Inflammation is part of your body’s response to nearly any type of physical injury. It’s one of the ways that your body protects itself, and begins its repair process.
The IF (Inflammation Factor) Rating™ estimates the inflammatory or anti-inflammatory potential of individual foods or combinations of foods by calculating the net effect of different nutritional factors, such as fatty acids, antioxidants, and glycemic impact.
Nutrition Data provides IF Ratings for most foods in its database. IF Ratings appear on Nutrition Facts pages and have a format similar to the example below.
The IF Rating™ provides an estimate of this food’s effect on inflammation. A negative IF Rating™ means that the food is considered to be inflammatory (i.e. increases inflammation), and a positive IF Rating™ indicates that the food is considered to be anti-inflammatory (i.e. reduces inflammation). There is no upper or lower limit for the IF Ratings, so you’ll see a wide range of values reported. IF Ratings are also dependent on serving size, so you’ll see the IF Rating™ value change if you change the serving size in the Serving Size drop-down at the top of the Nutrition Facts page.
How to interpret the values: Foods with positive IF Ratings are considered anti-inflammatory, and those with negative IF Ratings are considered inflammatory. The higher the number, the stronger the effect. The goal is to balance negative foods with positive foods so that the combined rating for all foods eaten in a single day is positive.
IF Positives
This food contains known anti-inflammatory nutrients, including monounsaturated fat, selenium, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and folate.
IF Negatives
This food contains known inflammatory nutrients, including arachidonic acid and saturated fat.
For more GREAT nutritional information, try this website: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3101483/#:~:text=The%20IFR%20is%20formulated%20by,%2Dinflammatory%20potential%20(25).
Table 1
IFR per portion size of food items in FFQ
| Food Item in FFQ | Average IFR |
|---|---|
| Fish (3–5 oz) | 300 |
| Spinach or collard greens, cooked (1/2 cup) | 246 |
| Carrots, cooked (1/2 cup) | 131.8 |
| Carrots, raw (1/2 cup or 2–4 sticks) | 60 |
| Yellow (winter) squash (1/2 cup) | 54 |
| Broccoli (1/2 cup) | 51 |
| Nuts (small packet or 1 oz) | 36.7 |
| Cabbage, cauliflower or brussels sprouts (1/2 cup) | 27.7 |
| Tomatoes (1, or small glass of juice) | 22 |
| Other fruits, fresh, frozen or canned (1/2 cup) | 15.7 |
| Processed meats, e.g. sausage, salami, bologna (one slice or piece) | 9.7 |
| String beans (1/2 cup) | 9.5 |
| Bacon (2 slices) | 4.5 |
| Tea (1 cup) | 1 |
| Peanut butter (1 tbsp) | 0.25 |
| Cottage or ricotta cheese (1/2 cup) | -2.7 |
| Beef, pork or lamb as a sandwich or mixed dish e.g. stew, casserole, etc (4–6 oz) | -3.6 |
| Beef, pork or lamb as a main dish e.g. steak, roast, ham etc (4–6 oz) | -6 |
| Beans or lentils, baked or dried (1/2 cup) | -8 |
| Liver (3–4 oz) | -9 |
| Oil and vinegar dressing e.g. Italian (1 tbsp) | -11 |
| Peas or lima beans (1/2 cup fresh, frozen, canned) | -12.7 |
| Other cheese (1 slice or 1oz serving) | -17 |
| Margarine (pat, i.e. 1 tsp) | -17.5 |
| Orange (1fresh) | -19 |
| Chocolate (1 oz) | -19 |
| Skim or low fat milk (8oz glass) | -27 |
| Butter (pat, i.e. 1 tsp) | -35 |
| Cookie (1) | -38 |
| Egg (1 large) | -43 |
| Whole milk (8oz glass) | -44 |
| Apple fresh; Pear (1 fresh) | -63.9 |
| Dark bread (slice) including wheat pita bread | -68.5 |
| Orange juice (small glass); Grapefruit juice (small glass) | -72 |
| Peach; Apricot; Plum (1 fresh, ½ cup canned) | -73.7 |
| White bread (slice) including pita bread | -75.5 |
| Corn (1 ear or 1/2 cup frozen or canned) | -88 |
| Chicken or turkey with skin (4–6 oz) | -100 |
| Potato chips or corned chips (small bag or 1 oz) | -110 |
| Cake (slice) | -114 |
| Ice cream (1/2 cup) | -115.6 |
| Banana (1fresh) | -118 |
| Hot dog (1) | -121 |
| Chicken or turkey without skin (4–6 oz) | -129 |
| Hamburger (1) | -144 |
| Pie, readymade (slice) | -146 |
| Pie, homemade (slice) | -165 |
| Candy without chocolate (1 oz) | -168 |
| French fried potatoes (4 oz) | -213 |
| Carbonated beverage with sugar (e.g. Coke) (1 can) | -215 |
| Rice or pasta (1 cup) | -237 |
| Potatoes, baked, boiled (1) or mashed (1 cup) | -255.5 |