Top 5 Inflammatory foods to avoid

Inflammation is our bodies natural immune defense, It’s what signals the healing and repairing process of damaged tissue, as well as the fighting of bad bacteria and viruses. Without inflammation many small viruses could become deadly. However, if inflammation goes on for too long and it’s occurring in places where it’s not needed, this can become an issue. A large amount of inflammation starts within our microbiome (gut), which occurs when bad bacteria is overriding the good bacteria in our gut, triggering an inflammatory response. This type of inflammation is directly related to what foods we consume and the effects our lifestyles have on our bodies.

Everyone responds to inflammation differently, whether it be a skin flare up, such as acne or eczema, brain fog & lack of focus, fatigue, or even gut & digestive issues, all of which are signs your body is experiencing inflammation. Try detoxifying your body and reducing inflammation by incorporating anti-inflammatory foods and reducing or eliminating your consumption of these top trigger foods.

-Unsweetened raw almond milk

Healthful alternatives:

• Swap traditional milk for different kinds of organic, unsweetened nut milks, such as cashew, almond, hemp, flax or coconut milk.

• Try a dairy-free ice-cream and yogurt alternative, made from coconut or almond milk.

• And if you really can’t give up cheese, opt for organic cheese. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, I suggest switching to a plant-based cheese alternative, such as cashew cheese.

Dairy

Dairy is one of the seven most allergenic foods and can trigger both digestive and systematic health problems such as eczema, acne, asthma, and low mood. The myth the dairy industry has created about milk being essential for strong bones, couldn’t be farther from the truth. Dairy is not required for bone health, since nuts, seeds, legumes, and greens, such as kale and broccoli provide far better, more absorbable sources of calcium than what dairy provides. Dairy also isn’t such a pure product anymore due to its mass production and processing. It’s linked to an increased risk of hormone-related cancers since it contains a growth hormone called IGF-1 (Insulin-like growth factor). This hormone is great for young growing calves, but not humans. Aside from the hormonal effects, dairy is of course a source of animal fat, which can have pro-inflammatory effects due to its high levels of arachidonic acid. If you’re suffering from inflammation, start by reducing or eliminating dairy from your diet and switching to non-dairy anti-inflammatory alternatives, such as organic unsweetened almond, cashew or coconut milk.

Wheat

Wheat is the most commonly used grain and the largest used ingredient in everything from cereal, pasta, bread, and sweets. People have been baking and cooking with wheat for centuries, however, the way wheat is processed today doesn’t resemble the wheat of earlier times. For the last half century wheat has been processed and produced in way that involves crossbreeding with other grains to increase the size of each crop. Wheat is also sprayed with an obnoxious amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides which are not only harmful to our health, but also to the health of the farmers. When wheat is hybridized (cross-bread), it strips nutrients from the wheat, causing a higher content of carbohydrates and gluten.

• Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, spelt, and rye. Gluten is what holds food together, and adds elasticity to bread and baked goods. However, our bodies lack the necessary enzymes to break down and absorb gluten, so large amounts of undigested gluten find their way into the small intestine, where they slow the absorption of important nutrients. Our bodies immune system actually views gluten as foreign invaders and reacts by causing great damage to our small intestine (allowing it to become permeable), which then allows gluten molecules to sail right through the walls of our small intestine and into our blood stream. Once the gluten is in our bloodstream it alerts our bodies defense system to attack the foreign invaders, causing inflammation throughout the body. Eating processed wheat products containing high amounts of gluten and high glycemic levels can put your body at risk for chronic inflammation, leaky gut, brain fog (lack of mental clarity/ability to focus), fatigue, joint pain, and even the development of autoimmune diseases, such as eczema, psoriasis, and celiac disease.

-Gluten-free sprouted grain & seed crackers with guac

Healthful Alternatives:

• Gluten-free Flours: buckwheat, brown rice, chickpea, amaranth, coconut, corn and almond.

• Bread/pasta: Brown rice pasta, chickpea pasta, zucchini noodles, amaranth pasta, sprouted grain ezekial bread, chickpea flat bread, and buckwheat bread.

• Crackers: Flax seed, brown rice or sprouted grain crackers.

• Grains: Quinoa, gluten-free steel cut oats, brown rice and wild rice.

Healthful Alternative:

• Organic Maple syrup

• Coconut crystals

• Green leaf stevia

• Manuka honey

• Monk fruit extract

• Medjool dates

• Avoid “sugar-free” processed foods at all costs! Most sugar-free foods hide chemical sugar substitutes such as aspartame, which can be harmful to our gut and mental health.

Sugar

Many of us are living with a sugar addiction on a daily basis without even knowing it. When sugar consumption gets out of control it can have loads of negative effects on our body, both physically and emotionally. Whenever we eat any form of carbohydrates our body converts them into sugar and transports it to our bloodstream, which is essential for maintaining proper energy levels. However, if sugar is consumed in large quantities without being used up right away, it could trigger unstable blood sugar levels, inflammation, and could even disrupt the bodies microbiome.

Fructose is naturally found in fruit, but unfortunately most of the fructose people consume today is in the manufactured form. Your body cannot tell the difference between each type of sugar you consume, however, it can identify the nutrient content that comes from eating specific sugary foods such as fruit. Since fruit has such a high fiber content, it slows the absorption of fructose into the bloodstream allowing for far less sugar spikes that occur when drinking concentrated fruit juice or eating sugary processed foods. When reducing your overall sugar intake I recommend sticking with an anti-inflammatory sugar source such as antioxidant-rich berries, pineapple, and citrus. When purchasing packaged foods, opt for foods that use maple syrup, monk fruit extract, coconut crystals, or other natural sugar sources as there sweetener and avoid processed cane sugar to ensure you consume a chemical free form of sugar. No matter what type of sugar you consume, it’s still important to limit your intake and enjoy fresh fruits or dried fruits such as dates, in order to calm sugar craving.

Conventional Meat products

The simple act of reducing your meat consumption can transform your health and the planet. Many people are accustomed to meat being the main focus of any dish, however as long as you eat the right quantity of plant-based alternatives, you’ll be plenty satisfied. By consuming more fruits, veggies, grains, and other fiber-rich foods, you’ll not only be feeding your microbes with plenty of fiber, but also increasing your longevity to live a longer & happier life.

Fruits & veggies take around three-six hours to digest, whereas meat takes around thirty or more hours to fully digest. This means that if you eat meat more than once a day, your body will never get a break from digestion. If your body never gets a break from digestion, the excess undigested meat will begin to ferment in your small intestine. This causes a whole host of issues, including skin issues, low energy, and an increased risk for developing diabetes and cancer. I recommend eating meat in moderation, or eliminating it completely if possible to ensure your digestion gets a healthy break.

Why is meat so cheap?

People continue incorporating meat as a staple protein and food source because it’s cheap. The artificially low prices of industrial meat are caused by one large factor, which is the food grown to feed livestock. The GMO-grain crops used to feed livestock is cheap when it’s needed to feed mass quantities of animals, which makes raising livestock cheaper than ever. However, the consequence this method entails isn’t so great for our health or the planet. The meat industry doesn’t pay for its effects they have on the community, planet, or our health, which allows them to save money.

Healthful alternatives:

• If you can’t fully give up meat, or you’re in the transitional phase of a adopting a plant-based diet, then I highly recommend you purchase organic, grass-fed, and locally sourced meat if possible. This will ensure that the animals where raised humanely, fed nutrient-rich food, and minimally processed to ensure the highest quality of meat.

• If you are ready to give up meat and embrace the beauty that a plant-based diet has to offer, then here’s a few of my go-to protein sources: Black beans, chickpeas, lentils, quinoa, tofu (in moderation and must be organic), many types of nuts & seeds, hemp hearts, and various plant-based protein powders and plant-based collagen (often a blend made from pea protein, spirulina and hemp).

Soy

• There’s pros and cons to consuming soy, and many of us are confused over whether or not to avoid it or consume it? So first, here’s the down side: Around ninety percent of today’s soy is genetically modified. Genetically modified foods (GMO’s) are linked to many health problems because they kill off the good bacteria in our gut and can damage the process of our digestive system. Therefor, this makes most of today’s soy products terrible for our health. Another issue with today’s soy is that it contains something called phytoestrogens, and these phytoestrogens are estrogen mimickers in the body. The phytoestrogens in soy can cause hormone imbalance-related disorders.

• On the flip side soy can be really beneficial to your health, depending on the way it’s grown and processed. Soy can be a great plant-based alternative to your diet if it’s organic or fermented. If you buy organic soy, you’ll ensure it wasn’t grown genetically and won’t disrupt your microbiome. Fermented soy can be extremely beneficial to your health since it contains a high level of probiotcs. Eating fermented soy such as Natto (from Japan), is one of the healthiest fermented foods in the world and is loaded with probiotics. Overall, not all soy is bad and some forms can be really beneficial to your health. It all depends on the way soy is processed, grown, and prepared!

Check out more healthful alternatives here:

References:

• Shanahan, Catherine, and Luke Shanahan. Deep Nutrition: Why your genes need traditional food. New York: Flatiron books, 2017. Print.

• Axe, Josh. Eat Dirt: Why leaky gut may be the root cause of your health problems and five surprising steps to cure it. New York, NY: Harper Wave, 2016. Print.

• Greger, Michael, and Gene Stone. How Not to Die: Discover the foods scientifically proven to prevent and reverse disease. London, England: Pan Books, 2018. Print.