There are times when inflammation is good and times when it is bad. In a way, it’s your body’s natural way of keeping you safe when you’re sick or hurt.
It can help your body fight off sickness and speed up the recovery process.
On the other hand, chronic inflammation increases the risk of conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. It’s intriguing that the things you eat can have a big effect on how much inflammation your body experiences.
foods that cause inflammation
These five foods can make your joints hurt.
1. Sugar and high fructose
You can find two main types of added sugar in Western food: table sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
Sugar contains 50 grams of glucose and 50 grams of fructose. High-fructose corn syrup has about 45 grams of glucose and 55 grams of fructose.
One bad thing about extra sugars is that they can make inflammation worse, which can lead to illness.
In a study, mice consuming high amounts of sucrose developed lung-spreading breast cancer. This was partly due to the fact that sugar makes the body inflamed.
Another 2011 study found that mice fed a high-sugar diet responded less effectively to omega-3 fatty acids in terms of reducing inflammation.
Also, in a study where people drank regular soda, diet soda, milk, or water, those who drank regular soda were the only ones whose uric acid levels were higher. Uric acid causes inflammation and insulin resistance.
Because it contains too much fructose, sugar can also be harmful to your health.
Small amounts of fructose found in fruits and vegetables are fine, but eating a lot of it from added sugars can be bad for your health.
People who eat a lot of sugar are more likely to be overweight, have diabetes, fatty liver disease, cancer, and chronic kidney disease.
Also, experts have found that fructose makes the cells that line your blood vessels swell, which raises your risk of getting heart disease.
Furthermore, studies have shown that eating a lot of sugar increases a number of inflammatory markers in both mice and humans.
Candy, chocolate, soft drinks, cakes, cookies, doughnuts, some cereals, and some sweet treats all have a lot of added sugar.
2. Refined Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates have a bad reputation, but many high-carbohydrate foods are very healthy and can be part of a balanced diet.
On the other hand, having too many refined carbs can make inflammation worse.
Refined carbohydrates have removed most of the fiber. Fiber makes you feel full, helps you control your blood sugar, and feeds the good bugs in your gut.
Researchers think that the processed carbs we eat may help inflammatory gut bacteria grow, which can make you more likely to be overweight and get inflammatory bowel disease.
The glycemic index (GI) of refined carbs is higher than that of raw carbs. Foods with a high GI raise blood sugar more quickly than foods with a low GI.
One study found that kids and teens with cystic fibrosis who followed a low-GI diet for three months had significantly lower levels of inflammation markers than a control group.
A different review found the same thing: for people with diabetes, a low-GI diet could lower levels of interleukin-6, a sign of inflammation, more successfully than a high-GI diet.
It’s in candy, bread, pasta, pastries, some cereals, cookies, cakes, sugary soft drinks, and all prepared foods that have flour or sugar added to them.
3. Alcohol
Drinking alcohol in moderation may have some health benefits. Higher numbers, on the other hand, can cause big problems.
In a study from 2010, people who drank alcohol had higher amounts of C-reactive protein (CRP), which is a sign of inflammation. Those who had more than two drinks per day had the highest CRP levels.
People who drink a lot may have trouble getting toxins made by bacteria out of the colon and into the body. This issue, often referred to as “leaky gut,” can lead to widespread swelling throughout the body, potentially harming vital organs.
To avoid health problems related to alcohol, men should only have two normal drinks a day, and women should only have one.
4. Fried foods
Fried foods like French fries, mozzarella sticks, cakes, and egg rolls are high in fat and calories, and they may also make inflammation in the body worse.
This is because cooking at high temperatures, such as frying, can produce more dangerous chemicals like advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which can cause inflammation and increase the risk of chronic diseases.
Fried cooking oils may contain more trans fats, which can exacerbate inflammation.
Few studies have shown that eating fried foods might change the gut bacteria, which might lead to more inflammation.
Eating fried foods may increase your risk of developing heart disease and dying from it, according to other research.
5. Meats cooked at high temperatures
It is linked to a higher chance of heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer to eat processed meats such as bacon, sausage, ham, and smoked meat that are cooked at high temperatures.
Smoking, grilling, baking, frying, toasting, and searing are some other ways to cook over high heat.
Cooking meat at high temperatures produces AGEs, which are chemicals that cause inflammation.
AGEs are believed to exacerbate inflammation and contribute to chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes.
It’s interesting that marinating meats in acidic liquids like vinegar or lemon juice before grilling or baking can cut the amount of AGEs by half.
Another way to keep AGEs from forming too much is to cook foods for shorter amounts of time and use moist heat cooking methods like stewing, boiling, steaming, or poaching.
The bottom line
There are many things that can cause inflammation, and some of them are hard to avoid, like pollution, pain, or illness.
You do, however, have a lot more power over things like what you eat.
If you want to stay as healthy as possible, limit the foods that make inflammation worse and eat more foods that fight your inflammation.
