8 Types of Food That Fight Inflammation

Choices that can help prevent everything from heart disease to type 2 diabetes

Janis Jibrin and Kristen Fischer,

Updated February 24, 2026

AARP

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Published January 17, 2020

/ Updated February 24, 2026

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Name any common disease associated with aging — cancer, dementia, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes — and chronic inflammation will play a role.

In a way, chronic inflammation is like too much of a good thing. After all, something such as your finger swelling around a cut means that immune cells are doing their job, rushing to the scene and spewing out inflammatory compounds that kill bacteria and prevent infection.

But chronic low-grade inflammation that persists for weeks, months or years is the disease-triggering variety. Again, it's your immune cells in action. But instead of fighting foreign bacteria, they silently attack your own body — your blood vessels, brain cells and organs included.

It's not entirely clear why this happens, though stress is known to raise levels of inflammatory compounds in the body — as does obesity, since fat cells parked deep in the belly emit inflammatory compounds when they reach a critical mass. Genetics is known to influence your susceptibility to inflammation.

Diet also plays a very big role — specifically, eating too much white flour, sugar and fried foods, and not enough fruit, vegetables and fish.

Can you eliminate or reduce inflammation through diet? Yes, research shows. For instance, closely following a Mediterranean-style diet was linked with an 11 to 30 percent reduction in the risk of age-related cognitive disorders such as impairment, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, according to a 2025 report in GeroScience.

Inflammation diet 101

Below are foods that will rally to your defense in reducing inflammation..

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1. Fruits and vegetables

How they fight for you: Their arsenal of vitamins, minerals and thousands of phytonutrients (beneficial plant compounds) prevent and attack chronic inflammation on many fronts. Some, like the carotenoids that give carrots and tomatoes their hues, act as antioxidants, which keep potentially destructive molecules called “oxidants” in check. That's critical to our well-being because, in excess, oxidants destroy cells, give rise to chronic inflammation and in other ways put us at risk for heart disease, cancer and other killers. Other phytonutrients, like the anthocyanins in blueberries, work more directly — putting the brakes on the production of inflammatory compounds, including those produced in the brain.

Also, fiber in produce becomes a feast for bacteria in your gut, which return the favor by producing anti-inflammatory substances. By helping keep your weight down, fruits and vegetables help you skirt obesity-induced inflammation.

What to eat: All fruits and vegetables fight inflammation in some way. The following reliably pop up as protective in large-scale diet surveys: apples, berries, citrus fruit, pears, green leafy vegetables/salads, green/yellow vegetables (such as green beans and yellow peppers), cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli and cabbage) and tomatoes.

The 2025–2030 dietary guidelines recommend consuming at least three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit per day.

And get this: Blueberries can boost cognitive function and mood, too, studies show.

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2. Herbs and spices

How they fight for you: Like fruits and vegetables, they're rich in vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. For example, rosmarinic acid — found in rosemary, thyme and other herbs — is both an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory.

What to eat: They all can be protective. Just to name a few: herbs such as basil, dill, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme, and spices such as black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, garlic, hot peppers, star anise and turmeric.

Without official guidelines on portions, just use them generously when making salads, dips, curries, stews, baked fish and chicken, and other dishes.

And get this: A 2021 report in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that four weeks of moderate spice intake (about 1.5 teaspoons per day) from a variety of spices including cinnamon, basil, chili powder, ginger and parsley lowered inflammatory markers in blood.

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3. Extra-virgin olive oil

How it fights for you: A staple of the healthy Mediterranean diet, extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) was considered medicinal as far back as ancient Greece. While more than 200 compounds have been teased out of extra-virgin and virgin olive oil, it's their anti-inflammatory phenolic compounds that appear to offer up the most potent health benefits.

What to eat: Buy extra-virgin olive oil that is pungent, even a little bitter, with that back-of-throat burn. That's how you know you're getting polyphenols, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The latest dietary guidelines suggest about four and a half 1-teaspoon servings per day of olive oil or butter (or other healthy fats) for a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet.

And get this: A 2025 report in Frontiers in Nutrition linked regular EVOO consumption with lower waist circumference and body mass index.

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4. Nuts and seeds

How they fight for you: Nuts (such as almonds, cashews and peanuts) and seeds (such as flax, pumpkin, sesame, chia and sunflower) are rich in healthy fats and contain a bevy of antioxidants, which indirectly fight inflammation. Nuts help reduce LDL ("bad") cholesterol, which is prone to free radical attack and inflammation. Nut eaters tend to weigh less than people who don't eat nuts, probably because nuts and seeds are particularly satiating. Less body fat helps stave off inflammation.

What to eat: All nuts and seeds are healthy. Walnuts contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) — the plant form of omega-3 fats, which is anti-inflammatory. Walnuts as well as pecans and baru nuts (a new import from South America) are particularly rich in antioxidants. Recent dietary guideline updates suggests three to four servings of protein a day, and note a 1-ounce serving of nuts (or seeds) could be part of that.

And get this: A 2025 study showed that people who eat more nuts — especially tree nuts such as almonds, walnuts and cashews — have a significantly lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease compared with those who rarely or never eat them. People who ate the most had a 17 to 27 percent lower risk of death.

People who eat more nuts tend to weigh less, have smaller waistlines and are less likely to develop heart disease or metabolic syndrome (a cluster of risk factors such as high blood sugar, high blood pressure and excess fat deep in the abdomen, which raises risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease).

Test tube studies show that sesamin, a phytonutrient in sesame seeds, is a potent cancer fighter, thanks in part to its anti-inflammatory abilities.

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5. Seafood and omega-3s

How they fight for you: Fish are a food source of two types of omega-3s: EPA and DHA. The American diet is woefully low in these fats, which not only prevent the formation of inflammatory compounds but also help destroy them. While scientists can't say for sure why fish eaters tend to be healthier, omega-3s get at least some of the credit.

What to eat: Follow the American Heart Association's recommendation to have at least two 3.5-ounce (cooked) servings of fish weekly. Your best bets are high in omega-3s but low in mercury: Arctic char, mackerel (Atlantic), rainbow trout, salmon and sardines.

And get this: Large-scale nutrition surveys find that fish eaters have a lower risk of developing heart disease, dementia and depression. Some, but not all, studies detected lower levels of inflammatory compounds in their blood.

Long-chain n-3 fatty acids from oily fish improved inflammation in people who had a high risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a 2021 report in Molecules.

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6. Whole grains

How they fight for you: Whole grains have all three components intact: the outer bran layer, the starchy middle endosperm and the little germ filled with vitamins and healthy fats. Refining gets rid of the most nutritious parts — the bran and germ — which offer a wealth of antioxidants. Whole grains’ fiber is fuel for our gut bacteria, which in turn produce anti-inflammatory substances. Research shows the grains can lower biomarkers linked with inflammation.

What to eat: Brown rice, barley, bulgur wheat, millet and whole rye are all healthy — as are many other whole grains. (Buckwheat and quinoa, while technically not grains, are nutritionally close enough.) A serving of whole grain is about a half cup of cooked grains (such as brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa), a slice of bread or about half a cup to three-quarters of a cup of a flaky whole-grain cereal. New dietary guidelines suggest prioritizing whole grains over refined carbohydrates and recommend two to four servings per day of whole grains.

And get this: Whole-grain intake is linked to a lower risk of hypertension, a 2025 study in Scientific Reports shows.

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7. Legumes

How they fight for you: Legumes are rich in B vitamins, minerals and fiber. And like fruits and vegetables, they're rich in phytonutrients, which act as antioxidants. Soy foods are particularly high in isoflavones, which have anti-inflammatory effects.

What to eat: All legumes are nutritious — black beans, chickpeas (garbanzos), kidney beans, lentils and the others. The latest edition of the dietary guidelines put beans under the protein category, suggesting three to four daily servings, which can include a half-cup of beans peas or lentils.

And get this: A 2023 report shows that legumes were linked to lower risk of death from stroke and all causes, while a study out the same year in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases reports that eating legumes regularly was tied to a lower risk of heart disease and cardiovascular disease..

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8. Coffee, tea, dark chocolate

How they fight for you: Like fruits, vegetables and other healthy plant foods, coffee, tea and cocoa beans (the basis of chocolate) are rich in phytonutrients.

Just to name a few: Dark chocolate and tea are particularly rich in flavanols, while coffee is high in chlorogenic acid and diterpenes. All three contain caffeine, which appears to offer anti-inflammatory benefits for your brain. (Although in excess, it can make you jittery, induce heartburn and mess with your sleep!) Coffee has the most caffeine, followed by black tea, then green tea, which has about as much caffeine as an ounce of dark chocolate (70 to 85 percent cocoa).

What to eat (or drink): While major health authorities have not weighed in on ideal amounts, some research studies indicate that the following may offer protection.

Coffee: 1 to 3 cups (or espresso cups) of brewed coffee daily, ideally unfiltered (such as French press or espresso) as to not lose beneficial compounds.
Tea: White (unfermented), green (lightly fermented), oolong (medium fermentation) or black (fermented) are all beneficial. Studies vary in their recommended doses, but 1 to 5 cups seem to impart benefits.
Chocolate: In general, the darker the chocolate (70 percent or higher), the healthier — you get less sugar and more flavanols. However, the cocoa-bean-growing region and the way chocolate is processed have a big impact on flavanols. A Consumer Lab analysis found that some dark chocolate has four times the flavanols as others. About an ounce a day of dark chocolate is probably the sweet spot — not too high in calories, and, hopefully, rich in flavanols.

And get this: Compared with abstainers, coffee drinkers were 15 percent less likely to die over the course of three large studies. These Harvard University studies tracked about 208,000 men and women for 21 to 28 years, recording diet and health outcomes. Drinking coffee appeared to help ward off killer diseases such as heart disease, a number of cancer types and neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s, and it was also linked to a lower risk of suicide. Both regular and decaffeinated coffee appear to be protective. These findings mesh with other similar epidemiological research.

Tea drinkers tend to have a lower risk of heart disease. A 2020 report in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology links drinking tea at least three times a week with a longer and healthier life.

Cocoa flavanols can relax arteries, improving blood flow to the heart and brain. They also can protect arteries from free radical damage and inflammation. That may be why some studies indicate that people who eat chocolate have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke.

Chocolate may also make us smarter, according to a Columbia University research study of 37 men and women in their 50s and 60s. Half of them added to their daily diet a chocolate drink that was high in cocoa flavanols, while the other group added a flavanol-poor chocolate beverage. Three months later, the high-flavanol group’s scores on memory tests were equivalent to those of people 30 years younger. Brain scans showed improved blood flow to a region of the hippocampus — a part of the brain involved in memory.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on May 9, 2019, and updated on January 24 with new research.

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Janis Jibrin is a registered dietitian, university instructor, and author of six books, including The Pescetarian Plan. A health writer for AARP, she was also the lead writer for the national weight-loss program Real Appeal.

Kristen Fischer is a contributing writer at AARP based at the Jersey Shore. She has also written for Health, WebMD, and McKnights and is the author of Zoo Zen: A Yoga Story for Kids.