This issue is bigger than outsized hunger.
Inflammation is a hot topic, but once again, social media (and most health coaches) miss the mark.
Before we dive into Lesson 2 on food processing, I'd like to take a slight detour into chronic inflammation. It's a hot topic, and that's a good thing. Chronic inflammation leads to inflammatory diseases and makes people feel mostly unwell.
I've had breast cancer (2x), and that's just one disease that can result from chronic inflammation. More common are diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and gastrointestinal disorders.
Unfortunately, most of what's discussed tip-toes around the central problem or gets it so wrong"
I first heard it from a friend recovering from surgery, who blamed her unusual post-op incision site irritation on foods TikTok had (incorrectly) informed her were inflammatory, like lentils. Antibiotics ultimately fixed her pain — turns out the incision was infected. Who knows what happened to the nutrition hearsay that lodged in her mind?
Beans are incredible for good health; there's a reason I devote an entire chapter of COOK! to their preparation. They're little miracle workers.
What's lost in the debunking is that we eat food products that cause chronic inflammation. Chronic means frequent and continuous. What do you do more often in your life than eat?
If you're taxing your system in some way each time you ingest food, that's essential to fix. But, instead of demonizing beans, I'm inviting you to consider how food processing (altering food for palatability) is causing chronic inflammation.
To that end, I invite you to read this excellent VOX piece on inflammation.
Hi, can I ask a small favor?
I'm teaching this series to help grow my reach thoughtfully and organically. Would you send this email to a friend?
They can sign up here.
Next week, we'll discuss ultra-processed foods–the category you think you're not consuming. We'll explain what they are, how they cause metabolic havoc and ways to spot them easily.
Last week:
