- Foods high in trans fats – Processed & Fried Foods such as French fries, cookies, cakes, pies, donuts, packaged snack like crackers, chips, microwave popcorn etc. Trans fats are found naturally in some animal products such as meat and dairy and others are man made by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them smore solid. These are used in many processed foods. Read the label before purchasing.
- Foods rich in omega 6 fatty acids vegetable oils such as corn, safflower and sunflower
- Foods made with added sugars such as cakes, candy, sweetened beverages etc. Read labels for hidden sugar such as tomato ketchup, cereals etc. Sugar increase inflammation. Use, honey, maple syrup etc. that are products of nature. They contain other nutrients including anti-oxidants that can help fight pain.
- Artificial sweeteners – Some artificial sweeteners are found to contribute to inflammation .
- Foods high in AGEs such as fried, roasted, broiled and grilled meats, AGE. is the compound formed when proteins and sugars in foods combine at high heat as in frying to produce that tasty brown crust . Choose cooking methods such as steam, boiling, slow cooking.
- Refined Carbohydrates, white rice, pasta, bread etc. made from refined flour
- Alcohol
- Red Meats and Processed Meats such as ground beef, sausages, hot dogs, cured meats etc.
- Foods Rich in Saturated Fats such as red meats can contribute to a rise in inflammation and subsequently increased pain.
Ionie Ponde, MS, RD, LDN
B Food Savvy 
References:
- Healthy Aging, February 24th, 2026, Foods that fight inflammation, Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School
- Diet Food & fitness, April 29th, 2024, 5 Types of Food that Cause Inflammation, Health Essentials, Cleveland Clinic, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/foods-that-can-cause-inflammation
- Meenatchi M, Chitra Vellapandian, September 23rd, 2024, Exploring the Long-Term Effect of Artificial Sweeteners on Metabolic Health, Curious, PMCID: PMC11501561 PMID: 39449954
- Jaime Uribarri, Maria Delores Del Castillo, Maria Pia De La Maza, Rosana Filip, Alejandro Gugliucci, Claudia Luevano-Contreras, Maciste H Marcias-Cervantes, Deborah H Markowicz Bastos, Alejandra Medrano, Teresita Menini, Manuel PortoreroOtin, Armando Rojas, Geni Rodriguez Sampaio, Kazimierz Wrobel, Katarzena Wrobel, Ma Eugenia Garay-Sevilla, July, 2015, Review: Dietary AGEs, Oxidative Stress, and Chronic Disease, Advances in Nutrition,https://doi.org/10.3945/an.115.008433
- Jayaraman Tharmalingam, Prakash Gangadaran , Ramya Lakshmi Rajendran , Byeong-Cheol Ahn , March 25th, 2024, Impact of Alcohol on Inflammation, Immunity, Infections, and Extracellular Vesicles in Pathogenesis, Cureus, PMCID: PMC11043057 PMID: 38665743
- Jade Berg, Neda Seyedsadjadi1, and Ross Grant, August 4th, 2020, Saturated Fatty Acid Intake Is Associated With Increased Inflammation, Conversion of Kynurenine to Tryptophan, and Delta-9 Desaturase Activity in Healthy Humans, International Journal of Tryptophan Research, doi: 10.1177/1178646920981946.