Inflammatory foods
6 foods to avoid
© Africa Studio / Shutterstock
Do you like to eat fast food, candy and have a beer? Then you should rethink your diet as these foods can cause inflammation in the body.
We all actually know what a healthy diet looks like: as much fruit and vegetables as possible, unprocessed meals and whole grain products. But it’s not always that simple in everyday life. However, there are some foods that you should absolutely avoid – because they can cause inflammation in the body. These in turn can become chronic or even cause other diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
These foods have an inflammatory effect
1. Alcohol
If you like to have a glass or two of wine with your meal, you should possibly get used to it – or at least take a few days off during the week. Because increased alcohol consumption can promote inflammation in the body. After drinking, the amount of C-reactive protein – also called CRP – that the liver makes in response to inflammation increases.
Incidentally, the harmful amount of alcohol is reached faster than we might think. For women, anything over a small glass of wine a day, more precisely 0.15 liters, is no longer recommended. That corresponds to about ten to twelve grams of alcohol. Men can drink around 0.3 liters in a day, i.e. 20 to 24 grams of alcohol. However, you should have several alcohol-free days a week if you want to protect your body from inflammation – but also from heart disease, obesity or diabetes.
2. White flour
We love pasta! And there is nothing wrong with a portion. However, you should use whole wheat pasta whenever possible. Because in contrast to those made from white flour, these consist of long-chain, i.e. complex carbohydrates. They have the advantage that the body takes a long time to metabolize them. So they fill us up longer and don’t let the blood sugar level skyrocket and then suddenly drop again. Simple carbohydrates in white flour, on the other hand, do exactly what leads to food cravings. They also increase the number of inflammatory bacteria in the gut, which increases the risk of obesity and inflammatory bowel disease.
3. Sugar
We should also keep our hands off too much sugar, because sucrose, as table sugar is also called, can also cause inflammation in the body. In the long term, this can favor diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer or rheumatism. The German Nutrition Society recommends a maximum of 50 grams of sugar per day. And similar to the drinks, they can be reached quickly: 0.5 liters of cola or orange juice contain this amount – and just five tablespoons of Nutella contain 50 grams of sugar.
4. Dairy products
Dairy products like cheese or butter are rich in harmful omega-6 fatty acids. One of them is arachidonic acid, which is particularly common in very fatty animal products and promotes inflammation in the body. This effect is enhanced by the simple sugar galactose, which is also contained in dairy products. So you should only enjoy cheese and Co. in moderation and rely on low-fat variants such as Harz cheese.
5. Trans fats
Sweets, ready-made products and fried foods such as French fries have one thing in common: They are all full of trans fats that our body cannot process properly. These fats are industrially hardened and increase the proportion of LDL, the “bad” cholesterol. At the same time they lower the level of the “good” cholesterol, HDL. The artificial trans fats can thus promote inflammation – and in the worst case, they can even damage our brain.
6. Heavily processed meat
Sausage, salami or bacon are also inflammatory. As with dairy products, this is due to the harmful omega-6 fatty acids. In addition, the heavily processed meat products are often fortified with nitrite curing salt in order to preserve them. This can also support inflammation in the body and even promote cancer.
Sources used: dge.de, eatsmarter.de, vital.de