined carbohydrates, and hydrogenated or trans fats. What is known for certain, however, is that a state of chronic inflammation derives from other causes, such as persistent infections and exposure to inflammatory agents (alcohol, smoking, pollutants).

And at the same time, according to this theory, there are foods that should reduce the risk of inflammation, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, healthful oils, nuts and seeds. These same bases have been used to theorize the alkalizing action of some beneficial foods, and the acidifying action of foods that would be harmful. In fact, the notion of an anti-inflammatory diet is in fact the same as the alkaline diet (whose scientific basis, however, has never been accredited).