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Inflammation is a familiar health concept, but it can be hard to understand how it connects to what we eat.
炎症是一个人们耳熟能详的健康概念，但却很难弄清楚它和我们所吃的食物之间有什么关系。
Eating to avoid inflammation isn’t a strict “diet” – it’s simply about eating healthy, in a Mediterranean style that emphasizes whole grains, vegetables and heart-healthy fats, says Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic who specializes in disease prevention and management.
克利夫兰诊所专门研究疾病预防和管理的注册营养师朱莉娅·祖姆帕诺说，避免炎症的饮食并不是严格的“饮食”——它只是关乎吃得健康，以地中海式的饮食方式为特点，强调全谷物、蔬菜和对心脏有好处的脂肪。
“It’s just replacing processed foods with whole foods,” she says.
“只是要用天然食品代替加工食品，”她说。
The principle is simple, but I wondered whether it would be hard to avoid inflammatory foods in practice.
它的原理很简单，但我想知道在实践中避免炎症性食物到底难不难。
What stumbling blocks and questions do people encounter? I decided to spend a week figuring it out.
人们会遇到哪些阻碍和问题？我决定花一周的时间搞清楚。
What is inflammation?
什么是炎症？
In the case of injury, acute inflammation is a protective response – the body’s way of dispatching resources to a threatened area, like emergency vehicles arriving on scene.
受伤的时候，急性炎症是一种保护性反应——身体会向受威胁的区域派遣资源，就像急救车到达现场一样。
This is a healthy reaction intended to promote healing; as a result, we might see swelling at the site of a mosquito bite or feel it in our throats when we have a cold.
这是身体的健康反应，是为了促进愈合；因此，蚊子叮咬时我们可能会看到皮肤肿胀，或者感冒的时候会感觉嗓子肿了。
But over the past decade, researchers have increasingly drawn attention to chronic, systemic inflammation – a state in which the body remains in a perpetual emergency mode.
但在过去十年里，研究人员越来越多地关注慢性全身性炎症——一种身体一直处于紧急状态的状态。
Chronic inflammation is associated with, though not necessarily the cause of, many major chronic diseases, including autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular conditions, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, and cancer.
慢性炎症与许多主要慢性疾病有关，虽然它不一定是病因，包括风湿性关节炎等自身免疫性疾病、心血管疾病、帕金森病等神经退行性疾病和癌症。
Chronic inflammation often accompanies ageing, but it can affect people of all ages.
慢性炎症通常会随着衰老而出现，但它也会影响各年龄段的人。
In the US, for instance, rates of inflammatory bowel disease have risen sharply, especially among younger populations.
例如，在美国，炎症性肠病的发病率急剧上升，尤其是在年轻人群中。
“We’re even finding that inflammation is rising in children,” says Zumpano.
“我们甚至发现儿童体内的炎症也在增加，”祖姆帕诺说。
Many people may not even know they’re experiencing chronic inflammation, as symptoms can be hard to pinpoint.
许多人甚至可能不知道他们正在经历慢性炎症，因为症状很难确定。
A blood test for inflammatory biomarkers can help, and signs include migraines, brain fog, joint pain and mood disorders like depression.
对炎症生物标志物进行血液检测或许有帮助，其症状包括偏头痛、脑雾、关节痛和抑郁症等情绪障碍。
While some are genetically predisposed to chronic inflammation, Zumpano tells me most people have some level of it.
虽然有些人在遗传上易患慢性炎症，但祖姆帕诺告诉我，大多数人都有某种程度的慢性炎症。
It can be caused or exacerbated by stress, insufficient sleep and exercise.
它可以由压力、睡眠不足和锻炼引起或加剧。
Environmental factors, such as air pollution and chemical exposure and microplastic ingestion, can also contribute.
环境因素，如空气污染、化学物质暴露和微塑料摄入，也可能会促发炎症。
How can diet affect inflammation?
饮食对炎症有什么影响？
Diet is one significant factor influencing chronic inflammation, says the Washington-based gastroenterologist Dr Christopher Damman.
华盛顿的胃肠病学家克里斯托弗·达曼博士说，饮食是影响慢性炎症的一个重要因素。
Sugar, trans and saturated fats, alcohol, refined carbs and ultra-processed foods are all inflammatory.
糖、反式脂肪和饱和脂肪、酒精、精制碳水化合物和超加工食品都会促进炎症。
Ultra-processed foods – which comprise about 60% of the American diet, often pack a cocktail of inflammatory preservatives and additives – are a significant source of microplastics and, as Damman points out, usually lack healthy components like fiber that help slow the body’s absorption of sugar.
超加工食品约占美国饮食的60%，通常含有促炎性的防腐剂和添加剂，而且它也是微塑料的重要来源，正如达曼指出的那样，这些食品往往缺乏纤维等有助于减缓身体对糖的吸收的健康成分。
Eating these foods can lead to spikes in blood sugar, which increases inflammation in immune cells in particular, Damman says, and causes the body to release inflammatory molecules called cytokines.
达曼说，食用超加工食品会导致血糖飙升，尤其会增加免疫细胞的炎症，并导致身体释放称为细胞因子的炎症分子。
Sugar also “feeds inflammatory microbes in the gut” – essentially “bad” gut bacteria – says Damman, gradually imbalancing our gut microbiome and leading to more inflammation.
达曼说，糖也会“喂养肠道中的炎症微生物”——它们本质上是“坏”的肠道细菌——逐渐让我们的肠道微生物群失衡，导致更多的炎症。
Research often supports the potential health benefits of a diet high in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant-rich foods.
研究往往支持富含抗炎和抗氧化食物的饮食对健康的潜在好处。
But studies on supplementation and specific outcomes have been inconsistent, with results varying based on individual health and the form of intake, like food v supplements.
但关于补充剂和具体结果的研究一直未能达成一致，结果因个人健康状况和摄入形式（如食物和补充剂）而异。
