Hi everyone! Today I want to talk to you a little bit about inflammation and inflammatory foods.
A few years ago, I developed an autoimmune disease. Due to my bad habits, being inflamed and stressed for a long time was the principal cause that led me to this event.
From that moment, knowing everything about leading a healthy lifestyle became my priority. As a result, I assumed it was my life mission, alerting other people about how our habits can lead us to feel great and have a full life or the opposite.
Our body is a perfect mechanism that knows how to heal itself if we respect it and give it the necessary nutrients, exercise, and rest.
What is inflammation
Inflammation is a natural response of our body to injuries and infections. It consists of the release of antibodies and proteins and an increase in blood flow in the damaged area to stop the damage. It’s how our body reacts when it is healing.
But if this inflammation becomes chronic, then it is a problem because chronic inflammation is the root of all diseases, especially autoimmune disorders, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, depression, cognitive decline, and cancer among others.
Often chronic inflammation falls under the pain threshold, so we don’t even notice it.
What inflames us?
The principal causes of chronic inflammation are adopting unhealthy lifestyle habits. These bad habits include poor diet choices rich in inflammatory foods, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, drinking, sleep disturbances, suffering from chronic stress, or being constantly in contact with chemicals or pollution.
I think we are all inflamed.
The good news is that it is in our hands to be able to change this condition.
We need to learn how to take care of our health, how to prevent being ill and take full responsibility for our well-being.
Inflammatory foods
What and how we eat play a fundamental role in our levels of inflammation.
There are foods and additives that we should avoid at all costs because they are highly inflammatory, rob us of vitality, age our cells, and make us feel horrible.
Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup
Sugar is as addictive as cocaine. Myself, I’ve been struggling with sugar addiction for such a long time! And that devil is in everything. Even in products that we would never think of, we can find sugar among its ingredients like bacon, smoked salmon, and mayonnaise.
I mean… WHY?
It causes weight gain, increases your risk of heart disease, causes acne, and accelerates skin aging processes. Also, It might cause cancer, increases your risk of diabetes type 2, depression, and increase cellular aging.
High-fructose corn syrup isn’t better. It contains fructose and glucose. Excess fructose may increase substances called Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs), which may harm your cells.
Sugar is one of the most inflammatory foods you could eat, so be careful with its consumption.
Artificial trans fats
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of U.S. determined, in November 2013, that partially hydrogenated oils were no longer Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) in human food.
Trans fats are easy to use, inexpensive, and last a long time. Also, Trans fats give foods a desirable taste and texture. That’s why the food industry prefers them and uses them widely.
Trans fats promote heart disease, inflammation, and increase the levels of bad LDL cholesterol.
We can find trans fats in vegetable shortening, microwavable Popcorn, margarine and vegetable oils, fried fast foods, bakery products, non-dairy coffee creamers, potato, and corn chips, meat pies and sausage rolls, sweet pies, pizza, canned frosting, and crackers.
To avoid them, the best thing you can do is eat a more natural diet, rich in vegetables and fruits and reduce the number of processed foods you consume.
Vegetable and seed oils
We already saw that some vegetable oils contain trans fats. But, this is not the only reason why you should avoid vegetable and seed oils.
Soybean, corn, cottonseed, sunflower, peanut, sesame, safflower, grapeseed, and rice bran oil are rich in Omega 6, a pro-inflammatory fatty acid.
Our body needs to balance the Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids that we consume. An excess of Omega 6 in our diets can cause chronic inflammation and lead us to suffer a series of diseases.
Please pay special attention to palm oil, because the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) found in a study that it could cause cancer.
Create the habit of reading the labels of the products you buy at the grocery store since this type of oil can be found not only in food but also in personal care products and cosmetics. Remember that what we put on our hair and skin also affects the internal health of our body.
Nonedible products that contain vegetable oil include lipstick, shampoo, detergent, soap, toothpaste, and vitamins.
Refined carbohydrates
Candy, bread, pasta, pizza, pastries, some cereals, cookies, cakes, and sugary soft drinks are all refined carbohydrates. Delicious and dangerous!
Eating refined carbs may drive inflammation. They are low in dietary fiber, have a high glycemic index, and have no nutritional value.
Not to mention that most of the refined carbohydrates contain trans fats, vegetable oils, sugar, and high fructose corn syrup. A little bomb!
They can increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Excessive alcohol
While a daily glass of red wine can be very beneficial to our health, more than that can have detrimental consequences.
Heavy alcohol consumption can lead to inflammation and promote “leaky gut” and liver issues.
Processed meat. Inflammatory foods that cause cancer.
Processed meat is the meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to improve its flavor or preservation.
In 2015 The World Health Organization (WHO) ‘s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) cataloged processed meat as a Group 1 carcinogen. It is the same group as tobacco smoking and asbestos.
This kind of meat is highly inflammatory. The regular consumption of processed meat can lead to diabetes, heart diseases, and stomach and colon cancer.
Among the processed meat, we find sausages, bacon, ham, smoked ones, and beef jerky.
Gluten
Gluten is the protein that wheat, rye, and barley contain, and it is inflammatory. So eliminating it from your diet may benefit your health and well-being, especially if you suffer from any inflammatory disease.
More and more people suffer from gluten intolerance. It seems that gluten affects not only celiacs but also the entire population that consumes it.
Eating gluten provokes the permeability of the intestinal lining, setting the stage for inflammation throughout the body.
If you experience any of these symptoms, including gastrointestinal issues, “foggy mind,” headaches, and joint pain, you likely have gluten sensitivity.
I highly recommend watching a documentary called What’s with wheat. It can clarify many of your doubts.
Hidden inflammatory additives in our foods.
Carrageenan
It is an additive used to emulsify, thicken, and preserve foods and drinks. It’s a natural ingredient that comes from red seaweed (also called Irish moss).
It increases your risk of fatty liver disease, your risk of obesity, and weight gain. Besides, it promotes diabetes, and it contains no essential nutrients.
It might promote inflammation, bloating, irritable bowel syndrome, glucose intolerance, colon cancer, and food allergies.
We usually find this additive in chocolate milk, cottage cheese, ice cream, creamers, almond milk, dairy alternatives such as vegan cheeses or non-dairy desserts, coconut milk, hemp milk, rice milk, soy milk, and deli meats.
Mono-sodium glutamate (MSG)
Monosodium glutamate has as many lovers as detractors.
Without a doubt, you will find it in all Chinese food. In China, they even put salt, pepper, and monosodium glutamate on the restaurant table, in case you want to add “a little more” to your food.
I lived for three years in Sichuan province, and I can tell you that Chinese food is addictive, and I think MSG might be the cause.
Because it enhances the flavor of food and stimulates the secretion of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that generates happiness and pleasure, and this is how the food industry makes us addicted to some foods.
This substance inflames neurons, and high doses can even cause neuronal death, provoking irreparable damage to our neurological system.
It triggers insulin production in our body and is highly associated with obesity and liver damage.
It goes by different names. We can find it in the labels of processed food as Glutamic Acid (E 620)2, Glutamate (E 620), Monosodium Glutamate (E 621), Monopotassium Glutamate (E 622), Calcium Glutamate (E 623), Monoammonium Glutamate (E 624), Magnesium Glutamate (E 625), Natrium Glutamate, Yeast Extract, among others.
But, be careful because It’s used in restaurants too. And we can’t see the ingredients, the food we are eating, contain.
Aspartame
The last inflammatory food I will tell you about it today is Aspartame. We can find this villain in almost all foods classified as sugar-free, especially “diet” or “healthier” beverages.
Aspartame is a sweetener and flavor enhancer. It’s potentially toxic to the nervous system and triggers inflammation.
It is found in products such as carbonated soft drinks, powdered soft drinks, chewing gum, confections, gelatins, dessert mixes, puddings, frozen desserts, yogurt, tabletop sweeteners, and in some vitamins and sugar-free cough drops.
How to prevent chronic inflammation?
You can control inflammation by following an anti-inflammatory lifestyle. A successful anti-inflammatory lifestyle includes not smoking, limiting alcohol intake, getting enough exercise, good quality sleep, and managing stress and weight.
Also, eating anti-inflammatory foods rich in nutrients such as Omega 3 and antioxidants could benefit your health and fight chronic inflammation.
Read the labels of the food you buy, cook at home, and eat fresh food with only one ingredient. These habits will help you fight chronic inflammation and keep it at bay.
What to do about inflammatory foods?
You don’t need to stop eating all these inflammatory foods I mention, but it’s good to be aware that they could damage your health significantly if you abuse of them. It’s bettter to eat them in moderation or completely avoid them.
Learn to listen to your body because it always gives you clues if there is something it doesn’t like.
What do I do with inflammatory foods?
Have a balance in your way of eating. For example, I personally, eat 80 percent of the time in a healthy way, and 20 percent don’t. During the week, I drink my green juices, I eat my salads, I don’t eat sugar.
But during the weekend I like to eat pizza while watching a movie, ice cream in a sunny day, a bloody Ceasar, I like to have my Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks and I enjoy it if I go out for dinner. And, I don’t feel guilty cause I know that most of the time I’m taking good care of myself.
I always try to choose healthier alternatives, especially gluten-free. But the truth is that it is difficult to find at the supermarket, food that is free from these inflammatory additives that I mentioned before. Even the healthy, organic or natural alternatives contain them.
Let me know if you know any other inflammatory food that I should avoid to take better care of my health and well-being.
Until next time!
