3 Inflammatory Foods to Banish Forever
For most of us, inflammation is silent. We don't know it's there until something happens, such as cognitive decline, a heart attack, or a stroke.
The good news is that you can change your diet and reduce or even eliminate inflammation.
While our diet is riddled with inflammatory-producing foods, eliminating these three worst offenders is an excellent place to start.
Sugar
Seriously, get off this stuff now. It is one of the most inflammatory foods you can eat. It suppresses the activity of our white blood cells, making us susceptible to infectious diseases and cancer.
It causes chronic inflammation, which can lead to heart disease and stroke. However, the problem is not the teaspoon of sugar you add to your coffee. It's a fact that 80% of processed foods contain sugar. So read your labels!
High Fructose Corn Syrup or the new term "Corn Sugar"
Over the last few decades, high fructose corn syrup has found its way into an increasing number of our foods. This is because it's less expensive and sweeter than conventional sugar, and it gets into your body faster.
High fructose corn syrup consumption can cause insulin resistance, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. In addition, it goes through your liver, potentially causing fatty liver disease.
High fructose levels can also lead to a leaky gut. This permits foreign dietary and bacterial proteins to enter your system, causing inflammation.
Studies have shown that high fructose corn syrup makes people hungrier and causes them to become overweight more than regular sugar.
Partially Hydrogenated Oils and Artificial Trans Fats
Partially hydrogenated oils are added to food products to make them shelf-stable. They have no redeeming qualities for our health.
Studies show that people who eat food items containing these oils have very high inflammatory markers, indicating that they contribute to chronic inflammation and increase your risk of developing blood clots. In addition, partially hydrogenated oils can also affect heart health because they raise "bad" (LDL) cholesterol and decrease "good" (HDL) cholesterol.
In fact, in 2015, the FDA released its final determination that Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) are not Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS).
These oils can be found in most packaged goods. One big offender is Coffee Creamer! Get that stuff out of your fridge! Ditch the fast-food too, as most fast-food restaurants fry their food in partially hydrogenated oils.
It is never too early to start making decisions that will increase your odds of remaining healthy well into your 70s, 80s, or even 90s.
