Have you noticed increased tiredness, aches and pains, breakouts and digestive issues? There’s a good chance you may be dealing with inflammation. Inflammation is associated with joint health, and can show up in the form of various symptoms and health issues. Inflammation isn’t always bad- acute inflammation helps our body’s heal, but chronic inflammation is the one you need to look out for. It can trigger an array of other symptoms and can be damaging to your overall health. It can be triggered by anything from a lack of sleep to unhealthy habits, and especially what you eat. Luckily, there are ways to reduce inflammation and an anti-inflammatory juice cleanse may be just the thing to get your body and health back on track!
Does Juicing Reduce Inflammation?
Juicing is one of the best ways to rest your body, filling it with antioxidants and eliminating inflammation. Inflammation is one of the top causes of disease, damaging your cells and arterials walls and causing problems such as cardiovascular disease and arthritis.
When you reduce inflammation in your body, your body is better able to heal from disease, and one of the top ways to decrease inflammation is filling your body with good-for-you foods, in the form of juices! Juicing for inflammation has become increasingly popular, and for good reason. But remember that juicing for inflammation will work best when you combine the right types of foods. Foods like pineapple, ginger, turmeric, berries, greens, cucumbers and celery are all known to boost antioxidants and rid your body of inflammation.
What Foods Cause Inflammation?
1. Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup
Added sugars such as sucrose (table sugar) and high fructose corn syrup are increasingly found in the Western diet, and they’re pretty much wreaking havoc on our bodies. Sugar is 50% glucose and 50% fructose, and high fructose corn syrup is 45% glucose and 55% fructose. Added sugars are harmful for a number of reasons, from heightened weight gain to increased risk of heart disease. They can also cause inflammation, which can lead to other diseases. With such excess amounts of fructose found in sugar, anyone who consumes it is more likely to suffer from diseases such as obesity, diabetes, fatty liver disease, cancer and chronic kidney disease.
2. Refined Carbohydrates
Refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and pasta, pizza and pastries are another major source of inflammation. While not all carbs are bad for you, refined carbs have been stripped of most of the fibre, bran and nutrients. Fibre is important since it helps us stay full for longer, improves blood sugar control and feeds good gut bacteria. Refined carbs lead to inflammatory gut bacteria that can increase your risk of obesity and inflammatory bowel disease.
3. Processed Meats
Processed meats include hot dogs, cold cuts, bacon, sausage and any other meats that have gone through salting, curing or smoking. Processed meats contain more advanced glycation end products (AGEs) than most other meat. AGEs are inflammatory compounds that are created when meats are processed and cooked at high temperatures. They’re one of the top sources of inflammation, and have also been linked to other serious diseases such as cancer.
4. Deep Fried Foods
Battered, deep fried foods like French fries and chicken fingers are covered in a layer of refined carbs and are also high in saturated fat and excess calories. They’re also typically fried in vegetable oils with high omega-6 fatty acids like safflower and corn oil. You need some omega-6s, but if you get too much, it throws off the balance between omega-6s and omega-3s in your body, causing increased inflammation.
5. Artificial Trans Fats
You need a good dose of healthy fats in your diet, but artificial trans fats are the unhealthiest fats you can eat. They’re created by adding hydrogen to unsaturated fats, and are found in foods like margarine, and added to processed foods to extend their shelf life. Artificial trans fats have been found to increase inflammation, lower good cholesterol and lead to heart disease. Other foods that contain artificial trans fats are packaged cakes with frosting, microwave popcorn and doughnuts.
6. Excessive Alcohol
Although moderate amounts of alcohol (mostly red wine) can serve some benefits, excessive amounts of alcohol is a main culprit of inflammation. Heavy drinking can lead to problems with bacterial toxins moving out of the colon into the body. Known as leaky gut, this condition can cause widespread inflammation that leads to organ damage.
25 Juices to Reduce Inflammation
1. Anti-Inflammatory Green Juice | Veggie Quest
2. Golden Sun Anti-Inflammatory Juice | Joe Cross
3. Vitamin C Anti-Inflammatory Juice | Garden in the Kitchen
4. Anti-Inflammatory Pineapple Orange Juice | Food n’ Everything Else
5. Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Tonic | Savory Lotus
6. Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidant Sweet Beet Juice | The Flaming Vegan
7. Pear Zinger Juice with Cucumber and Ginger | Further Food
8. Fresh Anti-Inflammatory Juice | Veggies Don’t Bite
9. Carrot, Sweet Potato and Pineapple Juice | Tips for Her
10. Orange, Carrot, Beet Juice | Simply Laura Leigh
11. Anti-Inflammatory Carrot Turmeric Juice | The Blender Girl
12. Anti-Inflammatory Nerves Calming Juice | Juicing for Health
13. Orange, Carrot, Mango, Turmeric Juice | Living Fresh Daily
14. Vanilla Turmeric Orange Juice | Paleo Hacks
15. Ginger Beet Celery Juice | The Feed Feed
16. Turmeric Golden Root Juice | Feasting at Home
17. Anti-Inflammatory Pumpkin Juice | My Anosmic Kitchen
18. 3-Ingredient Anti-Inflammatory Juice | Food, Fun and Far Away Places
19. Apple, Beetroot and Turmeric Anti-Inflammatory Juice | In the Mood for Food
20. Pineapple, Cucumber and Jalapeno Juice | Bon Apetit
21. Beet Ginger Detox Juice | The Harvest Kitchen
22. Immune-Boosting and Anti-Inflammatory Juice | A Tasty Love Story
23. Beet, Carrot and Apple Juice | Very Well Fit
24. Pineapple, Carrot, Ginger and Wheatgrass Juice | Naturally Sassy
25. 5-Ingredient Liver Detox Juice | Further Food
Now that you know what foods cause inflammation and the best juices to fight inflammation, take it upon yourself to kick your health back into gear!
