When inflammation gets out of hand, your morning meal can be your best ally to fight it back and supercharge your health!
Beat Inflammation, Feel Great All Day
Inflammation is the body's natural response to a threat like an injury, chemical, or infection. When it's in short bouts, inflammation protects and heals.
But, when it becomes persistent, your immune system is continuously fired up, damaging cells and tissues and affecting your health.
Starting your day with a breakfast rich in anti-inflammatory foods helps you fight back chronic inflammation and also benefits your overall health in many ways.
An anti-inflammatory breakfast can help:
improve your mood
reduce fatigue
balance blood sugars
restore gut health
ease insomnia
manage weight gain
So, discover the best breakfast foods against inflammation and fuel your mornings with our 10 healthy breakfast ideas — including on-the-go and high-protein recipes!
Top 3 Inflammation Fighters
Cutting down on ultra-processed breakfast foods that are high in added sugar and saturated fats is key to an anti-inflammatory diet.
To lower inflammation, build your breakfast around wholesome, nutrient-dense foods that are rich in antioxidants, omega-3 fats and prebiotic fibres.
Each of these 3 powerful nutrients plays an important role against inflammation:
1. Antioxidants are plant compounds that fight free radicals, highly reactive compounds that can damage cells;
2. Omega-3 are healthy fats that halt the production of inflammatory chemicals in the body;
3. Prebiotic fibres are a type of fibre that feeds gut-friendly bacteria, which in turn tune down inflammation.
You can find these nutrients in lots of healthy foods like fruit and vegetables, whole grains, beans, spices, nuts and seeds — all perfect as breakfast foods!
Best Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Foods
Below is a handy list of the best anti-inflammatory foods to have in the morning.
Pick and match as many as you can to create your anti-inflammatory power breakfast!
Berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, goji berries, and cranberries)
Cherries, plums, oranges, avocados and apples
Spinach, kale, beets, sweet potatoes and cauliflowers
Oats, buckwheat, quinoa, wholewheat or rye bread
Red kidney beans, baked beans, lentils, tofu, and chickpeas
Chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts, almonds, and pistachios
Yoghurt with live cultures
Coffee, green tea, and dark chocolate
Turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom
Can't decide? Discover our top 10 anti-inflammatory breakfast recipes to take the guesswork out of your mornings!
10 Healthy Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Ideas
Chai-Spiced Chia Seed Pudding
This chai chia pudding with yoghurt and peanut butter is high in proteins and even higher in anti-inflammatory power, thanks to the omega-3 from chia seeds and healing spices from chai tea.
For more flavour combos, try this strawberry tofu chia pudding or walnut blueberry chia pudding.
Beet & Raspberry Breakfast Smoothie
Made with raspberries, beets, chia seeds, and oats, this high-fibre breakfast smoothie will keep you full all morning while soothing inflammation. It's perfect to sip on the go!
You'll also love these detox parsley smoothie, beet kale smoothie, and carrot strawberry smoothie ideas.
Green Smoothie Bowl with Chocolate
This green smoothie bowl starts with a smoothie base of spinach, yoghurt and banana, then topped with oats and dark chocolate for an anti-inflammatory boost.
For a tropical twist, you can make this smoothie bowl with papaya.
Plum & Yogurt Golden Oatmeal
This golden porridge glows with anti-inflammatory turmeric and bursts with nutrients from soy yoghurt, oats, and pumpkin seeds. For extra antioxidants, top it with cinnamon-poached plums.
You can also use turmeric to make a savoury curry oatmeal.
Strawberry Porridge with Walnuts
This colourful and nutritious bowl of low-FODMAP oatmeal is a mighty fighter against inflammation. Oats, chia seeds, strawberries, and walnuts are among the best anti-inflammatory foods to have in the morning.
Instead of instant oats, try using oat groats in porridge for a slow and steady energy release.
Turmeric Cauliflower Scramble
Cauliflower scramble is a low-fat alternative to scrambled eggs that delivers an anti-inflammatory punch thanks to cauliflowers and turmeric. Serve it with beans, tomatoes and mushrooms for a balanced breakfast.
Another fun way to use cauliflowers for breakfast is in healthy cauliflower brownies!
Flaxseed & Buckwheat No-Cook Porridge
Buckwheat, flaxseeds, fresh fruit, and almond butter are a great anti-inflammatory breakfast combo. Soaking buckwheat groats overnight makes this recipe super low-effort on busy mornings!
Or try a hot cereal version with our cream of buckwheat recipe, topped with walnuts and strawberries.
Saucy Pinto Bean Toast with Spinach
Top whole wheat bread with fresh spinach and a saucy mix of pinto beans, tomato, maple syrup and soy sauce for a glorious breakfast bean toast with anti-inflammatory benefits.
Why not try this turmeric mushrooms toast topping next? Mighty and tasty!
Blueberry & Matcha Overnight Oats
This matcha overnight oat recipe includes inflammation-fighting blueberries and green tea power and has all the convenience of a ready-to-eat breakfast straight from your fridge!
For a low-carb option, you can swap oats with chia seeds and make a matcha chia pudding.
Goji Berry & Pistachio Bircher Pot
This tasty goji bircher muesli with antioxidant-rich goji berries, pistachios, and almonds is another fridge-ready breakfast idea to help you fight inflammation. It's perfect for batch-prepping!
Goji berries are also a great addition to bliss balls, as in these raw carrot energy bites.
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