These inflammatory foods can ruin your golden years!
When it comes to inflammatory foods, a lot of us tend to ignore them.
The foods we think are detrimental to our health include those that have high-calorie counts and low nutrition values, like highly processed foods, but we do not think about the inflammatory response in our bodies.
Seniors should generally avoid processed foods, but this does not mean you cannot indulge from time to time.
The main idea is to make sure that you do not eat them too much, which can end up triggering weight gain and even leading to type 2 diabetes.
The inflammatory response concern is still downplayed in our society, but having your body inflamed over a long period of time can lead to many other health issues.
The health issues that can be exacerbated by inflammation include the likes of depression, heart disease, diabetes, digestive issues, joint pain related to arthritis and other health issues, and certain cancers, including pancreatic and liver cancer!
However, the catch with these types of foods is that they do not cause issues immediately, but rather over time. This is why you should strive to avoid these types of foods and replace them with other types.
Before making changes, you should talk to your doctor, but if you want to start swapping out certain overly processed foods for their healthier counterparts, we’ve got you covered.
We brought you a list of the most health-detrimental foods that you should either avoid or only have in moderation so that you can enter your golden years healthily and maintain that health for a long time!
What foods have you had to swap in your diet? What was the reason for the swap? Share your story in the comments.
Pre-packed sweets
Prepackaged and premade sweets may be convenient, but ending up eating too many of them can lead to inflammation and many other health issues.
This is why you should make sure that you avoid the likes of candy, donuts, cookies, brownies, and those devilishly delicious individually wrapped snack cakes. They are tasty, but they also contain a gallon of sugar, one of the main inflammation factors.
What you probably do not know is that these foods that are high in sugar can end up driving up insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes and also interfere with how well your body transforms food into energy!
To make sure you can still satisfy your sweet tooth without causing harm to your health, steer towards eating more fruits, like strawberries, oranges, blueberries, and even dark chocolate. All of these contain antioxidants, and they aid the immune system.
Processed and red meats
You have probably heard that processed meats are not good for your health, but red meat was not on your list.
However, when it comes to the likes of bologna, hot dogs, and bacon (yes, we know), these are all types of cured processed meats that are known to contain a lot of preservatives and chemicals (including a type of red dye that is harmful).
Not to mention, they generally have a high sodium content!
All of these are factors that can trigger inflammation, and to make matters worse, these items may be tasty, but they are low in nutritional value and high in calories, making them a package that is bound to lead to health issues down the line.
This does not mean that you should never eat them, but rather that you should be careful when and how you do it.
This means that you should replace them with leaner cuts of meat (like chicken and turkey) along with fatty fish such as tuna and salmon.
What’s more, you can also add more plant protein to your diet to replace them and make it more varied, like legumes, seeds, beans, and nuts, as much as you can tolerate these foods.
White, bleached, or enriched flour
Unfortunately, all these types of flour and even foods made from it can end up slowing your digestion and increasing your insulin levels, which in turn will lead to inflammation in the body.
This is why you should make sure to avoid the lies about pasta and bread made with this type of flour.
However, this does not mean that you should give up pasta and bread, especially since they are staples in many people’s diets. You should strive to replace them with whole grain, lentil-derived, or spout-containing bread and pasta.
They have more nutritional value, cause less inflammation, and are just as tasty.
If you are looking for great lentil pasta, this one from Amazon is affordable and easy to source.
Bottled drinks
And by bottled, we mean the likes of sodas, sports drinks, and even sweet tea and coffee that you grab on the go.
All of these have high amounts of sodium and sugar, depending on the drink, with some having as much as the equivalent of 2.5 tablespoons of sugar for a medium rink!
We already talked about how sugar is a main factor in inflammation, so you should strive to avoid it as much as possible.
Water is the best beverage out there. But if you still crave something else from time to time, you can add fruit slices to selzer or normal water for a fun twist, or try to find flavor packets to add to water on the go.
Just make sure they do not have a ton of sugar or salt and that they do not contain preservatives or added colors. Sure, from time to time, you can still have a can of pop but do not make it an everyday drink.
Fried foods
Any sort of fried food ends up carrying an unhealthy amount of trans fats from the oil. This is because these greasy foods, while delicious, end up absorbing the oil they are cooked in, and then you eat them, and they can lead to inflammation.
The best way to avoid this is to not fry your chicken and potatoes the traditional way; you can instead use an air fryer or you can bake them in the oven.
This will reduce your oil consumption while also letting you eat some of your favorite fried dishes.
There are foods out there that are known to be good for you, even beyond making these changes in your diet. If you want to aid your memory so that you stay attentive and focus well into your golden years, check out this article on the matter: Foods for Memory! 6 Delicious Foods Seniors Should Eat.
