An Unhealthy Diet Can Contribute To Chronic Inflammation

Inflammation is a normal reaction from our immune systems to infections, injuries, or irritation.  Inflammation is good in some cases, it is a natural way of your body protecting itself.  Chronic inflammation can lead to other diseases. 

Inflammation symptoms could include redness, swollen joint, joint pain, joint stiffness, fever, chill, fatigue, energy loss, headaches, loss of appetite, or muscle stiffness.  Chronic inflammation can lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, autoimmune conditions, allergies, asthma, COPD, Alzheimer’s, or arthritis.  

The foods you eat could actually be causing your body to have inflammation and can actually be a cause of your chronic inflammation.

Foods That Cause Inflammation

One food that can cause inflammation is processed meat.  This can be beef jerky, smoked meats, ham, bacon, and sausage.  These meats will trigger an inflammatory response in your body, especially in your colon cells.  You can always switch these processed meats out of your diet for healthier meat choices such as fish or chicken. 

Sugary foods are another food that can cause inflammation.  Anything have high fructose corn syrup in it has added sugars.  Not all sugar goes by the same name so you will want to make sure you read the labels looking for ingredients that end in “-ose”.  These high sugary foods like doughnuts, cookies, cakes, chocolates, soda, and fruit juices will drive your insulin resistance up, which results in your body becoming inflamed.  

Fast foods we all know are not the healthiest choices.  They are sure convenient though, during a busy scheduled day.  One of the troubles with fast food items is that they have a lot of food additives in them.  These food additives will generally cause inflammation because they aren’t natural substances that are easily digested. 

Artificial trans fats also cause inflammation.  You will find these in French fries, and other fast foods, as well as microwave popcorn, margarines, vegetable shortenings, and store bought packaged cakes, cookies, and processed foods containing hydrogenated vegetable oil.  These artificial trans fats will raise your LDL (low density lipoprotein) the “bad” cholesterol, and lower your HDL (high density lipoprotein) the “good” cholesterol.  

Omega 6- fatty acids are imperative in your diet.  With the correct amount!  If you overdo how much omega 6-fatty acids you are getting it can be bad on your health.  Omega 6-fatty acids help your body with its health, growth and development so you do need some in your diet.  You can get them from mayonnaise, oils such as corn, safflower, sunflower, peanut or canola.  There are even omega 6-fatty acids in salad dressings.  Getting too much omega 6-fatty acids can cause your body to go into a pro-inflammatory response causing your body to have constant inflammation.  

Refined carbohydrates are also an inflammatory food.  There are good carbohydrates, and then there are refined carbohydrates.  Refined carbohydrates have higher Glycemic index which will cause your blood sugar to rise.  Things that are categorized as a refined carbohydrate are packaged bread, rolls, crackers, French fries, sugary cereals, and white rice.  These raising your blood sugar levels can cause your body to go into an inflammatory response. 

Excessive alcohol can also increase inflammation.  Drinking more than the daily amount of alcohol, 1 serving for a woman, 2 for a man, can also cause what is called leaky gut.  Leaky gut is when bacterial toxins move outside of the colon through the body.  This leak of these bacterial toxins can cause widespread inflammation throughout the body causing organ damage.  

Other foods that may cause inflammation in some people are gluten, dairy, synthetic sweeteners, and salt.  A pro-inflammatory diet is one that is rich in processed foods and red meat while being low in fruits and vegetables.  

Inflammation Risk Factors Outside Of Diet

Risk factors of inflammation are being of older age, obesity, smoking, low levels of testosterone or estrogen, physical and emotional stress, or having a sleep disorder. 

Final Thoughts

Watching what you are eating can help your body lower its inflammation response.  Eating a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables, with chicken and fish as your main source of meat can all help your body’s responses to these foods that have a tendency to cause inflammation. 

Chronic inflammation can lead to prolonged infections, autoimmune disorders, autoinflammatory disorders, repeated cases of acute inflammation and oxidative stress in the body. 

Cutting certain foods out of your diet and replacing them with healthier options can help your body lower your inflammation risk and help prevent serious health issues from chronic inflammation. 

Remember some inflammation is good, it is a defense mechanism in our body’s to help protect itself.