As new research suggests that inflammation isn’t just caused by age, but by our lifestyles and environments, Harry Bullmore finds out what we can do to fight it M any foods, supplements and even workouts nowadays claim to have anti-inflammatory properties. This certainly sounds like a good thing, adding to a product’s allure, but what does it actually mean? In appropriate doses, inflammation is a good thing, senior biomedical sciences lecturer and immunology specialist Dr Owen Kavanagh tells me.