Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup – It has become rather difficult to avoid added sugars because manufacturers add large doses of sugar to improve the flavour of many packaged, processed foods. You can not only find them in cookies, candies and readymade breakfast cereals, but also breads, salad dressings, granola bars, ketchups and preserves.
Red and processed meats – Pepperoni, Salami, Sausages… sliced luncheon meats that have been preserved by smoking, curing, salting, and/or the addition of chemical preservatives cause inflammation. Eat smaller portions of these, eat them less often or just look for leaner alternatives.
Refined carbs – Refined carbohydrates are stripped of their nutrition. They also lack fibre. Unfortunately, they occupy a lot of space on our plates in the form of white bread, pizza, pasta, all-purpose white flour or maida, white rice, sweet desserts, and several breakfast cereals.
Trans fats – Trans fats, also called trans-fatty acids, raises your ‘bad’ cholesterol and lower your ‘good’ cholesterol. They are found in readymade baked goods like cakes, cookies, biscuits, pies, microwave popcorn, frozen pizza, doughnuts, French fries, fried chicken and non-dairy coffee creamer.
Opt for foods like tomatoes, olive oil, green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, and collards, nuts like almonds and walnuts, fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines and fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and oranges.