Is inflammation
quietly draining you?
Inflammation is your body's defence system. But when it becomes chronic and low-grade it sits at the root of fatigue, joint pain, poor recovery, brain fog and far more serious long-term conditions. What you eat is one of the most powerful levers you have.
Signs that chronic inflammation might be at play
Chronic inflammation rarely announces itself with one obvious symptom. It tends to show up as a collection of things that feel unrelated, but often aren't.
Joint aches, stiffness or pain, particularly in the morning or after rest
Persistent fatigue that sleep doesn't seem to fix
Brain fog, a cognitive heaviness that slows your thinking
Digestive discomfort: bloating, irregularity, or a sensitive gut
Frequent illness, slow recovery, or low immune resilience
Elevated inflammatory markers on blood tests, such as CRP or ESR
Slow recovery from exercise, or performance that's plateaued
Skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, or persistent redness and reactivity
These often get treated individually. A cream for the skin, a painkiller for the joints, a coffee for the fatigue. If inflammation is the common thread, addressing it at the root tends to shift several things at once.
Not all inflammation is the same
“Anti-inflammatory” has become a buzzword, but the underlying biology is worth understanding, because it shapes everything about how we approach it. There are two very different kinds, and only one of them is a problem.
Your defence system doing its job
Short-term, targeted inflammation is essential. Cut your finger or fight off an infection and your immune system mounts a response of redness, swelling and heat, and then resolves it.
- Injury and infection response
- Short-lived and self-resolving
- Exactly what it's supposed to do
A low-grade fire that never goes out
When inflammation becomes persistent and systemic, often without an obvious cause, it starts damaging healthy tissue. Research links chronic low-grade inflammation to fatigue, metabolic dysfunction, cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.
- Ongoing and low-grade
- Driven by diet, stress and gut health
- Rarely announces itself with one clear symptom
Find your drivers, then change them
There's no single anti-inflammatory food that fixes everything, and anyone telling you otherwise is oversimplifying. The evidence points to patterns of eating, combined with lifestyle factors, that together create an environment less hospitable to chronic inflammation.
I look at your specific drivers rather than handing out a generic list of ten foods, and build a plan that's practical and grounded in what the research actually says.
Dietary pattern, not individual foods
The best-researched anti-inflammatory patterns are whole food and plant-rich, with adequate omega-3s and polyphenols. They work because of their overall composition. We build toward that in a way that fits your life and your NZ context.
Gut health as the foundation
A healthy microbiome actively downregulates inflammation. A disrupted one amplifies it. Addressing gut health through fibre diversity and targeted support is often the single most effective lever available.
Omega-3s and the nutrients that resolve
EPA and DHA, from oily fish or algae, have some of the strongest evidence in nutritional science for reducing inflammatory markers. We look at your intake and adjust, including supplementation where it's justified.
Blood sugar stability
Glucose spikes drive inflammation directly. Stabilising blood sugar through food composition and meal timing has a knock-on effect on inflammatory load that's larger than most people expect.
Stress, sleep and recovery
No dietary approach fully counters the inflammatory effect of chronic sleep deprivation or unmanaged stress. We look at the non-food factors fuelling the fire, because ignoring them caps how far the food can take you.
Tracking it over time
Where relevant we can follow CRP, ESR and other markers alongside how you actually feel. Seeing the numbers move with the symptoms is motivating, and it tells us whether the plan is working.
The hour is the smallest part
Every consultation includes a full written clinical protocol, and that protocol takes three to four hours to build after you've logged off. The hour is where I gather the case. The work happens after it.
The consultation
Symptoms, health history, medications, bloods, and what you actually eat on a normal Tuesday, not an idealised version of it.
Research and case review
Your case worked through against the current evidence: what's likely driving it, what the research supports for your situation, and any interactions with your medications.
Your anti-inflammatory protocol
Diet, lifestyle and supplement recommendations with specific forms, doses and timing, plus the reasoning behind each, so you can question it rather than just follow it.
Yours to keep
A document you own and can come back to in six months, or hand to your GP. Nothing depends on how well you took notes.
Who I work with
This works well for people who want to address what's driving their symptoms rather than manage the symptoms one at a time. A good fit if you're:
- Dealing with joint pain, fatigue or brain fog and wanting to know what nutrition can do about your inflammatory load
- Managing a condition with an inflammatory component, such as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome or elevated cardiovascular risk, alongside your medical team
- An athlete or active person with slow recovery, persistent soreness, or performance that's stalled
- Someone who's had elevated inflammatory markers flagged on a blood test
- Wanting to reduce long-term disease risk, particularly with a family history of cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes
- Dealing with skin reactivity or digestive inflammation and wanting to address the dietary drivers
A note on scope
I work with general chronic inflammation and its nutritional drivers. If you're managing a diagnosed autoimmune condition such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, nutrition can be a helpful complement, but you need a specialist as your primary provider and I'd work alongside them.
If you're not sure which side of that line you're on, the free call will sort it out.
How working together goes
No guesswork. From the first conversation you'll know what we're doing and why.
Free discovery call
Fifteen minutes on what's going on, what you've already tried, and whether working together makes sense. There's no obligation, and if I'm not the right person I'll say so.
Free15 minutesConsultation + your protocol
An hour mapping your dietary pattern, lifestyle, stress, sleep and any blood work. Then three to four hours identifying your specific inflammatory drivers and writing a targeted protocol.
$27560 min + protocolTrack and refine
We follow how things change, symptomatically and through markers where available, and adjust over time. Consistency matters more than perfection, and the plan is built around that.
$95per follow-upWhat it's actually like
“Luke's plant-based expertise is fabulous. He helped me tackle long-term health issues with advice that is both practical and evidence-based. He's a pleasant, trustworthy professional who genuinely wants the best for his clients. Highly recommended!”Annabel — Auckland
Inflammation questions
How do I know if I actually have chronic inflammation?
Symptoms give you a strong hint, but bloods make it concrete. CRP, ideally high-sensitivity CRP, and ESR are the usual starting points, and your GP can order both.
It's worth knowing that normal markers don't completely rule it out, and elevated markers don't tell you the cause. That's what the history is for.
Is there an anti-inflammatory diet I should follow?
Not a branded one, no. The patterns with the strongest evidence, Mediterranean-style, plant-rich and whole food, share features rather than rules, and the overall pattern matters far more than any single ingredient.
Turmeric will not fix an inflammatory diet. Getting the pattern right will.
Do I need to cut out gluten, dairy or nightshades?
Usually not. Those blanket eliminations are extremely common online and rarely justified by the evidence for most people.
Where a structured elimination genuinely makes sense we'll do one properly: time-boxed, with a defined purpose and a reintroduction plan, rather than an indefinite ban.
How long before I feel a difference?
Joint comfort, energy and digestion often shift within the first few weeks. Inflammatory markers on a blood test move more slowly. Plan on eight to twelve weeks before retesting.
Individual results vary, and nothing here is a guarantee of outcome.
Can this replace my anti-inflammatory medication?
No, and any change to prescribed medication is your doctor's decision, not mine. Nutrition works alongside medical treatment.
Some people do find their reliance reduces over time as the underlying drivers improve, but that's a conversation with your prescriber, with evidence from your bloods.
Not sure inflammation is your problem?
Fifteen minutes, free, no obligation. Describe the cluster of symptoms and I'll tell you honestly whether it sounds inflammatory, and what to ask your GP to test.
Let's get to the root of what's driving it
A free discovery call is the easiest place to start. Fifteen minutes, and you'll get a clear read on what's going on.
Book a free discovery callOnline via Google Meet · Auckland in person available · No commitment required