Читать книгу Anti-Inflammatory Diet For Dummies - Artemis Morris - Страница 27

Food, by definition, is “any nutritious substance that people eat or drink … in order to maintain life or growth.” When you eat food, it becomes energy for your body through the process of digestion. The foods and drinks you take in aren’t in a form that your bodies can use just yet; the food has to be transformed into much smaller pieces, nutrient-filled molecules, which can be absorbed by your blood and carried throughout the body. Digestion starts in the mouth as you chew food into smaller pieces; then it continues through the body with the help of digestive fluids until it’s broken down as far as possible. Most of these molecules are absorbed into the small intestine and eventually become energy for various parts of the body.

Sometimes, however, that same food you turn to for nutrition and sustenance can turn on you. Foods that are seemingly harmless can be toxic, leading to inflammation and serving as triggers for chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and heart disease.

We define toxic foods as any foods that are harmful to the body to any degree and can lead to inflammation and chronic disease. For some people, the nightshade family of fruits and vegetables — tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant — can be toxic in that they contain alkaloids, which can affect muscle function. Dairy products or wheat products can cause digestion problems for some people, and refined sugars can promote diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.

You can put toxic foods into three categories:

 Foods that increase inflammation in everyone, such as trans fats, refined sugars, and artificial foods

 Foods that are toxic to some individuals and not to others, such as wheat, corn, and dairy

 Foods that contain chemicals, toxins, and other harmful substances that cause inflammation and endocrine changes in the body; they may accumulate in the fat cells and liver and can be associated with cancer

Toxic foods offer more harmful effects than healthy benefits. Refined sugar, trans fats, and bleached or enriched flour are the top three toxic foods for people seeking anti-aging strategies. Following is a sampling of some of the toxic foods found in everyday diets. We discuss these foods in detail in Chapter 4.

 Refined sugars:Cookies, doughnuts, pastriesPrepared salad dressings and condimentsWhite breadPastaFlavored oatmeal or cerealSoda and fruit punchCereal bars

 Trans fats:French friesMargarinePackaged baked goodsPotato and corn chipsFried foodsCreamy salad dressings and condiments

 Bleached or enriched flour:BreadCrackersCerealCookiesPastaPancakes and waffles