Most Americans Eat Way Too Much of This Inflammatory Food. Are You One Of Them?

Over the past month or so I’ve been focusing on the subject of inflammation- what it is, how to measure it and what to do to reduce it.  Inflammation in the body contributes to the advancement or perpetuation of every disease you can have- from orthopedic diseases like arthritis to heart disease to cancer and everything in between.  Because inflammation contributes to the perpetuation of many of the painful musculoskeletal issues that I help people overcome, I thought this would be an interesting and helpful topic to discuss with you.

In the beginning of this series I told you how you could assess your level of inflammation by testing your bodies Ph level with litmus strips that are available at most health food stores.

Next, I revealed the secret weapon that Naturopathic Doctors have used to reduce their patients inflammation substantially and thereby enhancing their ability to heal and recover from every physical ailment they can have.  That secret is alkalinized water.

Last time, I revealed one of the biggest culprits of excessive inflammation which was sugar consumption.  Sugar should be reduced as much as possible to lower your body’s level of inflammation and to enhance your ability to heal and recover.

Today I’m going to talk about another major culprit which is animal fat.

Excessive animal fat consumption has been a rising trend ever since the advent of fast food and the mass production of meat from industrial farms.

In today’s society, animals that are slaughtered and sold to most meat distributers are raised on a diet of corn based feed.  This feed increases their level of body fat substantially higher than the more natural diet they would eat in the wild. This allows the farmers to sell the animals for more profit because they not only weigh more but their cost of feed is lower than it would be otherwise.

Consumers love this because the extra fat gives the meat more flavor.  This extra flavor however, comes at a price.

Animal fats have been linked to inflammation in a number of studies. One study tracked how our beneficial gut bacteria change after eating saturated fats and found that “as the balance of (bacteria) species shift, it can trigger an immune response that results in inflammation and tissue damage,” Scientific American reported.

Saturated fats also contain a compound the body uses to create inflammation naturally called arachidonic acid, according to U.S. News. Diets lower in this molecule have anti-inflammatory effects.

This doesn’t just mean you should limit meat consumption.  Keep in mind that animal fat is also in dairy products milk, cheese and ice cream.

When purchasing food or ordering at a restaurant, be mindful of the fat content of your meat and try to get the lower fat versions.

In addition, also try to select free range, grass fed organic meats and dairy products because they are not raised on corn based diets.  These products are going to come with a slightly higher price tag but in the long run you will likely be saving money because of fewer health care expenses.

I hope you found this newsletter helpful.  Be sure to forward it to any friends or family that would benefit.

To your health!

Chris