What Foods Should You be Avoiding to Reduce Inflammation?
Do you have any chronic health conditions?
Lots of allergies or food sensitivities? Or maybe some unusual symptoms have been creeping up on you lately?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, chances are high that you have inflammation.
Inflammation is the body’s immune response doing its magic — reacting to things like injuries, environmental toxins, allergies, or infection.
Externally, it causes pain, swelling, heat, and redness to the affected area. If the inflammation is internal (and invisible to the naked eye) it might show up quite differently, with symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, difficulty losing weight, joint pain, or abdominal pain.
And since 70% or more of your immune system is found in your gut, the food you eat every day greatly affects your body’s immune response.
If you suffer from any health condition, including digestive issues such as irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s, or diverticulitis (anything ending in “itis” for that matter), auto-immune disorders, skin conditions (acne, psoriasis, eczema), heart disease, diabetes, or asthma – then you’re dealing with some sort of underlying inflammation.
The best and easiest way to start is by trying out an elimination diet, like the NutriClean Program. By cutting out some of the suspect foods from your diet for at least 14 days, you can then see how your body reacts when you gradually re-introduce them again, one by one.
But first, let’s take a look at the top foods that might be causing that pesky inflammation:
Foods to Avoid If You’re Inflamed
- Sugar and other artificial sweeteners: Sugar is usually the worst offender when it comes to inflammation. It’s also in most processed foods, so you can consume it regularly without even realizing it.
- Wheat and gluten products: Gluten is a protein with a naturally gluey structure that is challenging to digest. If your body is already inflamed and overloaded, gluten is likely to increase your inflammation.
- Dairy: A large number of adults have trouble with dairy, but many people aren’t aware it’s a problem for them. Dairy sensitivity (or lactose intolerance) can appear at any age and is often triggered by existing inflammatory disorders.
- Eggs: One of the most common food allergies around. The proteins in egg whites and yolks can randomly cause a reaction, even after years of eating eggs without issue.
- Caffeine: Especially in excessive amounts, can dehydrate your body and taxes your endocrine system. Too much caffeine leads to a prolonged increase in heart rate (which feels like anxiety to your body) that can lead to inflammation.
- Alcohol: Hangovers are nature’s way of telling us our bodies are inflamed post-drinking. Alcohol is dehydrating and hard on the gut and gut bugs. But mostly it can be taxing on the body when it’s consumed too frequently.
- Corn and corn-based products (like corn oil, corn starch, and corn syrup): Processed corn-based products are high in refined sugars. Too many of these sugars impact insulin regulation in the body and spike inflammation.
- Foods prepared with hydrogenated vegetable oil (like fast food and fried foods): hydrogenated vegetable oils, such as sunflower and soybean oil, contain trans fats which are proven to increase inflammation markers.
I would also recommend eliminating any processed foods that feature in your regular rotation, such as processed meats, oily snacks, and factory-prepared foods.
Eliminating even just a handful of potentially inflaming foods can make a huge difference in how you feel. The NutriClean 14-day program cuts out top allergens (think: gluten, dairy, sugar, corn, soy, and alcohol to name a few).
The 14-day NutriClean Program takes you through a step-by-step process to help you identify what foods are causing inflammation and stopping you from feeling your best. Many people have food allergies or sensitivities and learning what foods make you thrive and what foods sabotage your health, is a total game-changer.
Feeling overwhelmed by taking this on yourself?
Ready to get back on track with your health?
Id love to support you every step of the way. You can get more info about the Conscious Cleanse and our next upcoming 14-day Group Cleanse here.
