Inflammatory foods

Yesterday I wrote about anti inflammatory foods to try to eat more of. Today I will write on suspect foods in regards to their potential to create inflammation in your body and brain. You may think that some of the foods in this post are or should be considered healthy, and you may be right. I’m not specifically stating what’s healthy and what isn’t. The purpose of this post is to highlight foods that could contribute to an excess of inflammation in your body.

OILS AND FATS

Reduce - nut butters, non-GMO soy lecithin, duck and goose fat, grain-fed butter and ghee.

Avoid when possible - factory chicken fat, safflower, sunflower, canola, peanut, soy, cottonseed, corn, and vegetable oils; heated nuts and oils; flaxseed oil

Do not eat: margarine and other artificial trans fats, oils from GMO grains, lard from commercially raised pigs. .

VEGETABLES

Not as good for you as you might think: tomatoes, beets, mushrooms, pumpkin, raw chard, raw collards, raw kale.

Minimize: Corn and soy, except when eaten in their organic whole form.

Avoid: canned veggies 

PROTEIN

Reduce: factory farmed eggs,  pastured chicken and turkey, and beans (beans can be prepared in a way that makes them less inflammatory).

Try to avoid: high mercury or farmed seafood, factory-farmed meat, heated whey.

Do not eat: soy protein, wheat protein, cheese, dairy from commercially raised cows.

DAIRY

Reduce: non-organic grass-fed ghee or butter, organic grass fed cream, grain-fed butter

Avoid: skim and low-fat milk, fake butter, non-organic milk or yogurt

Do not eat: cheese, powdered milk, factory dairy, dairy replacers, condensed or evaporated milk, conventional ice cream

FRUIT

Not as good as you might think: Apricots, cherries, figs, honeydew, kiwi, lychee, nectarines, oranges, peaches, pears, plums.

Treat as a healthier dessert replacement: bananas, dates, grapes, guava, mangoes, melons, papayas, passion fruit, persimmons, plantains, watermelons, cantaloupe.

Basically candy: raisins, dried fruit, fruit leather, jam, jelly, canned fruit.

STARCH

Reduce: Potatoes other than sweet potatoes. Buckwheat, oats, quinoa.

Avoid: wheat, corn, millet, other grains, potato starch, corn starch, gluten-free powders

NUTS, SEEDS AND LEGUMES (once again, I’m not saying these are bad for you, but they can contribute to inflammation)

Reduce: almonds, cashews, chestnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia, pecans, walnuts.

Minimize: pistachios, pine nuts, sprouted legumes, brazil nuts, garbanzo beans, hummus, dried peas, most legumes, peanuts, chia seeds.

SPICES and FLAVORINGS

Avoid: added sugar, commercial dressings, MSG, caseinate, “textured protein”, non organic bouillon and broth, hydrolyzed gluten, anything labeled enzyme-modified flavoring or “seasoning”