Uncontrolled Inflammation
Medical experts agree that one major cause of degenerative diseases is
chronic inflammation, triggered by pro-inflammatory fast food and
processed food diet.
Inflammation is part of the body’s immune system to protect and heal itself. Normally, the body initiates biochemical reactions to send white blood cells and body chemicals to fight off any injurious invaders like toxins and bacteria. The “battlefield” becomes inflamed until the intruders are subdued. The injured area subsequently heals.
However, when the body malfunctions, over-reacts, or fights off an underlying long-term infection, inflammation may persist and become chronic. The common inflammatory symptoms of redness, swelling, heat and pain may or may not be visible until there is loss of function of the organ affected.
Cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and a host of lifestyle diseases today are linked to chronic inflammation.
Avoid pro-inflammatory foods
To add years to your life and life to your years, have a better lifestyle. Exercise regularly, manage stress, quit smoking and avoid these pro-inflammatory foods:
1. Transfats – Margarine, biscuits, cookies and most bakery products contain transfats or hydrogenated oil. They are liquid oil converted to semi-hard fat for the purpose of increasing the product’s shelf life but actually “decreasing our own shelf life”. Transfats are toxic to the body. They lower good cholesterol, increase bad cholesterol, clog the arteries and increase insulin resistance.
2. Fried foods – like French fries, hamburgers, when fried in cooking oil used 5 to 10 times over. Cooking at high temperature trigger production of carcinogenic and pro-inflammatory substances.
3. Soda and juice drinks – contain white sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. A diet high in white sugar and white flour increases inflammatory markers. Worse if you take in artificial sweetener, which after ingested, produces three chemicals in the body: methanol converted to formalin, phenylalanine which causes depression/memory loss, and aspartic acid which adversely affects brain cells.
4. Processed meat – laden with preservatives, nitrates and other chemicals. Animals are fed with hormones and antibiotics which we take into our bodies and trigger inflammatory response.
Anti-inflammatory foods
Researchers found out the balance between pro-inflammatory foods and anti-inflammatory foods in our modern diet is 25:1, far from the recommended ratio of 4:1. That’s why we should eat more vegetables, fish, nuts, avocado, olive oil and other foods or food supplements that are high in anti-inflammatory Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.
Food supplement
Because the fast-paced daily grind today makes eating the right foods at all times nearly impossible, it will impact so beneficially to supplement your daily pro-inflammatory diet with natural anti-inflammatory nutrients of Omega-3, Omega-9 and Omega-5 fatty acids.