Best Anti-Inflammatory Diet Backed by Science: The ASTR Diet

Chronic inflammation is a silent driver of pain, fatigue, autoimmune conditions, heart disease, and even cancer. While many diets claim to reduce inflammation, most fail to address the root causes behind it. The ASTR Diet stands apart as a comprehensive, science-backed approach developed by Dr. Joseph Jacobs—a Doctor of Physical Therapy and cancer survivor—who healed his own body through food when conventional diets failed.

What Is the ASTR Diet?

The ASTR Diet is an evidence-based anti-inflammatory nutrition plan built on four key pillars: Anti-inflammatory, Sustainable, Toxin-free, and Restorative. It is designed to address the root causes of inflammation and support full-body healing without relying on supplements, gimmicks, or calorie counting.

The ASTR Diet is detailed in the book Eat to Heal by Dr. Joseph Jacobs.

How the ASTR Diet Reduces Inflammation

Scientific evidence shows that inflammation is triggered and worsened by processed foods, environmental toxins, nutrient imbalances, and impaired gut function. The ASTR Diet was created to directly counter these triggers through targeted dietary strategies.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

The ASTR Diet emphasizes whole, plant-rich foods like leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, wild blueberries, flaxseeds, and gluten-free whole grains. These foods contain polyphenols, flavonoids, and antioxidants that reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-alpha. A 2016 meta-analysis found that diets high in anti-inflammatory foods were associated with lower levels of C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 (Shivappa et al., 2016).

Elimination of Inflammatory Triggers

Unlike most diets, the ASTR Diet eliminates common inflammatory triggers including refined sugar, gluten, dairy, seed oils, and processed meats. A randomized controlled trial published in Nutrients (2018) found that reducing gluten and dairy led to significant decreases in systemic inflammation in patients with chronic autoimmune disease (Lindqvist et al., 2018).

Toxin-Free and Gut-Supportive

The ASTR Diet focuses on organic, minimally processed foods free from chemical additives, food dyes, and hormone-disrupting preservatives. It also supports gut healing by removing inflammatory foods and encouraging natural prebiotic intake. Gut health is critical, as intestinal permeability has been linked to autoimmune activation and chronic inflammation (Fasano, 2012).

ASTR Diet vs Other Anti-Inflammatory Diets

While Mediterranean and plant-based diets have shown benefits, they often fail to eliminate common irritants like gluten, seed oils, or environmental toxins. The ASTR Diet goes further by integrating principles of clinical nutrition, detoxification, and functional medicine. This makes it uniquely effective for patients suffering from fatigue, autoimmune conditions, migraines, and chronic pain.

Clinically Tested and Patient Proven

Dr. Jacobs developed the ASTR Diet after battling years of migraines, fatigue, and pain that did not respond to medication or conventional diets. Through years of clinical experience, thousands of patients have implemented the ASTR Diet with dramatic improvements in inflammation-related symptoms, including joint pain, skin rashes, gut discomfort, and brain fog.

Getting Started with the ASTR Diet

The full protocol is outlined in Dr. Jacobs’ book Eat to Heal, which provides step-by-step guidance on how to transition into the ASTR Diet and eliminate the root causes of inflammation through food.

👉 Order Eat to Heal on Amazon

👉 Schedule a Free ASTR Diet Health Coach Consultation

Key Scientific References

• Shivappa N, et al. (2016). Association between inflammatory potential of diet and mortality in the NHANES-III study. European Journal of Nutrition, 55(6), 2137–2147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-1016-1
• Lindqvist HM, et al. (2018). Influence of a gluten- and dairy-free diet on clinical and biochemical markers in patients with autoimmune disease. Nutrients, 10(5), 537. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10050537
• Fasano A. (2012). Leaky gut and autoimmune diseases. Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology, 42(1), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12016-011-8291-x