Chronic inflammation plays a key role in a host of illnesses, like cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune illnesses. Researchers from many different areas of medicine have independently pointed to these devastating consequences of inflammation. What is less understood is that eating unhealthy foods can lead to this chronic inflammatory response.
Three Ways Foods Can Contribute to Inflammation
There are a variety of ways that foods can contribute to inflammation. First and most acutely, foods can cause an allergic reaction leading to anaphylactic shock—an extreme, often life-threatening allergic reaction.
Second, foods can contribute to autoimmune diseases that develop over time and can eventually become life-threatening. Finally, foods can stimulate a much lower grade inflammation which can lead to a myriad of health concerns, many of which are not life threatening but can have a big impact on quality of life.
Individuals that discover they are prone to allergic reactions should certainly identify the problematic food and avoid it at all costs. However, because the latter two health concerns develop slowly over time, many people continue to eat the very foods that are contributing to their illness and unfortunately, they often don’t even know it.
Continue reading Doc Smith’s article on thepaleodiet.com. This article excerpt used with permission of The Paleo Diet, LLC.
