What is inflammation?
Inflammation is the body's natural way of protecting itself against harm, injury, and infection in order to restore balance. This is a good thing since it is the immune system's defense mechanism. However, long-term inflammation, even when the body is not under any threat, can be a problem.
Inflammation can be caused by many things that vary from the type of food you eat, lifestyle, or even pathogens.
In this article, we will cover signs of inflammation and 6 foods that cause inflammation.
Signs of inflammation
Signs of inflammation are numbness, heat or area affected being warm to the touch, redness, swelling and pain. These are, however, no cause for concern, since it's the body trying to fight pathogens or restore balance.
You've probably heard of the term "you are what you eat." Which roughly means your overall health and wellbeing can reflect your eating habits. Well, it is very easy to tell if your body is having an inflammatory reaction to certain foods. The signs mentioned here can be as a result of persistent inflammation even when the body is not under any threat.
The signs are :-
Acne
Sleeping problems
Headaches
Fatigue
Weight gain
Struggling to lose weight, etc.
Foods that cause inflammation
Sugar and sugary food
My number one culprit has to be sugar. Whether natural or unnatural, added sugar does not have any nutritive value. High consumption of it can increase cholesterol, which later leads to obesity, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance and other health-related problems. Sugar also raises blood sugar quite fast, which can trigger inflammation in the body.
Ingredients to look out for are high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), fructose, glucose, lactose, corn syrup, agave, etc. There are over 40 names used to refer to sugar that you can find on packaging of food products. Reducing or eliminating sugar and sugary food will significantly reduce inflammation in the body.
2. Refined carbs
Refined carbs are things like cakes, white bread, white rice, pastries, pasta, and other foods made from white flour. Since these are highly processed carbohydrates, they have been stripped off its fiber and nutrient value. They raise blood sugar levels in the body fast, and this creates an inflammatory response.
3. Trans-fats
Trans-fats are made through the process of hydrogenation, turning liquid oil into solid fats. Vegetable oils, for example, are hydrogenated to form margarine. Recent studies have shown that trans-fats are not only unhealthy but can also cause inflammation, especially in overweight people.
Examples of trans-fats are margarine, shortening, commercially baked goods like cakes and cookies, fried food like French fries and fried chicken, etc.
4. Vegetable and seed oils
The most available and cheap form of cooking oil is vegetable and seed oils. Companies through advertising make it appear as though these oils are healthy. You've probably seen the heart healthy label on most vegetable oils. Truth is, it's very hard to extract oil from plants and seeds. Therefore, many processes are involved, including adding a solvent in order to extract the oil, removing the solvent once oil is extracted and refining the oil. Oil refining or purifying involves heating it at very high temperatures. This doesn't seem "heart healthy" to me.
As if that's not enough, these oils also contain high amounts of omega-6. In small quantities, it is healthy, but in large quantities, they can become inflammatory.
Some of these oils include flaxseed oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil.
5. Alcohol
In limited quantities, alcohol can have some health benefits. Excessive consumption, however, can bring problems to the liver.
The liver is responsible for removing toxins in the body. Excess alcohol in the body may put a strain on the liver when trying to remove these toxins. Eventually, one may develop problems with some of these toxins moving out of the colon and into the body, a condition known as a leaky gut.
This can cause inflammation in other parts of the body.
To avoid this, trying limiting alcohol consumption to two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women.
6. Deep-fried food
Fried food like doughnuts, fries and fried chicken are usually delicious and can be hard to resist. They are, however, very inflammatory and can even cause acne. Not only that, but the repeatedly heated cooking oils that fast food industries use can be very harmful to our health. According to Dr. Anju Sood, "cooking oils should never be re-used as they turn rancid and increase the trans fatty acids", which are extremely dangerous.
In conclusion
Inflammation is the body's way of protecting itself from the things that harm it. The body naturally releases chemicals that trigger a response from the immune system. Persistent inflammation, even when the body is not under any stress or attack, can cause other health problems.
Identifying foods that trigger inflammation is key to reducing it.
For foods and oils you're unsure of, try to think of the process involved in making that food or oil. Did it go through heavy processing and refining? Yes, that's probably not the right choice of food.
A food source may be healthy in its natural form, but after a series of processing, it no longer becomes healthy. For example, as mentioned earlier, flaxseed oil is not a healthy source of cooking oil because of the process involved in making it. However, flaxseeds themselves are an excellent source of nutrients and should be included in your diet.
Takeaway
The lesser the processes involved in making a food product, the better it is for your health.
*Information provided on this site is for educational purposes only and should not be substituted for medical advice. Consult a medical practitioner for medical advice, diagnosis and treatment.*