Top 10 foods that cause inflammation

Inflammation is at the root of all major disease. It is the suffocation of cells. The outer membrane of the cell becomes clogged and transportation of nutrients into the cells and toxins out of the cells becomes impaired.

It is also one of the major factors in most of my clients that have previously not been able to lose weight or suffer from fatigue, belly fat, joint pain, digestive issues, and much more.

What causes it? 

For the most part what we eat.

Here are the top 10 foods that cause inflammation:

1. Sugar – Yes! This stuff is lethal and oh, so addictive! Sugar is found in 80% of the 600,000 food products on the market. It not only causes cellular inflammation, but leads to tooth decay, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
2. Transfats – These are otherwise known as partially or fully hydrogenated fats. They are in most packaged baked goods – cakes, crackers, breads, etc. They are fats that have injected with hydrogen to create a substantially longer shelf life. Think Twinkies that will be fine to eat long after you and I are gone. You will also find them in fast food, fried foods, margarine, and even many commercial peanut butters. Beware, the front of the package can claim No Transfats, but you will still find them in the ingredients listed as hydrogenated oils. Manufacturers can get away with that because if there is less than ? gram per serving, it doesn’t need to be included in the nutrition facts.
3. Grain fed meat – chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, even farm raised fish. All of these animals are being fed large quantities of grain (most commonly soy and corn) which is not their natural diet. Eating grains creates unhealthy animals and then when we consume their meat, we become inflamed and sick too, cell by cell. By eating these grains, the animals create large quantities of Omega 6 essential fatty acids. We need Omega 6 on a minimal level, but when consumed in heavy proportions to Omega 3’s, they cause a great deal of inflammation. Look for Grass-fed, pastured/pasture raised, wild caught for fish. Organic is also a good baseline to look for in addition to these words. You want the animal to eat their natural diet the way they were intended. Think about a cow eating corn and soy as being similar to you trying to live on fast food. Definitely not the best choice if we are trying to be healthy, right?
4. Refined grains – These grains have been processed to remove most, if not all of the fiber and lost almost all other nutrients. There have been a few nutrients added back in, but just a few. There is essentially no to these, except to fill your stomach. Without the fiber, the fullness won’t last long and they can also spike your blood sugar, leading to insulin resistance. When reading the label, you will identify many of these as “Enriched” flours.
5. Vegetable oils – Oils like corn, vegetable, canola and soybean oils are typically from genetically modified crops. They are also very high in Omega 6 and lower in Omega 3’s. Omega 6’s are pro-inflammatory and Omega 3’s are anti-inflammatory. You will find these in many packaged foods. It is not only important to eliminate these oils, but I would also encourage you to eliminate these foods from your diet completely. Or if you choose to eat these, then make sure you are purchasing them organically, as most crops of these are genetically modified and sprayed heavily with pesticides like Round-Up. (Yes, that is that same lethal weed killer that you use in your garden that has all kinds if warnings all over it.) Instead choose olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil.
6. Dairy – We are the only mammal that drinks another mammals milk and also the only mammal that drinks milk after infancy. Well over 50% of the world’s population cannot tolerate milk. Symptoms can be digestive upset, thickening of mucous (leading to or exacerbating asthma symptoms), constipation, diarrhea, rashes, and acne. Dairy is not only in milk, butter, cheese, but also in many packaged foods – cereals, baked goods, cream sauces, etc. Make sure to read the labels. In most recipes, you can replace cow’s milk with coconut milk.
7. Artificial Food Additives – You will find these only in packaged foods. These are things like Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), food colorings, aspartame, saccharin, etc. In this link, there is a list of the 101 most offensive food additives to avoid. A short cut to avoid these is to buy only organic packaged foods.
8. Gluten – We talked about refined grains, but gluten isn’t necessarily only in refined grains. Gluten can be found in many grain sources, including whole grain sources. You can even have a whole grain, organic bread and still suffer from the inflammatory effects of gluten. Gluten causes significant distress to the digestive system and eventually lead to Leaky Gut. Leaky Gut is at the root of many auto-immune disorders. Not everyone is sensitive to gluten, but a great many of people are. Many are also sensitive to the glyphosate that the wheat or grain is treated with, also causing inflammation.
9. Alcohol – Alcohol is inflammatory due to the stress it puts on the liver, our greatest detoxifier. If you cannot eliminate alcohol completely, do your body a favor and limit it to 1 drink per day. Make sure you are compensating with extra water for any alcoholic beverage you consume as well.
10. You choose. – We are all different and what may be one man’s pleasure, could be your poison, and vice versa. We are all individual with individual needs for our body. Some of the most reactionary foods people are sensitive to are dairy, gluten, nightshade vegetables. Some of the other major ones are soy and eggs.

 Many of us have sensitivities or intolerance to a certain food.

This is not a fast & furious allergic reaction like hives or anaphylactic shock. It may present as a headache, digestive upset like bloating or gas, fatigue, brain fog, or even weight gain. 

Did you know that you could simply eat the same food too frequently and your body could come to think of it as a foreign invader? It will create anti-bodies for it causing an inflammatory response when you eat that food. 

The best way to determine if you suffer from a food sensitivity or inflammation is to do an elimination diet. Eliminating the potential “culprit” will give the body a chance to rest and reset. Then you can add the questionable food back in to see if there is any reaction to it. If yes, then you can remove it again for a certain period of time, allow the body to heal more and see if the response has lessened or gone away completely. Once the reaction is gone, you can add the food back in moderation. If the response is still present, remove again and wait longer. 

If you want to discover which, if any, foods are creating inflammation or sensitivity responses for you, join the Sugar Freedom Detox. We will do a week of an elimination diet followed with a week of reintroduction so you can uncover the sources of inflammation for you. This will make the experience fun and simple with daily guidance, a group of supportive fellow detoxers and loads of delicious recipes in simple to follow meal plans. 

You can also get a jump on decreasing inflammation by add in some healing supplements such as a good probiotic like Vital Probiotics or my go-to for knocking out inflammation, Genesis. 

The good news is that if you uncover the cause of inflammation in your diet and what your sensitivities are, you can adjust what you are eating so you can increase your energy, slim down your waistline and feel 10 years younger!  You’ll be amazed at how good you can feel!

I am here to support you when you are ready! Sign up for a complimentary 30 minute Health Breakthrough Session with me.