Inflammation Nation: The First Clinically Proven Eating Plan to End Our Nation's Secret Epidemic [Hardcover]

Floyd H. Chilton (Author), Laura Tucker (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2004

PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST OUR COUNTRY'S MOST ALARMING HEALTH CRISIS.

In Inflammation Nation, internationally renowned scientist Dr. Floyd H. Chilton exposes the root cause of a host of seemingly disparate diseases, such as arthritis, heart disease, obesity, eczema, lupus, Alzheimer's, and emphysema: unbridled inflammation. The average American diet (even when we're making what we think are healthy choices) is inflaming our immune systems. But with Dr. Chilton's revolutionary, all-natural dietary program, you can learn how to choose foods that will help prevent, treat, and reverse the effects of this secret epidemic in as few as seven days.

The Chilton Program includes:

• Easy-to-follow meal plans developed in collaboration with a world-class medical school
• A new food pyramid that charts which foods you should enjoy or avoid
• The Inflammation Index, which gives you the inflammatory potential of more than 250 foods

Backed by twenty years of research, and by an unprecedented six clinical trials, Dr. Chilton's anti-inflammatory regimen is a must-have for the nearly 100 million Americans diagnosed with an inflammatory disorder and for the rest of us who must protect ourselves from this growing health crisis.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What do arthritis, heart disease, allergies and asthma have in common? According to the authors, the underlying cause of each of these conditions is inflammation, which occurs when the body's "own immune system turns against itself." As Chilton, a professor of physiology and pharmacology, and writer Tucker explain, inflammation occurs when we consume "foods of affluence," e.g., farmed salmon and eggs, and out-of-season fruits and vegetables—foods that have replaced the seasonal nuts, fruits and vegetables enjoyed by our hunter-gather ancestors. In a sometimes alarmist tone, the authors warn readers of the dangers found in today's foods, which contain dangerous levels of an omega-6 fatty acid called arachidonic acid (AA). Chilton's dietary solution is designed to restore the body's fatty acid balance. Those who follow the Chilton Program will avoid foods that are high in AA and increase their consumption of fatty acids that inhibit inflammation. It's not clear that assigning an inflammatory index to a food is useful to health. Moreover, the world of fatty acids is a complex one, and even interested readers will find the theory behind the diet isn't as coherent as, say, many of today's more straightforward diets; the food index and recipes at the end of the book are easy enough to use, however. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Bradley Undem, Ph.D., Professor Of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine After twenty years of intensive research, Dr. Chilton is considered a world expert in the family of fatty acids that regulate inflammation and their quantitative manipulation by diet.

Jonathan P. Arm, M.D., Associate Director of the Allergy and Immunology Training Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School Dr. Chilton is internationally recognized as one of the leaders in his field. With more than one hundred publications in the leading journals, most notably the Journal of Biological Chemistry, he is not one to follow well-worn paths. Dr. Chilton has a tremendous capacity for original thought and remarkable vision that is founded on a comprehensive knowledge of biochemistry and solid, well-constructed experimental data.

Dr. Earl Mindell, Bestselling Author of New Vitamin Bible, New Herb Bible, and Peak Performance Bible A must-read for surviving in the twenty-first century. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Fireside (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743269640
• ISBN-13: 978-0743269643
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #657,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

171 of 176 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating science, but short on practical advice, April 30, 2006

By 

Mark Albert (Herndon, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inflammation Nation: The First Clinically Proven Eating Plan to End Our Nation's Secret Epidemic (Hardcover)

I rated this book at 5 stars becase the provocative scientific theory presented could be make this a pivotal book in our understanding of inflammation. That said, I was disappointed by the section where Dr. Chilton presented his actual plan of action.

A number of recent books suggest that the US is suffering an inflammation epidemic resulting in increased levels of such diverse diseases as asthma, heart disease, and arthritis. The chemical messengers that stimulate inflammation are leukotrienes and prostaglandins, both of which are formed from Arachidonic Acid (AA). Humans and other animals synthesize AA from Omega 6 fatty acids in their diet.

Most of the books I've read on Inflammation instruct us to control inflammation by restricting Omega 6 fatty acids in our diet and increasing our consumption of foods rich in Omega 3 EFAs. Inflammation Nation suggests a different approach.

In Inflammation Nation, Dr. Chilton states that human beings are inefficient at converting Omega 6 EFAs into AA. He suggests that the real problem is that we have too much preformed AA in our diet. Rather than focusing on restricting Omega 6 and increasing Omega 3, Dr. Chilton says we should limit the amount of preformed AA in our diet. Paradoxically, this means that we should start avoiding turkey and farmed salmon, two of the foods most often associated with a healthy diet.

So I am left to wonder if Dr. Chilton is a visionary with an important new insight or if he is wrong and the mainstream is correct to disagree with him. If Dr. Chilton is correct, this is a very important book, but if he is wrong, he could be steering us away from foods that belong at the center of a healthy diet. Either way, this book contains a fascinating argument that is well-worth reading.

My problem with the book is that after presenting a provocative argument for limiting AAs in our diet, Dr. Chilton includes "Inflammation Index" scores for fewer than 200 foods--and much of what he lists are foods like organ meats, bologna, and pork sausage that aren't exactly on anyone's A list of healthy food choices. I am left hungry for a more complete listing of what I should seek out and what I should avoid.

73 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leading Edge nutritional science for Inflammation sufferers, August 12, 2006

By 

Gregory Adams (Moorestown, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inflammation Nation: The First Clinically Proven Eating Plan to End Our Nation's Secret Epidemic (Hardcover)

This book presents a new and unique approach to dietary management of inflammatory diseases like arthritis and atsma.
Dr. Chilton is a professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest U. He cites six clinical studies and six peer-reviewed publications which support his approach. In the text he doesn't get into the details of these studies because the book isn't for doctors, it's for people who want to improve their health. One of the papers is reprinted in an appendix. He says that you should start to feel the results of the diet in a couple of weeks.
Here's the basis of the program:
It's known that the body uses an omega-6 fatty acid called AA to make some of the messengers which cause inflammation. Reducing the amount of AA in our bodies has been shown to reduce inflammation.
AA enters our blood streams in two ways. We eat AA directly in animal products such as meat and fish. Our bodies also make AA from other omega-6 fatty acids which we get from plant based foods.
The conventional advice has been to limit ALL omega-6 fats, to get a balanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids.
Chilton says that only AA in the diet is a problem. Our bodies do convert other omega-6 fatty acids to AA, but very slowly. He shows you what meat and fish you can eat without getting a large dose of AA in the bargain.
In addition, he recommends taking a suplement of GLA, which impedes the conversion of AA into messengers which cause inflammation, and getting a certain amout of omega-3 EPA as well. (from either fish or supplements) The doses of GLA and EPA depend on whether you're already sick, or just trying to avoid getting that way.
Finally, he recommends avoiding carbs like white bread and sugar, which have a high glycemic index. That's becasue they raise insulin levels in the blood, which is another factor in inflammation.
This is a great book. It isn't the easiest book to understand. You may have to study it, rather than just reading it through once.

62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars disappointed, August 31, 2006

By 

JayBeKay "tome raider" (Charlanta, SC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inflammation Nation: The First Clinically Proven Eating Plan to End Our Nation's Secret Epidemic (Hardcover)

I was very disappointed when I opened this book. I thought I was reading his other book, WINNING THE WAR WITHIN, with a new cover. Essentially I was. There is not enough new information in this book to justify buying both. It should have been published as a newer version of the old book, not a totally new book. Sorry, it is well written, an awful lot of good and well presented information, but feel like I was charged twice for the same book. If you don't own the War Within, then by all means, buy this book. If you do, then I'd pass. Thank you.