STRESS FACTOR: DIET

WHETHER YOUR INFLAMMATION IS ACUTE OR CHRONIC, WHAT YOU PUT INTO your body can make a big difference – for better and for worse. Some foods and beverages can help sooth inflammation, while others have been found to exacerbate the problem. It may come as no surprise that many high-fat or high-cholesterol foods that don’t contribute much to nutrition are also considered inflammatory. These include common components of the Western diet like the ones in this chart.

FRIED FOODS (French Fries, Mozzarella Sticks, Fired Calamari)

REFINED CARBOHYDRATES (White Bread, Pastries, White Rice)

SODA and other SUGARY DRINKS (Energy Drinks, Sweet Coffees)

RED MEAT and HEAVILY PROCESSED MEAT (Hamburgers, Hot Dogs)

MARGARINE, SHORTENING and LARD (Butter Substitutes)

Regularly eating foods from these categories can cause weight gain or even obesity, which are known risk factors for inflammation. Your health can get on a real downward spiral: Obesity predisposes people to diseases and conditions that are themselves inflammatory, including heart disease, stroke, cancer, and joint conditions. Eating foods that stress your system can be a hard habit to break, but it could save your life.

A diet heavy in these types of foods also typically keeps you from getting nutrition you actually need, especially fiber. This lack of balance “throws your immune system off-kilter,” Dr. Ian Myles of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told CNN. Some ingredients such as palmitic acid (a solid saturated fatty acid often found in candy bars) can fool your body into thinking it’s fighting off something harmful, like the E. coli bacteria. “The body then starts an immune attack against the supposed bacteria,” Myles explains. And when your immune system is responding to something benign, it’s less available to defend you against a real infection when it comes. The good news: The disruption to your immune system isn’t permanent and removing these types of foods from your diet can help you bring your immune system’s defenses back to normal.

39% The percentage of adults in the world who are overweight.

Source: The World Health Organization.