Inflammation is a buzzing topic these days, as more and more people are learning that certain food items and ingredients can trigger it.
Your body being inflamed can come with a variety of symptoms, from redness to swelling, and it’s not fun. When people are dealing with chronic pain from a condition or injury, they tend to look for ways to reduce inflammation whenever possible. Although certain over-the-counter medications can help, it turns out your diet can play a large part in how much inflammation you deal with.
A registered dietitian, Chelsea Coleman, RD, is educating her viewers on the foods you should and shouldn’t be eating to treat chronic pain and lower inflammation. Chelsea tried to follow an “anti-inflammatory diet” in her personal life, as she’s looking to relieve her chronic pain. On her TikTok page, she’s been posting several videos about which foods she recommends eating more and the ones she suggests avoiding if you’re having trouble with pain or inflammation.
Here are three types of foods Chelsea suggests avoiding if you suffer from chronic pain or are looking to lower inflammation in your body.
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Processed Meats
One helpful video Chelsea posted was about the kinds of meat you should avoid to keep up an anti-inflammatory diet. The main offenders were various processed meats. You may want to pay attention to this if you plan to eat copious amounts of hot dogs, bacon, and other red, processed meats this summer.
"The meats that you want to avoid are very processed meats, like pepperoni, bacon, sausage, lunch meat, [and] beef jerky," explains Chelsea in one of her videos.
"All of those meats that are super, super, highly processed. And just so you know, those meats are also a class one carcinogen, so you probably shouldn't eat those, even if you're not trying to follow an anti-inflammatory diet."
Chelsea notes that some better meats for an anti-inflammatory diet include lean chicken, turkey, fish, and grass-fed beef. While processed meats are fine in moderation, you may want to eat them less frequently if you're looking to treat chronic pain.
White, Refined Carbs
As delicious as 'white' carbs like white rice, bread, and pasta can be, Chelsea suggests cutting them out of your diet if you are trying to lower your levels of inflammation.
"Anything that says 'refined' on the label [like] 'refined grain,' don't eat that," says Chelsea in another video. "They have stripped it of the bran and the germ, taking all the nutrition away."
After suggesting avoiding frozen processed bread products as well, Chelsea notes that healthier alternatives and carbs would be sourdough bread, oats, wheat bread, millet, buckwheat, and more, as they have more benefits that can help reduce inflammation.
Processed Sugar
Foods that contain processed sugar are what Chelsea calls "the most inflammatory" kind of food in one of her videos.
"The foods that you wanna cut out are cakes, pastries, pies, donuts [and] cupcakes," explains Chelsea.
Chelsea warns that even if something doesn't seem inherently sweet or decadent, you should be wary of products with "added sugar." She suggests always taking a moment while shopping to look at nutrition labels and avoiding a food item if it has "a lot of added sugar."
"I found that when I cut out added sugar, it made a huge difference in my pain, and maybe it will for you," adds Chelsea, who explains that processed foods high in sugar can cause blood sugar spikes that trigger an inflammatory response in your body.
As it goes for each of these foods, enjoying them in moderation is fine. However, it's good to know that there are healthier alternatives out there, especially if you want to see how cutting out these foods can impact any pain or inflammation you're experiencing.
