Clinical guide
Inflammation and Nutrition for Rehabilitation
Acute inflammation is part of healing. Chronic low-grade inflammation is a different problem. Food patterns can influence cardiometabolic health. They are not a cure for a sprained joint or an autoimmune disease.
Two different uses of the word
After an injury or surgery, an inflammatory response is expected. Blocking it casually with food advice is not the goal in the first days of healing. Longer-term joint pain, excess body fat, and cardiometabolic disease are where dietary patterns have been studied. Those studies do not give a therapist a list of foods that “turn off” a patient’s pain.
Patterns with better evidence than single foods
Mediterranean-style eating patterns, built around vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, fish, and olive oil, have cardiovascular outcome data. That is not the same as a trial showing the pattern heals a meniscus. It is reasonable to describe the pattern as one way to eat that lines up with general health guidance. It is not reasonable to promise pain relief.
Claims to avoid
- Do not tell a patient that a supplement will reduce their inflammation enough to skip medical care.
- Do not label ordinary foods as toxins.
- Do not recommend a restrictive elimination diet for a suspected intolerance. That evaluation belongs with a physician or dietitian.
- Do say when you are offering general education and when you are outside your scope.
Related resources
Scope
How to say what you do not know.
Specialized Topics
Inflammation is one module. Prerequisites apply.
Article archive
Historical essays. They are not updated clinical guidelines.
Inflammation is taught in the third course
Finish the first two courses before Specialized Topics.