How Your Food Might be Causing Inflammation

Inflammation can be synonymous with frustration. 

It might cause swelling, aching, and joint and muscle aggravation that prevent you from doing regular activities and have you wondering where it’s coming from and why. 

But when inflammation is persistent and doesn’t have an apparent cause, you may need to start paying attention to the food you’re eating. There are good reasons medical professionals don’t recommend high consumptions of certain foods and it’s not all about whether your pants stop fitting! 

Here’s a list of common foods that can cause inflammation in the body. 

Sugar 

Put… the doughnut… down.
It might come as no surprise that garden variety sugars such as sucrose (processed sugar) and high fructose corn syrup (found in a scary number of food items such as soft drinks, chocolate, and sauces) can cause an inflammatory response in our muscles and organs. When we eat sugar, it also goes to our blood stream where the body produces insulin to convert it to energy – too much sugar means your body stores it in your fat cells and leads to those cells enlarging. 

Processed meats 

They may be delicious and convenient, but processed meats such as ham, bacon, cured meats, and sausages all share one inflammatory thing in more abundance than your average meat – advanced glycation end products (AGEs). 

With a controlled and small amount of consumption, your body can naturally deal with and dispose of AGEs. But, when you’re wolfing them down at a higher-than-average pace, they start to build up and your body can’t keep up. When they accumulate at higher levels, they can lead to damaging inflammation and disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney failure, and Alzheimer’s just to name a few. 

Artificial trans fats 

Trans fats can be naturally occurring in some foods, but it’s when those fats are meddled with to make them artificially formed, the trouble can begin. Artificial trans fats are made by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil, causing it to solidify at room temperature. You’ll find them in common foodstuffs such as margarine, fried foods, baked good such as cakes and pies, and doughs that require refrigeration. 

Trans fats affect your good cholesterol (HDL) by lowering the amount in your body whilst actively raising your levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) leading to inflammation in the body that over time can cause serious illness. 

Refined carbohydrates 

Refined carbs have found their way into most household pantries as staple items such as bread, white rice, pastries, pastas, and breakfast cereals. Although they’re not considered potential inflammatory foods in moderation, they’re fast making up a large percentage of the average diet. They’re similar to sugar in that they enter the blood stream and give a quick insulin spike but are stored in fat cells if the body can’t keep up with consumption. 

Is it time to revisit your diet?