You're correct though. The term is very unclear and doesn't help people. Generally speaking the refinement process of carbohydrates and sugars means glucose hits your blood stream faster and increases inflammation. (These refined carbs are also more addictive, reduce insulin sensitivity over time and lead to obesity)
For an anti inflammatory diet think raw foods, whole grains, high fiber, quality protein, low amounts of complex sugars, NO refined sugars. Stay low on the glycemic index.
Basically, make your body do a little work to metabolize calories. No easy street.
Also don't fry with vegetable oils. Consume plenty of olive oil and fish oil.
I end up with cravings for sweet foods to boost my energy and will often find an excuse to go buy a couple bags of sweets so I don't feel so drained of energy.
Do you have any recommendations I can use to cut down on my high glycemic food intake?
As you drive carbs closer to zero, make sure you're eating plenty of fatty foods to provide an alternate, slower-burning energy source. Also, when massively lowering carb intake, drink plenty of fluids with electrolytes, as that often helps lessen the "keto flu" symptoms of your body's incremental transition to different metabolic balances.
There's a carb-craving feeling that's easy to confuse with true hunger, likely because for so long on a sugar-heavy diet your body has learned your blood-sugar levels have been correlated with actual hunger or plenty-of-energy. But you can remind your body that there's another pathway. I think it's a bit like recovery from an injury via physical therapy: you have to re-teach your muscle/joints that, yes, they can do the original/optimal movements, without pain, after they've spent a while receiving alternate signals.
Tackle sleep issues separately, with things like caffeine reduction, screen-time-at-night reduction, exhausting exercise during the day, a segregated quiet/dark sleep space, etc.
Good luck!
Have you tried just toughing it out for a couple weeks? I've found that even just a couple weeks of abstaining from sugary things drastically lowers my tolerance for sweet things. Previously edible foods start tasting way oversweetened.
Maybe you could replace the sugar with slower-acting carbohydrates like porridge? It's actually quite tasty without any additives when made with whole milk.
Just eating sugar makes you crave sugar. Don't even add it to coffee.
Otherwise, don't overthink it.
I define it as number of steps from the original food to what's on your plate.
1) Invest more time in compassion/self-compassion
2) Cultivate better social connections (quality more important than quantity)
3) More regular exposure to green natural environments
4) Less junkfood
5) Spend time building up habits that help relax you, such a breathing exercise etc
6) Do work that is meaningful and makes a visible social contribution
7) Varied physical exercise
Chronic inflammation happens because the body feels it has to adopt a physiology that has a short term focus of dealing with threats vs a physiology that has a long term focus that promotes rest, growth and rejuvenation. The latter is only possible when the body feels safe and secure and that element is missing in many people's lives, many people's bodies are in the former mode most of the time. Most of the things in the list either promote parasympathetic states enabling the latter, or help build your ability to deal with stressful situations without promoting chronic inflammation.
One of the most interesting findings I've come across is that hedonic happiness does not help with inflammation, in fact, people who get most of their happiness through hedonic pursuits actually have genes that express themselves to help bring about inflammation. People that achieve happiness/satisfaction through meaningful endeavors have been shown to have gene expression that is not promoting inflammation. This suggests for example, that spending an afternoon volunteering beats having a fun night out at the cinema, as far as physiological benefits go. Steven Cole (expert in genomics) has some very interesting presentations on this.
You can do a search on such things. You will get a lot of search results that would bomb on HN ("mommy bloggers," Gwenyth Paltrow's Goop, other wellness resources), but there are actual studies on diet and inflammation that can be found as well.
Oils and alkaline diet/alkaline minerals (calcium, magnesium) are places you could start an internet search. A food journal can also be a useful tool.
I bought a year's supply, but have not taken the time to research it, so have held off taking it. My parents have found numerous studies indicating it can lower inflammation and reduce heart disease. Their blood markers show seriously reduced crp levels after long term use. There's probably something to it.
I later found out it’s a super controversial topic. Some doctors think that many auto immune diseases are caused by minor infection.
Doxi also has an anti inflammatory effect. So that helps too.
Doctors are very dismissive of all this. But 20 doctors couldn’t tell me what I was suffering from. Other the one who got it right. Later testing and bloodwork confirmed he was correct.
I can not get ANY doctor to write me a prescription however. Very frustrating.