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Review
. 2019 Sep 30;11(10):2315.
doi: 10.3390/nu11102315.

Anti-Inflammatory Diets and Fatigue

Ulrike Haß  1   2 , Catrin Herpich  3   4 , Kristina Norman  5   6   7
Affiliations
Review

Anti-Inflammatory Diets and Fatigue

Ulrike Haß et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Accumulating data indicates a link between a pro-inflammatory status and occurrence of chronic disease-related fatigue. The questions are whether the observed inflammatory profile can be (a) improved by anti-inflammatory diets, and (b) if this improvement can in turn be translated into a significant fatigue reduction. The aim of this narrative review was to investigate the effect of anti-inflammatory nutrients, foods, and diets on inflammatory markers and fatigue in various patient populations. Next to observational and epidemiological studies, a total of 21 human trials have been evaluated in this work. Current available research is indicative, rather than evident, regarding the effectiveness of individuals' use of single nutrients with anti-inflammatory and fatigue-reducing effects. In contrast, clinical studies demonstrate that a balanced diet with whole grains high in fibers, polyphenol-rich vegetables, and omega-3 fatty acid-rich foods might be able to improve disease-related fatigue symptoms. Nonetheless, further research is needed to clarify conflicting results in the literature and substantiate the promising results from human trials on fatigue.

Keywords: anti-inflammatory nutrition; cancer; chronic fatigue; cytokines; fatigue reduction diet; inflammation; myalgic encephalomyelitis; omega-3 fatty acids; polyphenols; probiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Accumulating data indicates a link between a pro-inflammatory status and occurrence of chronic disease-related fatigue. The leading questions are whether the observed inflammatory profile can be reduced (↓) by anti-inflammatory nutrients or diets, respectively and if this improvement in turn is translated into a significant fatigue reduction.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Rationale and challenges for anti-inflammatory diets in fatigue.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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