This story has been updated since it was originally published on 01/24/2022
Inflammation is never a good thing, but it can be especially detrimental to your overall health when it becomes chronic. Chronic inflammation may be harder to see than the inflammation that you experience in short periods to protect your body from infection but it still wreaks havoc on your body and, when untreated, can lead to a number of dangerous side effects including gut dysfunction, skin issues, and autoimmune disease. “Inflammation is a natural process in the body to help protect us against foreign invaders and pathogens as well as injuries. White blood cells come to the rescue to protect the injury site, we develop redness, swelling and heat,” says Pamela Barton R.H.N., NNCP, founder of Butterfly Nutrition. “This is called acute inflammation. Inflammation becomes a problem when it becomes chronic, due to too much ‘alarm’ in the body at all times.”
Your diet is one of the biggest root causes and exacerbators of chronic inflammation. And believe it or not, what you drink can have just as much of as what you eat. Especially in the United States, beverages are very high in calorie and are packed with additives. It’s important to know what your drinks are made of and if they could be making your inflammation worse. That’s why we checked in with health experts Dr. Amy Lee, Head of Nutrition for Nucific and dietitian Nataly Komova, RD, to discover the beverages you should avoid if you struggle with chronic inflammation. They said the biggest culprits are sugary, processed drinks like soda and energy drinks.
Processed, Sugary Drinks And Inflammation
The logic for what you shouldn’t eat if you suffer from inflammation is largely the same for what you should drink. Dr. Lee notes that one of the worst things for chronic inflammation is any kind of preservative. “Preservatives in processed foods are oftentimes not recognized by the body and require much more work for the body to metabolize or excrete," she explains. Many beverages are packed with preservatives, especially if they’re prepackaged or include any dyes. A good rule of thumb to avoid preservatives is to look at the nutrition label on the drink—if the ingredient list is exceptionally long, or has words you can’t pronounce, consider putting it back on the shelf.
Aside from preservatives, sugar is also a major irritant for inflammation. “For some people whose bodies are sensitive to these sugars, they can find themselves swollen or bloated because the body draws water into the tissues to attempt to get rid of it,” Dr. Lee says. Anything from milkshakes to soda, and even pre packaged coffees, are often loaded with sugar. As mentioned above, look at the ingredient labels closely when shopping to make sure your drinks aren’t too high in sugar—for reference, the recommended amount of added sugar for women is no more than 24 grams. However, there are many words for sugar that sneak their way onto ingredient labels and may confuse you. If you see dextrose, fructose, glucose, or sucrose anywhere on a label, it means there is still added sugar.
Komova says some common sugary drinks to avoid include sodas and energy drinks. "Most energy and sports drinks contain added sweeteners, colors, and sugars that are harmful to your health," she warns, noting that readers should keep in mind that these inflammatory ingredients can also make weight loss difficult. "The drinks contain processed sugars and artificial sweeteners that increase your risk of body inflammation, delaying your weight loss process." Yikes! Soda also typically contains high amounts of processed, inflammatory ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, and processed sugars. If you want to reduce inflammation and lose weight, cutting these drinks out is one crucial change to make to your diet.
Inflammation requires healing from the outside in, and that starts with being educated and mindful about what is in the food you eat and the beverages you drink. Watching out for sugar and preservatives is the best way to reduce your inflammation and feel your best.
