11 Food Ingredients That Can Cause Inflammation In Your Body To Avoid!

Introduction

We have often heard of food that can have a healthy effect on the body and can significantly affect the process of inflammation in the body as well. The inflammation induced by the diet can be both beneficial as well as harmful but that would depend on circumstances. Sometimes the inflammatory process occurs to protect the cells of the body when we are injured or are sick with a disease. There are some other situations where the process of inflammation occurs as a result of overindulging in unhealthy dietary habits that leads to persistent inflammation in the body. This kind of continued inflammation in turn may lead to some serious health conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, arthritis and diabetes. Thus inflammation is a process which can be commenced as well as incapacitated by the kind of food we eat.

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Woodman says “Reduce inflammation to treat the root of many issues. If your gut isn’t working right it can cause so many other issues”. The gut health depends on the food that we eat every day. Food rich in calories as well as food low in micronutrients both can lead to long term inflammation in the body. The high caloric diet can cause an increased level of blood glucose and lipid which can in turn cause free radical formation to stimulate sustained low grade inflammation in the body. These increased calories and glucose upsurge poses body to a risk of insulin resistance thus making body prone to diseases such as diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis, arthritis and even cancer and degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. Recently it has been discovered that the effect of high caloric diet taken by mother during pregnancy can predispose the child to chronic diseases as a result of inflammation in their adult life. This occurs because of alteration of processes by which the muscular tissue and the adipose tissue form during the embryonic life and makes one realize the significance of diet in regards to the inflammation not only at a later stage of life but also tendency for the unborn life to develop chronic inflammatory diseases in their adulthood life.

What is inflammation and how it is triggered?

Inflammation is a response of immune system of the body that stimulates it. The stimulus can be an injury from heat or mechanical abrasion or through a chemical reaction or even a turning force like twisting ones ankle. The stimulus causes increase in capillary blood flow leading to dilation of these small vessels allowing the inflammatory chemokine and cytokines; the signaling molecules for the immune system to respond by causing an infiltration of leucocytes and neutrophils that are defending cells of the body to reach the site of inflammation. This is inborn response of the body to inflammation and can be beneficial in case the stimulus has a harmful effect on the body and to maintain a check on surveillance of immune system. However, inflammation if persist can be a risk to normal health and lead to formation of chronic diseases if inflammation is prolonged. This low grade inflammation can persist undetected until it affects the body organs and their functions to such an extent that pathological processes arise and lead to diseases that can continue for the rest of life.

Nutrition-induced inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract

Nutrition induced inflammation of gastrointestinal tract

Low grade systemic inflammation is also called as sterile inflammation. It is strongly linked with high calorie diet when there is no infectious stimulus or local stimulus for the inflammatory process. This high calorie food intake causes inflammation as a result of oxidative stress that occur because of high glucose and free fatty acid concentration in the circulation causing release of free radicals that triggers low grade inflammatory response and may also contribute to formation of insulin resistance and accumulation of fats in vessels and arteries as well as organs such as heart. The high calorie diet causes inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. This calorie rich diet decreases the number of bifido-bacteria essential for normal gut activity and in turn increases the gram negative bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract thus subjecting the normal integrity of gut membrane to impairment leading to permeability for varying toxins produced by these gram negative bacteria. These toxins released in turn promote fatty liver, peroxidation of lipids which is oxidative degradation leading to free radical formation as well as insulin resistance which can trigger a prolonged and consistent systemic inflammatory response.

Good food, bad food

Edison has a famous quote that says “the doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition”. With the growing concern towards the common health issues such as obesity and diabetes, much of the growing concern has shifted towards the food we eat and how it affects the body. Food is fuel for life and its sustenance and though there is becoming a growing concern where some foods have been categorized as good while the others have been categorized as bad does not hold a sound basis as all food provides nutrition and energy to the body. It is not the food that is bad but its excess amount of intake is bad. Food would not have a negative impact on health if it is taken in a balanced manner with moderation. However, there are certain foods that we will be discussing which can cause inflammation if taken excessively and without a control to not only affect the health but also cause long term diseases as a consequence.

Food that causes inflammation

Some of the commonly used foods have been mentioned that cause inflammation in the body. As mentioned before the food cannot be categorized as good or bad but its excess or deficiency can be considered as bad or good to the normal health and stimulation of inflammatory response in the body. Here are some foods that cause inflammation and should be used in diet in a balance to avoid prolonged inflammation. They are:

1.Sucrose, fructose and corn syrups

Derrick Rose says “everybody’s got their poison and mine is sugar”. Everyone loves a bit of sugar in life. For some sugar is a huge part of their diet which if appears in diet in processed form is a leading cause of inflammatory response in the body causing release of inflammatory cytokines that are the chemical signals to produce inflammatory response in the body. While at the same time body suffers an overload of glucose which is stored by insulin in the fat tissue enlarging it leading to obesity. This overload of glucose reach a threshold, insulin resistance develops alone or in association with obesity and lead to early onset of diabetes. Therefore, the food should be balanced for added sugars and should contain less than 4 grams of added sugar to avoid inflammatory response in body.

2.Trans-fats

Trans-fats are produced by the process of hydrogenation that helps to improve the consistency as well as shelf life of the fats. These can be found in processed food such as snacks, frozen fried products as well as bakery items such as donuts, cookies, pastries and crackers. To avoid overconsumption of this food that can cause inflammation by increasing level of inflammatory markers such as C-reactive proteins in the blood and also causes lowering of high density lipoprotein which are good for health. One should make sure to read the labels of processed food items to check the levels of trans-fats which should be less than 1 gram per day consumption.

3.Saturated fats

Saturated fats include cheese and pizza diet, meat products, and dairy products. They cause an inflammatory response in the fat tissue and can potentially lead to stroke, heart diseases and obesity. The fats can also worsen the arthritic inflammation of the joints in individuals consuming high saturated fat diet on an average. They are a cause of inflammation in the body but the most pronounced effect is their causing inflammation of colon cells to their contribution towards progression of colon cancer. Therefore, such products should be reduced from the daily meal and should include one or two meal in small quantity in a week.

4.Omega 6 fatty acids as vegetable and seed oils

Omega 6 fatty acid products can become a consistent source of inflammation in the body. As much as they are necessary together with omega 3 fatty acids for the normal growth and development, they are equally pro-inflammatory in much higher quantities while the omega 3 fatty acids are normally anti-inflammatory in their action. Studies were carried out on rats where omega-6 concentrations to omega-3 concentrations were kept at a ratio of 20:1 which showed a remarkable rise of inflammatory markers when their blood was tested for results. Therefore, a balanced amount of these fatty acids is essential for normal growth and development as well as to keep the inflammatory response to a minimum.

5.Refined carbohydrates

Refined carbs include baked items that consist of sugar and flour such as bread, white rice and cereals. They are similar to the sugars as they can elevate the levels of blood glucose and do not contain any fibers and cause an overgrowth of gut bacteria responsible for producing systemic inflammation which in turn predisposes the body to obesity as well as inflammatory conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease. Fibers have always stayed an important component of diet for a long time as they help improve digestion with assistance of beneficial gut flora. However, reducing the processed carbs should be considered as they are a source of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) which are probable cause for stimulating inflammatory response in the gut region.

6.Excessive alcohol

CRP or C reactive protein is an important inflammatory marker which seems to increase and persist in circulation for those consuming alcohol. An excess amount can be extremely damaging to the organs either leading to fatty liver or a leaky gut causing the colonic bacterial toxins to move out of colon and into the body causing widespread inflammation which can be seriously harmful for the health. Therefore, alcohol should be avoided in order to maintain a healthy balanced lifestyle.

7.Gluten in diet

Gluten in diet consists of wheat, rye, casein and barley that enhance the flavor of food into which they are added. Those individuals with inflammatory joint disorder may not be able to tolerate gluten which can further enhance the inflammatory response in these individuals. While those individuals diagnosed with celiac disease may suffer worsening of the disease leading to inflammation of internal organs and soft tissues when they take gluten containing diet. Therefore, a gluten free diet is essentially helpful in reducing chronic inflammation in these patients.

8.MSGs

Mono sodium glutamate is flavor enhancing agents that can be added to fast foods as well as soups and sauces. The salt is associated with initiation of chronic inflammatory pathway as well as chronic inflammation in liver leading to dysplasia in cells. Thus its amount should be cautiously used in food products and should be avoided to cause inflammatory response.

9.Aspartame

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener approved by FDA and is used mostly as a sweetening agent by diabetic patients has an unknown impact on the body. The substance is believed to be a neurotoxin and can cause inflammatory response in the body as the body is not normally used to easily breaking down artificial ingredients very well.

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Conclusion

This leads us to conclusion that every food should be consumed to a balanced amount otherwise any food can cause inflammation if taken excessively. Here we have discussed some food products that are a potential source of inflammatory response in body that are not only short term but can produce inflammation over a prolonged period thus causing the body to become susceptible to many diseases. Anti-oxidant diet such as fresh vegetables and fruits should be included in diet to counter the action of food that causes inflammation in body. As Virgil says “the greatest wealth is health” one must make sure that they do not perceive any food as good food or bad food. It’s just a balanced diet with a healthy lifestyle that keeps the body functioning to its optimal and makes health a huge wealth as we grow older.