Eating these foods could stop you getting diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and more

A health expert has listed all the foods people should include in their diet if they want to avoid chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes. Speaking on the latest episode of ZOE Health's podcast show, Professor Philip Calder explained what foods can beat these ailments that are caused by inflammation.

Short-term inflammation plays an essential role in fighting infections and healing injuries. But too much inflammation can be a catalyst for chronic ailments, like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, and obesity.

What we eat can influence our inflammatory responses and contribute to chronic, low-grade inflammation. In the podcast episode, Calder breaks down the science behind inflammation, how it impacts health and what food has to do with it.

Calder is head of the School of Human Development and Health. He is a Professor of Nutritional Immunology, in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton too.

He’s also an internationally recognised researcher on the metabolism and functionality of fatty acids. His work focuses on the roles of omega-3 fatty acids and the influence of diet and nutrients on immune and inflammatory responses.

What is inflammation?

Calder begins by explaining that inflammation is the first part of your immune response. If you cut yourself, get bitten by an insect, or develop an infection, the surrounding tissues become inflamed. This inflammatory response is what causes the pain, redness, and swelling.

Inflammation helps prevent further injury by protecting your body - it's a crucial defence mechanism. However, if the duration of inflammation persists excessively or occurs in an unnecessary location, it can lead to complications in the future.

Why doesn’t inflammation stop?

According to ZOE, some medical conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis, cause long-term inflammation. In this case, the immune system mistakes healthy tissue in the joints for an enemy.

Another example is type 1 diabetes, which is sometimes triggered by a viral infection. The body misreads what’s going on and attacks the pancreas' cells, creating long-term inflammation.

In conditions like arthritis, inflammation is high-grade: It causes pain. When inflammation is low-grade, people generally don’t feel it.

How can you avoid the response?

Your metabolism is supposed to respond to the food you eat. Damage only builds up if problematic responses go on for a long time or happen too often.

However, Calder shares some tips that can help manage your body's response - including swapping saturated fats with extra-virgin olive oil. Other foods he says can lower your body's inflammatory response are:

• Nuts.

• Fibre: Fruits and veggies are excellent sources.

• Vitamin C: There are particularly high levels in citrus fruits and tomatoes.

• Omega-3s: These are found in oily fish, walnuts, and some seeds.

Calder says: "There's lots of things in the diet that are anti-inflammatory. They include omega-3s, which I'll come back to shortly, but also some of the vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E are anti-inflammatory.

"Lots of the polyphenols from plants, so the things that give fruits, vegetables, berries, and so on, their colours, they're also anti-inflammatory. Things in nuts are anti-inflammatory. Gut microbiome is also a driver of inflammation, but also could be anti-inflammatory if you get it right."

Omega-3s from oily fish, called EPA and DHA, in particular can play a huge role in reducing inflammation. According to Calder, studies have shown “very strong” evidence for this. He adds that high levels of EPA and DHA can help reduce arthritis pain too.

And regularly consuming omega-3s may also reduce your risk of heart disease and dementia. This is partly because your body uses EPA and DHA to manufacture compounds that dial down inflammation.