The poor quality of foods which you eat on a daily basis can cause unnecessary inflammation in the body, which can become unhealthy. This then places your health at risk, accelerating potential illnesses such as: diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and stroke, dementia, and certain cancers.
The primary factor becomes the foods which you select to eat, and those you choose to avoid, which contributes to this inflammation. So begin with a diet which contains anti-inflammatory properties.
There are two different types of inflammation which can occur in the body, chronic and acute. Chronic inflammation is the primary root of most diseases, while acute inflammation can be useful for the body to heal itself.
Once the body is injured, it immediately begins to heal itself, and inflammation in the area is the natural response. So acute inflammation becomes necessary to heal a finger that’s bleeding, for instance, or inflammation can occur when you bump your head.
This acute inflammation occurs because the white blood cells and their associated chemicals get activated, and do what they need to do to heal the wound.
But if the inflammation remains and becomes chronic, it can potentially lead towards health problems. What the lingering chronic inflammation does is it will damage, rather than repair the tissues. Once the inflammation becomes too intense or is prolonged, it’ll begin to promote disease rather than heal.
Chronic Inflammation And Your Lifestyle
If you lead a life based on poor eating habits, then you’re setting yourself up for chronic inflammation, which damages the cells in your body. What a bad diet does is it establishes unneeded irritants in the body.
This will result in damaged arteries, which can then lead towards dementia, heart disease, and tissue inflammation, which is the foundation for rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes. This is the reason why chronic inflammation is considered a silent disease.
What may be more alarming is that you most likely have traces of chronic inflammation in your body, but are unaware of it. So what needs to be established is how much inflammation you actually have.
Most likely, you won’t even feel its effects, so what you can do is check for certain signals. If there’s any part of your body that’s inflamed, one indicator is the “C reactive protein,” or CRP, which will be high in your blood steam, so it’s recommended you get it checked by your doctor.
Foods Which Can Cause Chronic Inflammation
So what are the danger foods which can provoke this inflammation. According to health experts, the following foods in your diet are the triggers:
• Saturated fats which are found in fat based dairy products and meat
• Sweets, pastries, hidden and white sugar
• Trans fats which are found in processed as well as fast foods
• Fried foods, refined grains, palm and coconut oils
• Processed meats such as deli meats and hot dogs
Bad Fats And Chronic Inflammation
Trans and saturated fats are constantly maligned as “bad” unhealthy fats, and this for good reason. What these fats do is immediately attack and then damage the blood vessel walls, which then triggers the immune response that’s associated with chronic inflammation.
The chain effect is it also encourages blood fats, such as cholesterol, to stick to the artery walls, leading to atherosclerosis, which can cause heart disease and stroke, and forms of dementia.
Other fats to avoid are corn and safflower oils, which are known as omega-6 fats, and are also known to promote inflammation. There’s also a particular omega-6 fat, which is known as arachidonic acid, that’s primarily found in meats, which are potent in promoting inflammation.
Being obese can also increase the risk of chronic inflammation. This because the additional body fat storage houses the unwanted arachidonic acid, which increases the body’s supply of this damaging chemical.
Guidelines For An Anti-Inflammatory Diet
The best method of reducing chronic inflammation is by following the following guidelines.
• Eating Colorful Fruits and Vegetables – It’s strongly recommended that you adopt high antioxidant rich produce into your diet, and make sure that you eat more veggies than fruit. The more phytochemical rich foods that you eat, the more that you boost the body’s defenses against disease.
• Whole Grains – Certain whole grains are recommended, especially the chewy and non fluffy types, which includes whole grain breads, steel-cut oats, pasta cooked al dente, and brown rice.
• Anti-inflammatory Fats – Include the foods which are rich in omega-3 fats into your daily diet, preferably fatty fish, or food containing sustainable, algae-based omega-3 (DHA), along with olive oil. The fats which are found in fish oil, flaxseed, and nuts are all able to inhibit inflammation. If you want to avoid fish from your diet, then consume foods which are algae-based, or take supplements which contain omega-3.
• Adopting Antioxidants – Antioxidants are found to be the keys when it comes to disease prevention, while reducing chronic inflammation. Extra-virgin olive oil, fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts, wholesome grains, green tea, spices such as ginger and turmeric, will all prevent tissue damage which triggers the inflammatory response.
These are the foods which are the best sources of antioxidants, such as beta carotene and vitamin C, along with hundreds of known phytonutrients, such as flavonoids. What antioxidants do is they’ll block highly reactive oxygen fragments which are known as free radicals, which damages the genetic code, proteins, and cell membranes, which leads to heart disease, dementia, and a lot more.
Adopting A Healthier Lifestyle
There’s no amount of dieting which will help unless you also improve your lifestyle. So to complete your newly adopted anti-inflammatory program, try reducing stress, exercise on a daily basis, and reduce toxin exposure such as cigarette smoke and smog. What your body will then do is reward you back by lowering your chronic inflammation levels.