I am a Professor of Cardiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, with over twenty-five years of clinical and research experience in cardiology. Over the years, I have observed the rising burden of heart disease, often affecting very young individuals in our country. My training in cardiology primarily focused on managing life-threatening acute cardiac emergencies, often left me providing unsatisfactory answers to patient's queries on the causes of their heart ailments and dietary recommendations for prevention. Typically, my response would be to emphasise medications with only a cursory mention of dietary changes. This would often leave an area of disconnect between me and my patients.
However, as I have delved deeper into the role of diet in preventing heart disease, one clear insight has emerged: the importance of an anti-inflammatory diet. The benefits of such a diet extend beyond heart health: they reduce the risk of breast, pancreatic, prostate, and colon cancers, lower depression rates, slow ageing, and improve overall survival.
The Mediterranean diet is one of the most well-established and researched anti-inflammatory diets. Collaborating with fellow nutritionists and biochemists, we initiated a research study funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research to develop an anti-inflammatory Indian diet. As part of the study, we analysed the constituents of the Mediterranean diet and identified commonalities and suitable substitutes within Indian cuisine to create a comparable highly anti-inflammatory diet that we discuss and elaborate here. This diet has the highest reported anti-inflammatory potential, thanks to the richness of wholesome Indian dietary cuisines and the herbs and spices they contain.