In our busy daily city life, we are constantly loading our body with food that has very little nutrient value. Instead, we tend to eat food that are causing our body to be perpetually working hard by subjecting it to inflammation.
When is inflammation harmful?
Source from Medical News Today : Inflammation is the body’s attempt at self-protection; the aim being to remove harmful stimuli, including damaged cells, irritants, or pathogens – and begin the healing process.
However, when our immune system becomes overly reactive and attacks healthy tissue, mistaking them for harmful pathogen, it causes chronic inflammation. And if the trigger is not removed, it causes long-term inflammation which can last for several months and years and cause pain and discomfort.
Eczema and skin inflammation can be a result of continuously eating food that causes inflammation.
What are the common food that causes inflammation?
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that processed sugars and other high-glycemic starches increase inflammation, which causes pain, overheating, redness and swelling.
Processed sugar are white refined sugar, brown sugar, condensed milk and added sugar in processed food.
High-glycemic starches are food that results in high sugar level in our blood when the food is digested. Some examples are white bread, cakes and pastries made from white floor, plain cornflakes.
Think about how much of these you consume daily in your mealsL. Almost everyday? It’s time to make some adjustments.
How to do a simple food adjustment easily?
It is not sustainable to cut off sugar and white bread totally from your diet overnight. We want to make practical adjustments so that it can be applied regularly and easily amidst our busy schedule.
Some tips :
1. When you order any beverage (tea/coffee), opt for less sugar or add less sugar. Our taste bud will slowly adjust and we will be able to still enjoy our cuppa with less sugar.
2. If you have been buying Gardenia or Sunshine white bread, opt for ‘Softmeal’ or ‘Softgrain’ option. These contain some amount of whole meal flour and some whole grains. And the amazing part is that they are almost as soft and yummy.
3. When you are ordering a sandwich or wraps from a cafe or deli, opt for wholemeal bread or wholemeal wraps. OR if you are adventurous, opt for salad with healthy grain like quinoa and millet.
4. If you have been buying plain cornflakes for breakfast, it’s time to try muesli or granola. These have more nuts and rolled oats which are more nutritious with fiber.
5. Over the weekend, bake your own muffins. Muffins are the easiest to start and you can add almost anything in a simple muffin recipe. Do adjust the recipe – cut the sugar by half, and add nuts, rolled oat, flaxseed, whole meal flour.
Start making these changes now to lead a pain-free life and calmer skin. Feel free to comment if you have any other tips. Let’s share the good stuff!