Dec
28
2024

Anti-Inflammatory Diets Improve Inflammation

By | diet, fiber, fish oil, food, Health, Inflammation, meat, Mortality, Nutrition, olive oil, omega-3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated oil, Processed food, processed meat, red meat

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A CNN review article noted that anti-inflammatory diets improve inflammation. This is important for medical conditions that also have inflammation attached to it. For instance, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes or chronic kidney disease all carry inflammation with them. But according to a 2019 study more than 50% of all deaths stem from chronic inflammatory conditions.

Here is a more complete list of what type of clinical conditions are associated with chronic inflammation:

  • cardiovascular disease, such as heart disease and stroke
  • obesity
  • cancer
  • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • asthma and allergies
  • diabetes
  • chronic kidney disease
  • chronic pain — for example, from some sources of back pain, headache disorders, arthritis and other joint conditions
  • non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
  • autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease
  • depression
  • neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease

Some people may have two or more of these chronic diseases at the same time. This increases the risk of death. This is even more of a reason to follow an anti-inflammatory diet.

Anti-inflammatory diet

The CNN article suggests that an anti-inflammatory diet has the potential to reduce inflammatory cytokines. This is important and can also improve symptoms of chronic inflammatory diseases. A large study was conducted in 2021, which showed that people on an anti-inflammatory diet had a lower probability to get complications.  Anti-inflammatory diets protected them from heart attacks, strokes, coronary heart disease and more.

Here are the ingredients of an anti-inflammatory diet

Why are anti-inflammatory diets so healthy? It is because they are rich in fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins, and unsaturated fats can have anti-inflammatory effects. Fruit options can include:

  • apples
  • fruits with stones or pips, such as peaches, plums, apricots, and cherries
  • grapes
  • citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit
  • pomegranates

Vegetables are high in fiber and other important vitamins and nutrients. Include a variety of colors of vegetables in your daily diet. Options can include:

  • green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, radicchio, and arugula
  • cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussels sprouts
  • tomatoes
  • root vegetables, such as turnips, beets, radishes, and onions
  • potatoes
  • sweet potatoes

Whole and cracked grains are another source of fiber.

Nuts and seeds

Nuts and seeds contain polyphenols, which can have an anti-inflammatory effect. Nuts and seeds can include almonds, peanuts, cashews, hazelnuts, flaxseeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.

Healthy oils

Vegetable oil like olive oil are important for cooking and for salad dressings.

Fish

Fish that is high in fatty acids and omega-3s can be important in an anti-inflammatory diet. These fish varieties can include salmon, tuna, sardines, and mackerel.

Herbs and spices

Some herbs and spices may have anti-inflammatory effects, as they can be high in phenols and antioxidants. These include clove, sage, oregano, cinnamon, rosemary, turmeric, black pepper, and ginger, among other options.

What to avoid

Highly processed foods like hamburgers, french fries, cakes and others must be removed from your food list. They are associated with heart attacks, strokes and cancer. In addition, the following food component must be avoided, if you value your life.

  • Refined carbohydrates: This can include products made with white flour, such as white bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, and pastries.
  • Trans fats: These can include foods labeled as having partially hydrogenated oils in them. Examples include baked goods such as cakes, pies, and frozen pizzas, as well as fried foods such as donuts or fries.
  • Some saturated fats: red meat, chicken with the skin on, milk, cheese, and cream contain high levels of certain saturated fats that promote inflammation.
  • Sugar: Sugary foods or foods with a high glycemic index can be inflammatory. Examples can include sugary drinks and sodas, sugary cereals, and candy.
  • Red meat and processed meat: This can include beef, lamb, goat, and pork meat, as well as processed hot dogs and sausages, among others. These meats have an association with colorectal cancer.
  • Certain spreads and cooking fats: Some fats such as margarine, shortening, and lard can be inflammatory.
Anti-Inflammatory Diets Improve Inflammation

Anti-Inflammatory Diets Improve Inflammation

Conclusion

You hear bad things about chronic inflammation and premature deaths. What you may not have heard a lot yet is that anti-inflammatory diets actually can safe lives. Above I have listed the most common inflammatory diseases. I also described the ingredients of an anti-inflammatory diet. With this diet researchers found that cardiovascular disease was reduced by 38%, strokes were reduced by 28%. It is not that difficult to adopt a healthy anti-inflammatory diet. Keep trans fats and highly processed foods away. Eat more vegetables, fish and avoid red meats. Add some nuts and cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. Good health will thank you for this diet change.

Nov
24
2024

Ultraprocessed Food Leads to Premature Aging

By | Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, diet, food, meat, Mortality, Nutrition, Obesity, Processed food, processed meat

An article in the medical journal “Medical News Today” found that ultraprocessed food leads to premature aging.

What are ultraprocessed foods?

The NOVA Food Classification System explains what ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) are and what other ones are not. Examples of ultraprocessed foods are: fatty, sweet, savory or salty packaged snacks, pre-prepared poultry and fish ‘nuggets’ and ‘sticks.’ Others are cola, soda and other carbonated soft drinks, pastries, cakes and cake mix. Generally speaking, the food processors add too much salt, sugar and saturated fat. They often also add food preservatives, coloring, and flavor enhancers.

What do ultraprocessed foods cause?

Sugary beverages lead to blood sugar peaks and insulin surges. This in turn can cause type 2 diabetes later on. Melanie Murphy Richter, MS, RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist said that “overly salty snacks like chips, crackers, and instant noodles, and other UPFs with trans fats and hydrogenated oils all should ideally be avoided”. Read labels before you buy any food product.  Hydrogenated oils and trans fats are increasing LDL cholesterol leading to premature hardening of the arteries. This can cause strokes and heart attacks.

Hot dogs, sausages, and deli meats contain nitrates and nitrites as preservatives. This can form carcinogenic compounds like nitrosamines during cooking or metabolism. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified processed meats to contain Group 1 carcinogens.  These processed meats also contain high amounts of sodium and saturated fats. This causes high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Telomere length reduced by ultraprocessed foods

Another study regarding consumption of ultraprocessed foods came out in 2020. There were 886 participants aged 57–91. Researchers measured telomere length in saliva samples. Subjects with the highest UPF consumption had almost twice the odds of having short telomeres in comparison to those with the lowest UPF consumption. Patients with shorter telomeres were much more prone to chronic diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease. The overall death rate was much higher in patients with shorter telomeres. This confirms what another study also found.

Ultraprocessed foods are causing obesity and weight gain

Another study found that ultraprocessed foods caused weight gain and obesity. The authors of this study pointed out that US residents eat up to 70% of the total calorie input as UPFs. They reviewed the literature and found that UPF consumption raises the risk of obesity. Also, chronic conditions like cancer, strokes, heart attacks, type 2 diabetes and depression are directly linked to UPF consumption. Because of the development of these chronic health conditions the life expectancy is about 10% shorter than for those who don’t consume UPFs.

Ultraprocessed Food Leads to Premature Aging

Ultraprocessed Food Leads to Premature Aging

Conclusion

Over the past several decades food companies produced more and more ultraprocessed foods (UPFs). You see them on grocery store shelves. They contain high amounts of sugar, saturated fat and salt. This can cause cardiovascular disease. Added food preservatives, coloring, and flavor enhancers are also of concern as they may lead to UPF food addiction. Obesity, cancer, heart attacks and strokes are often the final result of UPF overconsumption. Another publication that I reviewed showed that consumption of UPF leads to shorter telomeres in all body cells. We know from other publications that short telomeres cause chronic diseases and premature deaths because of organ failures. The bottom line is that you want to reduce your UPF food intake and increase your whole food intake. This will strengthen your immune system, prevent heart attacks, strokes and cancer. Your telomeres will stay long and your life expectancy increases by about 6 years.

Sep
21
2024

Red Meat and Processed Meat Can Become a Cause of Diabetes

By | Diabetes, meat, Processed food, processed meat, red meat

A clinical study at the end of 2023 showed that red meat and processed meat can become a cause of diabetes. The authors published the results of this study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on December 2023.

Results of the study

Notably, the study consisted of several pooled studies. To emphasize, there was a total of 216,695 participants and the authors followed them up every 2 to 4 years. In detail, the investigators analyzed food frequency questionnaires for consumption of red meat, processed meat, and consumption of nuts and legumes. In particular, the authors compared the highest and lowest red meat consumption quintiles. Those who ate the highest amounts of total red meat had a risk of 1.62-fold to develop diabetes. With regard to processed meat the risk was 1.51-fold to develop diabetes. And those who consumed unprocessed red meat had a risk of 1.40-fold to develop diabetes.

• When people replaced 1 serving of meat per day with nuts and legumes, this reduced their risk for diabetes by 30%.
• A group that had replaced processed red meat by 1 serving/day with nuts and legumes reduced the risk for diabetes by 41%.
• Replacing unprocessed red meat by 1 serving/day with nuts and legumes reduced the risk for diabetes by 29%.

Some scientists criticized the study saying that it was not controlled for elevated body mass index (BMI). A person with an elevated BMI is at a higher risk of developing diabetes on its own and this can interfere with a study like this.

Alternative large study confirming risk of red meat to develop diabetes

This study was a meta-analysis, which involved data from 31 cohorts participating in the InterConnect project. There was a total of 1,966,444 adults in this study and 107,271 patients developed diabetes over a period of 10 years.

• People who ate unprocessed meat had a 10% increase of diabetes risk compared to people not consuming meat.
• When processed meat was consumed it caused diabetes in 15% of the study group.
• On the other hand, poultry consumption caused only 8% of diabetes.

There were slight regional differences for the same foods. In the discussion of the data the authors pointed out that in comparison to the first study mentioned above their risk ratios were lower, because all the data was corrected for compounding factors that could distort the figures. As an example, they noted that without BMI adjustment unprocessed meat would have caused 18% of diabetes. On the other hand, processed meat would have caused 23% of diabetes and 21% of diabetes for poultry consumption.

Recommendation to reduce or eliminate red meat consumption

The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends to eat less than 18 oz. of red meat or processed meat per week to avoid cancer development.
You can replace meat with nuts, legumes (lentils and beans), tofu and vegetables.

Red Meat and Processed Meat Can Become a Cause of Diabetes

Red Meat and Processed Meat Can Become a Cause of Diabetes

Conclusion

Two independent large studies concluded that consumption of red meat and processed red meat contributed to diabetes development in adults. We also know from other studies that it can cause cancer. The key is to replace red and processed red meat by nuts, tofu, legumes and other vegetables. Both studies have shown that doing so reduces the risk for diabetes.