By While inflammation is a natural response of your body’s immune system to fight infection, inflammation can become problematic when it becomes chronic. Nutritional experts from institutions such as Harvard Health, Cleveland Clinic, and Johns Hopkins Medicine have consistently identified diet patterns that keep inflammation turned on: foods containing added sugars; highly processed food products; fried foods; ultra-processed meat products; and foods containing trans-fats.
Because of these patterns, it is very important for us to understand which food items are the worst culprits for triggering inflammation (as they appear frequently in breakfast options, snack items at work, takeout meals, and quick-prepared meals).
The goal is not to be perfect; rather to identify which foods that contribute to increasing inflammation are many of the foods you eat on a regular basis, so that you can select a more realistic and sustainable eating pattern to create your own anti-inflammatory eating habits.
Why They Are Important
The source of inflammation for your body can often stem from a diet that has a heavy reliance on highly processed and specifically fried foods or sugar rich foods. Choosing those types of foods on a regular basis can contribute to the speed of disease process affecting inflammation according to Harvard Health.
Cleveland Clinic attributes numerous types of dietary habits that include; sugar added foods, refined carbohydrates, trans fat foods, right and/or processed meats as well as ultra-processed food, all to be sources of increase in levels of inflammation due to additional amounts of systemic inflammatory markers.
Many of these types of foods may not cause you to become inflamed on any single occasion of consuming them but do therefore show an overall pattern of increased levels of systemic inflammation if you continue to consume them on an ongoing basis.
A good place to start is to be able to take an objective look at the types of food that have been staples in your lifestyle due to being easy to prepare and also due to having been accepted as a normal part of everyday life without even thinking about the overall negative effect they may have on your body over time.
Top 10 Worst Foods for Inflammation
1. Soda and Sugar-Sweetened Drinks
Experts have rated sugary drinks highly on almost every list of foods to avoid, and for a good reason. Harvard Health States that sodas and other sweetened drinks should be avoided or limited. Other experts (Cleveland Clinic) explain how added sugars create inflammation by spiking blood sugar and insulin levels.
Sugary drinks include things like regular soda, sweetened iced tea, energy drinks, and most bottled fruit juices. Although all of these beverages may seem harmless, they are loaded with sugar and do not contain fiber or the same amount of calories as whole foods; therefore, if you are looking to reduce the amount of inflammatory foods you consume regularly, you will want to eliminate or minimize the intake of these beverages from your diet.
2. Candy, Cakes, Cookies, and Pastries
While sweet baked goods may seem like small snacks, they frequently contain refined flour, added sugar, and unhealthy fats. Most doctors (Harvard Health and Johns Hopkins) classify baked goods and candies as inflammatory foods.
Although the main component for promoting inflammation is sugar, the combination of sugar, the ease with which many people overeat these products, and their tendency to not keep people full for a long period of time make them a leading group of the worst inflammatory foods to eat daily. Therefore, the best method to reduce the amount of these foods you eat is to practice eating them only occasionally rather than on a regular basis.
3. White Bread and Other Refined Carbs
White bread, pastries, and other processed carbohydrates are some of the items listed by Harvard Health as foods you should try to limit. In addition, fried foods are a common suggestion provided by Cleveland Clinic as foods that can rapidly raise blood sugar levels, triggering the inflammatory cycle.
Refined carbohydrates also include many different types of white-flour wraps, baguettes, crackers, and highly processed breakfast items. You will likely feel hungry again sooner if your plate is full of refined carbohydrates, and therefore, you will soon be looking for more snacks. As such, many people would be surprised to learn how many processed carbohydrate foods are on the high-inflammation food list.
4. French Fries and Other Fried Foods
Deep-fried foods are among the most commonly cited sources of anti-inflammatory nutrition advice. In fact, French fries and other deep-fried foods are listed as high-inflammation foods by Harvard Health, as well as by Johns Hopkins due to their inclusion on the fat list contributing to the development of inflammation in the body.
It’s not just the oil that makes fried foods a culprit; they are almost always calorie-dense, making them extremely easy to overeat and are also often part of an ultra-processed meal. Calorie-dense deep-fried foods can easily be among the primary culprits for causing inflammation in your diet by simply consuming them frequently.
5. Processed Meats
Hot dogs, sausage, bacon, deli meats, and similar processed meats appear on all of the warning lists of many health professionals. Harvard Health clearly states that processed meats should be avoided, while Cleveland Clinic states that both processed and red meat are associated with having higher levels of inflammation in the body. Processed meats are also thought to cause inflammation in the body by Johns Hopkins University.
Processed meats are often found in quick meals such as lunch, breakfast sandwiches, and grab-and-go meals. The concerns associated with processed meats are not only the meat itself but also how it was processed and any preservatives that were added in the processing of the meat. To create a healthy anti-inflammatory meal plan, the first category of food to avoid should be processed meats.
6. Red Meat in Excess
Many experts do not believe you should never eat red meat, but eating it too often can concern them. Harvard Health categorizes red meats such as burgers and steaks as foods that can be inflammatory, while Cleveland Clinic includes both red and processed meats as part of the classification that causes inflammatory responses.
The primary concerns with excessive red meat are how much is consumed and how often red meat is consumed. A small serving every now and then is a lot different than a regular diet containing a high quantity of beef, with a lot of burgers, steaks, and take-out order that contains a lot of red meat. If a person’s diet is mostly processed food, adding a large portion of red meat to the diet provides one more level of food that contributes to the creation of inflammation in the body.
7. Margarine, Shortening, and Trans-Fat Spreads
According to Harvard Health, margarine, shortening, and lard are three foods to avoid or limit. Similarly, the Cleveland Clinic has labeled trans fats as a significant source of inflammation, while also stating that saturated and/or trans fats in foods cause inflammation (Johns Hopkins).
These ingredients, along with other inflammatory substances, can often be found in baked goods, frosting (on cakes), frosting filled snacks and some shelf stable spreads. Although trans fats are now not as prevalent as they were before, there are still certain processed foods that still contain trans fats. For those creating a “clean” list of inflammatory foods, this category requires a closer inspection of ingredient labels.
8. Sugary Breakfast Cereals
Although most breakfast cereals are marketed as healthy, many of these cereals are more like dessert than breakfast. According to Harvard Health, sugary breakfast cereals are a form of ultra-processed food; therefore, you should avoid them. Packaged products with added sugar are significant sources of hidden/inflammatory foods (Cleveland Clinic).
The primary issue with sugary cereals is that they can quickly raise blood sugar levels, but provide little long-lasting satisfaction. Many people report being hungry within an hour or two after breakfast if their breakfast consists of refined carbohydrates and/or sugar instead of protein and fiber. This eating behavior is indicative of some of the worst foods for inflammation.
9. Packaged Chips, Crackers, and Snack Foods
It is easy to forget about packaged snack foods because they seem small and harmless, however in fact are actually considered by many experts, including Harvard Health, to be ultra-processed. We also know that ultra-processed foods generally provide added sugars and/or sodium; both of which along with saturated fats contribute to promoting inflammation. Additionally, ultra-processed foods have been cited by The Cleveland Clinic as one of many food categories that are highly inflammatory.
These types of packaged snack foods(such as cheese puffs), due to their hyper-palatable properties, do not create satiety, leading individuals to continue eating them long after they have lost interest in eating. They therefore warrant a definitive place on any of the realistic worst inflammatory food avoidance guides published.
10. Frozen Dinners, Nuggets, and Boxed Convenience Meals
While not every convenience food is alike, Harvard Health has warned about many of the most common frozen dinners / boxed meals / nuggets, etc. being classified as ultra-processed. When you include ultra-processed foods on your refrigerator and pantry shelves, you would generally find they are all characterized by a combination of refined carbohydrate, excess sodium, added sugar, and low-quality fats (e.g., partially hydrogenated oils).
Like many convenience foods, frozen dinners / boxed meals / nuggets, etc. provide rapid meal preparation and consumption for busy nights; however they aren’t good suggestions for everyday food staples. Studies by Cleveland Clinic have confirmed that high intake of ultra-processed foods is strongly associated with inflammatory responses; additionally, studies by Harvard Health have associated these foods with higher levels of inflammatory markers.
Therefore if you find yourself in a busy schedule, then minimizing your use of convenience foods should be your first choice – in addition, consider planning ahead with 1 or 2 quicker whole-food meal options each week.
Ways to Reduce Inflammatory Foods
You don’t have to turn your entire diet upside down overnight; instead, try implementing some simple food swaps to reduce your exposure to some of the most common sources of inflammation. Both Harvard Health and Cleveland Clinic promote the same healthy way of eating: more vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats, such as olive oil and fatty fish.
Here are a few simple things you can do to improve your anti-inflammatory diet:
- Swap out soda for sparkling water or unsweetened tea.
- Replace white bread and sugary cereals with whole grain bread and oats.
- Only keep processed meats as an occasional food and not as a daily habit.
- Incorporate more meals that are focused on vegetables, legumes, fish, and nuts.
- Read labels for added sugars, trans fats, and long ingredient lists.
The goal is consistency, not perfection. If your meals usually resemble a Mediterranean plate vs. an ultra-processed plate, you are well on your way to decreasing your consumption of the most common anti-inflammatory foods.
Conclusion
Bad food for inflammation is not a mystery: sugary drinks, refined carbs, fried foods, processed meats, excessive amounts of red meat, trans fats, and ultra-processed meals and snacks appear in many experts’ lists of foods likely to promote inflammation in some people after repeated exposure to them. While not every person will experience these effects from these foods, frequent consumption of them will eventually promote a more inflammatory condition.
The good news is that you can make a small number of realistic changes. By reducing the amount of the largest contributors to your inflammatory state and building meals around whole, minimally processed foods, you will allow your body to better maintain balance. The true purpose of an inflammatory foods list is not to promote fear; rather, the true purpose is to help you develop better choices that you can actually continue making.