8 Foods That Cause Inflammation

We know that there are foods that reduce inflammation as well as foods that cause inflammation.

By cutting out the inflammation causing foods from our diet, we can naturally reduce the severity of several symptoms. We look at foods that we should be avoiding because of their inflammatory properties:

1. Transfats

Trans fats, hydrogenated oils or partially hydrogenated fats are amongst the foremost foods that cause inflammation.

These are to be found in many packaged foods such as chips, cookies, cakes, microwave meals, fast foods and many others.

Foods That Cause Inflammation2. Refined foods

In the process of refining, much of the nutritional value of foods is destroyed. What remain are empty calories that offer no other nutritional value.

Refined flour, refined cooking oil and numerous other items of common consumption undergo this refinement process that is the cause of inflammation.

3. Dairy

According to some experts, milk is digestible by humans only up to a certain age of childhood, after which the body becomes unable to digest milk and milk products.

Yet we continue to consume dairy in various forms, which is what makes dairy one of the top foods that cause inflammation.

4. Processed meat

Deli meats, cold cuts and other processed meats are packed with salt, nitrates, preservatives and other harmful ingredients, which are best avoided. They cause the sort of inflammation that could even cause cancer.

5. Alcohol

Alcohol can irritate the food pipe, the stomach, liver and the larynx. This irritation leads to inflammation, which according to some experts could lead to cancer. If you must drink, limit it to no more than a drink a day.

6. Food additives

Preservatives, artificial coloring, artificial flavoring, and a plethora of other chemicals find their way into our diet through packaged food. To avoid foods that cause inflammation it is best to stick to unprocessed, unrefined, whole foods as a rule.

7. Simple sugars

Foods with a high glycemic index are known to be inflammatory. These simple sugars may be more inflammatory for susceptible individuals than others. This could be because of an individual’s constitution or because they may have certain conditions that cause them to tolerate sugars more poorly than others.

8. Foods cooked at very high temperatures

Things that are deep fried at very high temperatures or grilled over an open fire (charred) can become toxic and are among the foods that cause inflammation. Very high temperatures produce certain carcinogens that we end up consuming with our food.