Chicken, Eggs, & Inflammation

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

Inflammation isn’t always bad. When you get a splinter, or cut yourself, the wound can get all red, hot, swollen, painful, pus-y. Inflammation is one way our bodies fight off infection. So, we do need some arachidonic acid to trigger the inflammatory cascade. But we don’t need to eat any, since our bodies make all we need.

For carnivores like cats, arachidonic acid is an essential nutrient. Since they’re eating animals all day, they get it pre-formed in their diet, so their bodies never needed to make any. We, however, evolved from plant-eating apes, and so we evolved to make it ourselves.

It’s like cholesterol. Our bodies need some cholesterol, and so our bodies make all we need. There’s no need to take in extra through our diet. And in fact, too much cholesterol is a bad thing. The same thing may be true with arachidonic acid.

If you want to try to stay away from the stuff, these are the top ten sources in the American diet. As you can see: overwhelmingly, chicken and eggs. So, even semi-vegetarians can drop their levels down—though one would have to eat vegan to optimally minimize one’s intake.

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• National Cancer Institute. 2010. Sources of Selected Fatty Acids among the US Population, 2005–06.
• Galland L. Diet and inflammation. Nutr Clin Pract. 2010 Dec;25(6):634-40.
• Institute of Medicine. 2006. Dietary Reference Intakes: The Essential Guide to Nutrient Requirements. National Academies Press, Washington D.C.

Images thanks to Professor Teresa G. Fischer

• animal products
• arachidonic acid
• cats
• chicken
• cholesterol
• eggs
• fish
• immune function
• inflammation
• meat
• Plant-Based Diets
• poultry
• wound healing