5 Foods That Are Causing Your Inflammation and Joint Pain
If you experience joint pain in the lower back, knees, wrists, or really anywhere in the body, you may be experiencing Systemic Inflammation that is worsened by certain foods and only temporarily relieved by OTC medications (which come with a wide range of negative effects).
Try eliminating each of these for one week and watch your pain levels and mobility (and even sleep quality). If these things improve, you should find substitutes for the inflammatory food(s) or eliminate them all together.
1. Sugar and high fructose corn syrup
Sucrose (table sugar) and high fructose corn syrup are the two types of sugar that are added to and are very prevalent in the Western diet. And they cause a lot of health problems.
All of this sugar increases inflammation which can lead to disease (including increases in rheumatoid arthritis, breast tumours, fatty liver, and possibly heart disease).
As well, sugar decreases the anti-oxidant effect of Omega-3 fatty acids also possibly contributing to cancer and heart disease.
And of course, excessive sugar can lead to insulin resistance and ultimately Type II Diabetes.
If you think “I don’t eat that much sugar. I’m good”, consider this: around 1900, the average Canadian ate approximately 10 pounds of refined sugar per year. We now eat that in a month because sugar is hidden EVERYWHERE.
Foods high in added sugar include candy, chocolate, soft drinks, cakes, cookies, doughnuts, sweet pastries, and certain cereals.
2. Artificial trans fats
You’ve heard the name all over the news a few years ago, but does anyone REALLY know what a trans fat is?
They’re among the unhealthiest fats you can eat and they are created by adding hydrogen to unsaturated fats to change them from a liquid fat to a more solid form (preferred for processed food manufacture because they extend shelf life).
You’ll need to be a label reader to catch trans fats in your diet and sometimes they are name-disguised as ‘partially hydrogenated (vegetable) oils.
Unlike naturally occurring trans fats (found in dairy and meat), artificial trans fats have been shown to contribute to heart disease, high cholesterol, and of course increased inflammation throughout the body.
Foods high in trans fats include French fries and other fried fast food, some varieties of microwave popcorn, certain margarines and vegetable shortenings, packaged cakes and cookies, some pastries, and all processed foods that list partially hydrogenated vegetable oil on the label.
3. Vegetable and seed oils
Vegetable oils generally require a great deal of refining. And that refining seems to increase the likelihood will increase inflammation as a result of their increase Omega-6 content.
Omega 6 and Omega 3 oils are both important but they can improve health (at a 5:1 ratio, like that found in grass-fed, grass-finished, free-range meats) or can cause disease (at a 20:1 ratio, like that found in factory feed meat and in certain vegetable oils).
Eating enough fish each week (rich in Omega-3) can help with the dietary ratio but keeping these types of oils out of, or limited, is your best action.
Vegetable and seed oils are used as cooking oils and are a major ingredient in many processed foods.
4. Refined carbohydrates
It’s not so much CARBS that are the problem (since eating lots of raw fresh fruits and vegetables would be good for you and they’re high in natural carbs), it’s the evil cousin REFINED CARBS that are the problem. They contribute mightily to systemic inflammation.
The refining process strips away most of the (beneficial) fibre. Think of eating an apple’s-worth of sugar but without the apple.
With the fibre gone, so are the benefits of that fibre: a feeling of fullness, blood sugar control, and feeding the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
Lots of refined sugar feeds the bad bacteria in your gut which then contributes to inflammatory bowel disease.
Refined carbohydrates are found in candy, bread, pasta, pastries, some cereals, cookies, cakes, sugary soft drinks, and all processed foods that contain added sugar or flour.
5. Excessive alcohol
You can drink too much water. Did you know that? Most people are unaware of something called water intoxication which is very dangerous largely because of a decrease in sodium concentration in your body. But don’t fret too much. It typically takes somewhere north of four gallons and some sweating to cause it.
So, just like water, alcohol (in moderate amounts) has been shown to be beneficial to your health. But in excess, it can do a lot of damage.
One type of damage it can cause is systemic inflammation. Another is called leaky gut syndrome whereby bacteria normally sequestered to the gut migrate out into the body and over time can cause organ damage.
According to some sources, two drinks per day is acceptable for men, one per day for women, however, many people interpret that to mean 7-14 drinks per week is acceptable. That seems a little high to me and I would say between 5 and 9 per week is a better range.
Thank you for being part of our mission. As always. With love,
Dr. Colin
Live Life Well