Emma Miller
To avoid this, try to limit or avoid drinking these inflammatory beverages as much as possible. Inflammation can be both beneficial and harmful. On the one hand, it is your body’s way of fighting infection and healing itself. But in overdrive, it can become a danger to your health, leading to serious illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
“Simply put, inflammation is our body’s own acute stress response mechanism that activates to protect us from injury,” says Dr. Jacqueline London. However, according to London, chronic inflammation – the mild activation of our body’s own immune system over time as a result of exposure to harm – is much more insidious. That’s because this type of inflammation destroys and breaks down cells, causing tissue damage and, ultimately, organ failure.
While some cellular degradation is associated with normal aging, what we consume in our daily diets can exacerbate inflammation. “Pro-inflammatory diets (consuming too much-saturated fat, added sugar, and sodium) contribute to chronic inflammation by cascading biochemical reactions that cause your body to work overtime to do its normal job, which can lead to excessive damage to your cells,” says London.
It also has implications for what we drink – the liquid in your cup can increase inflammation. To avoid this, try to limit or avoid these inflammatory beverages whenever possible.
Drinks with added sugar
According to London, sugary drinks that are the main source of added sugar are considered pro-inflammatory.
Here’s why: “the more simple sugars (refined carbohydrates) we consume, the more ‘garbage’ (byproducts) our body produces as a result of multiple metabolic reactions,” she says. This sets off a chain reaction that “can increase the number of free radicals that can damage healthy tissue and inflammatory cytokines (proteins produced by our immune system that can increase cell damage),” she explains.
Unfortunately, sugar is found in most beverages, including sodas: Regular soda juices made from fruit concentrate sports and energy drinks sweetened coffee and tea drinks-dairy alternatives to milk
According to London, even some trendy health drinks marketed as “tonics” or “elixirs” are often just “sugar water masquerading as a panacea.”
However, chronic inflammation is a process that occurs over time due to regular excessive consumption of added sugar. Thus, sipping a vanilla latte or margarita from time to time in the context of a healthy diet won’t hurt you, London says.
Drinks with artificial sweeteners
If you’ve already cut back on sugar in your beverages, you may be tempted to try drinks with non-nutritive artificial sweeteners, such as diet sodas or some drinks labeled “sugar-free.”
Although some artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, some people may be sensitive to these ingredients, which can trigger your immune system and cause an inflammatory response, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
And in the long run, this inflammatory effect can lead to more serious chronic diseases. Indeed, it has been found that people who frequently drink artificially sweetened beverages have an increased risk of weight gain, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Alcohol
While the occasional cocktail can help you relax and relieve stress, too much daily alcohol consumption can increase the likelihood of inflammation in your body.
Case in point: research has shown that excessive alcohol consumption leads to gut inflammation by altering the composition and function of the gut microbiota, weakening the gut lining, and compromising the immunity of the gut mucosa.
This is particularly problematic because gut bacteria appear to affect the functioning of your immune system and influence your risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and colon cancer, according to the National Institutes of Health.
To make matters worse, many mixed drinks also contain large amounts of added sugars (e.g., mixers such as juice, tonic, and soda), which we know to have pro-inflammatory effects.
