Top 5 Foods that may contribute to chronic inflammation

Chronic inflammation be damaging to your overall health, including the below lifestyle factors that contribute to it…

🔥DIET*

🔥CHRONIC STRESS*

🔥POOR SLEEP*

🔥SMOKING; and

🔥OBESITY

Diet

It is such a fraught word! “Personal food choices” is perhaps a less potentially triggering turn of phrase- in any event the “worst offenders” on this list are probably not going to be a huge surprise to anyone.

Ultimately, the more food you choose that is as close to it’s natural state as possible- the better it is for your overall health. So whilst today we will take a quick look at food options that could either be omitted altogether particularly if chronic inflammation is a concern, or alternatively placed firmly in the “discretionary foods” camp, in our next edition we will look at food choices can that actually help fight inflammation.

Added Sugar and High-Fructose Corn Syrup
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Table sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are the two main types of added sugar in the Western diet.

From pasta sauce to peanut butter, added sugar can be found in even the most unexpected products- this is another reason why it is always important to read the ingredients label!

Generally anything that is marketed as “low fat” or “no fat” will be high in added sugar as it replaces the flavour lost when the fat content is removed.

Sugar is fine for you in small amounts, but too much can lead to weight gain, acne, type 2 diabetes, and can increase your risk of several serious medical conditions caused by inflammation.

Sugar-sweetened drinks like soft drinks, fruit drinks, and sweet teas are loaded with fructose; a type of simple sugar.

Consuming fructose increases your hunger and desire for food more than glucose, the main type of sugar found in starchy foods.

Artificial trans fats-Partially Hydrogenated Oil

Artificial trans fats are the unhealthiest fats you can eat, created by adding hydrogen to unsaturated fats, which are liquid to give them more solid type stability.

On ingredient labels, trans fats are often listed as partially hydrogenated oils.

Unlike the naturally occurring trans fats found in dairy and meat, artificial trans fats have been shown to cause inflammation and increase disease risk.

Trans fats are also added to products to extend their shelf life. Some items that have trans fats are commercially baked goods, fried foods, microwave popcorn, refrigerated dough, biscuits and margarine.

Consuming artificial trans fats is linked to high levels of inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein.

Refined carbohydrates

Carbohydrates have gotten a bad rap- unfortunately often all lumped together in the “to be avoided” category.

However, the truth is that not all carbs are problematic.

Ancient humans consumed high fibre, unprocessed carbs for millennia in the form of grasses, roots, and fruits.

However, processed or refined carbs are stripped of their nutritional content, including fibre. So in addition to lacking in nutrition, your body quickly breaks them down into sugar that hits your bloodstream suddenly rather than gradually. This can ignite your immune response and trigger inflammation.

Whole-grain or complex carbs take longer to break down because your body must process the nutrients. Your digestive system extracts the nutrients and fibre, and since the process is slower, the sugars enter your system gradually.

Refined carbohydrates are found in white bread, pasta, pastries, some cereals, biscuits, cakes, soft drinks, and all processed foods that contain added sugar or flour.

Processed meat

Processed meats have been salted, cured, smoked, or fermented, usually for flavor or preservation. During this process, preservative chemicals are often added.

Common types of processed meat include sausage, bacon, ham, smoked meat, and beef jerky.

Processed meat increase advanced glycation end products (AGE’s) more than most other meats

AGEs form when sugar combines with protein or fat in the bloodstream (known as glycation).

When your body can't rid itself of AGEs quickly enough, they accumulate in your system and trigger inflammation.

Vegetable and Seed Oils

Vegetable oils and seed oils, such as soybean oil, are believed to promote inflammation due to their very high omega-6 fatty acid content.

Although omega-6 fats are good for you at healthy levels the typical Western diet provides far more than people need, and when they outweigh the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids in your system it creates a pro-inflammatory response..

The products that are high in Omega-6 fatty acids and may need to be limited include- Corn oil, Mayonnaise, Peanut oil, Sunflower oil and Safflower oil.

Support to make positive lifesyle changes is one of the key components of my Wellness Pillar in “Radiant” my 1:1 90 day coaching experience.