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Inflammation is one of the main causes behind most modern diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease etc.<\/p>\nInflammation is one of the main causes behind most modern diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease etc.<\/p>\n
You hear daily about various anti-inflammatory and antioxidant foods and supplements recommended to take to reduce inflammation (blueberries, fish oil, etc.). These foods can be very effective but at the same time very expensive.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s even more important is to avoid food that causes inflammation. Choosing carefully what you put in your mouth may be enough to cure many diseases without spending a fortune on specific foods and supplements. 1) Refined Sugars and High Fructose Corn Syrup<\/strong><\/p>\n When we consume sugars (in any form), our blood sugar level shoots up, our minerals get depleted (dealing with the sugars) and enzyme and hormone function changes. All these factors trigger inflammation.<\/p>\n High fructose corn syrup is even worse. Not just because of its chemical structure but also because it\u2019s so cheap that it\u2019s snuck into almost everything. If you look at a graph for increase in high fructose corn syrup consumption and new type 2 diabetes cases since 1980, you\u2019ll see two almost parallel lines. However, just because HFCS is getting really bad press, don\u2019t forget that sugar is sugar; and sugar is one of the main causes of inflammation no matter what form it\u2019s in (white, brown, raw, organic, fruit sugars etc.).<\/p>\n If you want something sweet, go for whole fruits. Even dry fruits that are high in calories are much better for you because of the amount of fiber that slows down digestion. Organic honey in moderation is also very healthy.<\/p>\n 2) Dairy Products<\/strong><\/p>\n Contrary to what we\u2019ve been told since toddlerhood, milk is NOT healthy for most people. Studies have shown that up to 60% of people cannot digest cow\u2019s milk properly. A milk allergy is one of the most common, but least recognized allergies. Eating food that you can\u2019t digest triggers inflammation.<\/p>\n Many studies, including one from China by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, have revealed dairy as one of the biggest contributors to almost all modern health issues, including cancer. They\u2019ve also shown there are no calcium benefits to drinking milk. To the contrary; milk can rob your bones of calcium. Many of these studies have, however, been buried using billions of dollars from the dairy industry.<\/p>\n Due to increased awareness of milk allergies and popularity of vegan diets, there are now several great alternatives to milk available in supermarkets. These include organic soy milk, almond milk, rice milk and more. Different people like different things, so try them all out and see what you like.<\/p>\n 3) Common Cooking Oils<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the biggest triggers of inflammation is imbalance between Omega 3 and Omega 6 fat in your diet. Consuming fish, flax seed and other oil high in Omega 3 is not only recommended because Omega 3 is more healthy than Omega 6; it\u2019s more because Omega 6 is more available and we tend to consume more Omega 6.<\/p>\n So you can either eat a whole lot of Omega 3 fats or try to avoid some of the Omega 6. And one of the biggest sources of Omega 6 fats comes from common cooking oils such as grape seed, cottonseed, safflower, corn, and sunflower oils. These oils are used in high amounts in almost all take out and prepared foods. If it\u2019s oily (and even if it\u2019s not) assume it was cooked in oil that is high in Omega 6, low Omega 3 fatty acids.<\/p>\n To balance our Omega 6\/Omega 3 consumption, we want to avoid most cheap vegetable oils mentioned before and use instead macadamia oil, extra virgin olive oil, or other oils with more favorable Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids ratio.<\/p>\n You should also be aware of both Saturated and Trans-fats in high doses. Here again, the name of the fat is not as important as where it comes from. Organic grass-fed beef can be high in both trans- and saturated fat. However, I\u2019ve not seen a single study indicating that fat from this source is in any way bad for you. Consume, however, fats with the same name from fast food sources and processed, prepared food\u2026 and be ready to call the ambulance.<\/p>\n 4) Refined Grains<\/strong><\/p>\n Highly refined grains such as white flour and white rice are little better than refined sugars. They spike your blood sugar levels and play with your hormones and enzymes. Because of how quickly these refined grains are metabolized into the body, they\u2019re also a highway to obesity.<\/p>\n Your body transfers refined grains into blood sugar 15 times faster than whole grain. That means that a 300 calorie bowl of white pasta will be in your blood stream in 10 minutes spiking your blood sugar level, transferring into fat and causing inflammation all over the body. The same calorie bowl of whole grain pasta takes more than two hours to settle into our blood stream, gently energizing every cell in your body.<\/p>\n So instead of white flour and rice I suggest you try various, delicious types of whole grains and whole rice. Not only are they healthier, they also taste much better. Be wary when you buy bread, cereal and other premade food. The package and ads may say \u201cwhole grain bread\u201d or \u201cmade with whole grain,\u201d but when you read the label, often the first ingredient is white flour or sugar.<\/p>\n 5) Flavorings and Other Chemicals<\/strong><\/p>\n I hesitated on whether or not I should actually include this last section. After all, we\u2019re not really talking about foods. However, all kinds of chemicals are so widely used as ingredients and food processing that I couldn\u2019t leave it out.<\/p>\n Your immune system is skeptical of anything it doesn\u2019t recognize or can\u2019t digest. Most flavorings, preservatives and other chemicals used in food can\u2019t be digested. Therefore, when those chemicals reach the bloodstream, they trigger inflammation responses in the immune system. This inflammation response transfers all over the body, causing chronic inflammation.<\/p>\n The best line of defense is to avoid processed foods as much as you can. Almost any type of food that has five or more ingredients includes some kind of chemicals. Don\u2019t be fooled by products including \u201cnatural flavorings,\u201d as these can be just as bad as artificial flavors.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, many whole foods today are treated in one way or another with chemicals. Almost all apples and many other fruits sold in supermarkets are, for example, treated with chemicals that inhibit the natural hormone that ripens the fruits. Animals are loaded with drugs and chemicals before slaughtering.<\/p>\n The only way you can (almost) know for sure you\u2019re getting a chemical-free product is if it\u2019s 100% organic.<\/p>\n Since the five types of food I discussed in this article are so common, it\u2019s almost impossible to avoid them all completely. Being aware and doing your best to reduce the use of those inflammation-triggering foods will go a long way in healing diseases like arthritis and type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n If you want to take it a step further, you may want to check out simple steps that reverse the inflammatory response and completely heal you. Many of the health guides on the right this side take on inflammation head-on. The two that are most focused on this issue are:<\/p>\n Three-step approach to completely reverse type 2 diabetes\u2026<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nTop five Foods to Avoid:<\/strong><\/p>\n