Inflammatory foods to banish from your plate
Our diet should be taken seriously. It affects our health on many levels. A 2020 study adds a new argument for taking care of your diet.
According to Harvard researchers in the United States, diets that lead to increased inflammation in the body put you at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. They published their work in November 2020 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).
Increased risk of heart attack and stroke
Researchers have found that an inflammatory diet puts you at increased risk for cardiovascular problems. “Inflammatory potential is significantly associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, compared to the 20% of the study population consuming the most anti-inflammatory dietnoted Dr. Jun Li, a researcher in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard University and lead author of the study. The 20% of the study population consuming the most pro-inflammatory diet were 46% more likely to develop heart disease and 28% more likely to develop stroke.”
The researchers looked at data from a study that analyzed more than 210,000 people since 1986, a follow-up for 32 years. Yet despite the length of the study and the number of participants, this research could help validate the relationship between certain foods and inflammation.
“Our study includes only nurses and healthcare professionals, and our study population was predominantly white, so it is important to expand and replicate our findings in other populations.relativized the researcher. We perform a similar analysis in other cohorts with higher proportions of African American and Hispanic participants.”
Heart health: what foods should you avoid?
The researchers point out that previous studies have shown that following a more plant-based diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, leads to a lower risk of inflammation over time. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains and healthy proteins is much healthier than refined and processed foods.
“It’s really no surprise that plant-based foods that are predominantly whole, low in fat and known to be anti-inflammatory continue to be the best wayreacted Dr. Andrew Freeman, cardiologist and director of cardiovascular prevention and well-being at National Jewish Health in Denver, to the American health media Hearthline. It’s also not surprising that foods like sugary drinks, meats, cheeses, fatty foods, etc., are associated with worse outcomes..”
Foods to avoid include sugary drinks, processed meats and refined grains. “Regarding this study, I would say that it is best to reduce the consumption of refined grains, especially fried cereals [ainsi que] red, processed and organ meat, and sugary drinkscontinues Jun Li. It would be impossible to say never to eat these foods, but try to reduce the consumption of these foods and replace them with whole grains, plant-based or other healthy sources of protein, such as fish. Also increase your intake of dark green and yellow leafy fruits and vegetables..”
