Foods that contribute to inflammation
In my last blog post (The Importance of Recognizing Food Sensitivities), I wrote about how food sensitivities can contribute to chronic low-grade inflammation which ultimately can lead to a host of health problems, and I want to delve into the issue of inflammation a little deeper over the next few weeks.
Acute inflammation is an essential defense mechanism in our body which helps repair damage and protects against ‘foreign invaders’. Chronic inflammation on the other hand is very damaging over time and erodes away our internal resources and health. Think of the difference as a quick raging fire that is limited to a small area of tissue damage vs. a wide-spread, slowly smoldering fire that is hard to control and that causes a lot of damage in a large area.
In today’s post, I want to focus on a group of foods that can contribute to this type of inflammation. Avoid these to starve this slow smoldering fire:
SUGAR – I include this as number one on the list, because sugar is so prevalent in our diet. Simple sugars are broken down easily and quickly raise blood sugar levels. High blood sugar in turn is linked to higher levels of free radicals which damage cells, activate the immune response and contribute to inflammation.
Night shades – this is a group of foods that is part of a large plant family called Solanaceae. While there are many variations in this family, the things they have in common are solanine and calcitriol which seem to be difficult for the human body to deal with and contribute to inflammation. The main foods in the group are:
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Peppers
Paprika
For a more complete list, check out http://www.naturalnews.com/040186_arthritis_relief_nightshades_inflammation.html#
Wheat and corn – even if you don’t have sensitivity to these foods, they can contribute to inflammation due to the way they are processed.
Processed foods – I’m including this on the list because so many of our processed foods include sugar, corn and wheat.
You may be thinking to yourself, ‘what is left to eat?’ In my next blog post (Foods that heal inflammation), I will be listing foods that will help inhibit or reduce inflammation…so stay posted…
