All this stuff about inflammation

[ThirteenRooms]

To be getting a bit sick of it?
I eat very healthy, although not perfect. I don't buy ultra processed stuff and am physically fit and healthy to my knowledge.

I'm in a few recipe communities online and this week mentioned my quick and easy homemade organic flatbreads. I use organic white flour, extra virgin olive oil, water and a pinch of salt.
I've been told more than once that the white flour will give me chronic low grade inflammation. I eat them several times per week with hummus, salad, med veggies, fish and often with fermented sides (not all together!).

From what I am told, it isn't crazy influencers spreading this info, it's accepted science. I did a bit of googling and studies were mixed, but I do think this is going over the top a bit, and my gut can handle an occasional white bloody carb.

I mean, how would I even know if the flatbread gave me chronic inflammation? I feel fine??? I know that inflammation exists, and I am aware that diet can contribute to it, but isn't this going a bit far?

Just the latest food trend used to justify an eating disorder by the sounds of it.

What foods are supposed to cause inflammation?

Googling tells me any processed food or carb, sounds a bit extreme!
I can see a lot of UPF perhaps causing it but a few bits of white flour in an otherwise high fibre diet seems over the top. But I am no expert!

I would have thought stress, booze, too much sugar, lack of exercise, but apparently not.

Unless you have a medical issue that involves inflammation, I would just ignore.

I have an inflammatory arthritis. I recently went on a low carb diet and I did notice a big difference in pain levels. I am on a 4 week cycle with my meds and they generally wear off in week 4. When low carbing, I wasn't getting that dip.

All I know is, it is presumably one of, or a combination of, wheat, gluten, sugar, other grains, alcohol. That said, it's not a sustainable diet.

Enjoy your flatbreads and can I have the recipe please?

Thank you:) That is interesting, I have a friend with RA and she eats a lot of fresh fruits and veg. I think she still eats her own white bread but not to excess.

I don't have any health issues (yet) but I really do feel the booze these days. My gut literally burns if I have too much, for days after.

My flatbreads are the only processed carb I eat really.
I use 500g of organic white flour, a handful of seeds and a tbs of extra virgin olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and around 250ml of warmish room temp water.

Mix into a dough with hands, then form a ball and let sit for half an hour.

Split into 6 little balls and roll out to a roundish shape and drop into a pan either dry or with a few spritzes of oil for a minute each side. I then let cool and freeze them ,they taste so lovely, like a (flat) panini !

This is a perfect example of taking a legitimate (and fairly minor) physiology process and turning it into a medical emergency. As the poster said above, if you have a medical condition it may be worth noting. Otherwise, human bodies experience inflammation all the time as part of normal immune response.
Same for the bloody continuous glucose monitors. If you are a diabetic - excellent idea. If you are a healthy person, there is absolutely no need to monitor your glucose. Insulin spikes after every meal as part of normal digestive process but unless we make it sound scary, we won't make any money from selling a new fad diet book/app/coaching programme.

Yes, it does seem to pull attention to overthinking things.

I have tried wholemeal and really don't like it. I do eat a good amount of other whole grains, beans and legumes generally so not missing out.

I think I've had it now with all the messages about do this, don't do that, eat this, avoid that, walk 50million steps, go to the gym, lift weights, drink litres of water yada yada.

I'm not listening anymore but I use my own common sense. Any fool will know that drinking tons of alcohol, smoking, eating takeaways and burgers, sitting on your backside day in/out will not help you.

I focus on just feeling well these days, and try to avoid the crap, no alcohol anymore (meno hates it), and enjoying the little things.

Too much information can lead to mixed messages, fear of doing it "wrong" and all that angst leads to anxiety and there we go.... full circle again.

Sounds lovely. I'll give them a try.

My plan going forward is mindful carb eating. So my homemade bread, things like your flatbreads, basmati rice, homemade cakes etc. get an occasional yes whereas upf carbs (which I rarely ate anyway) get a no.

I have psoriatic arthritis which is a similar family to RA so a lot of the same approaches help.

Yeah I find it a bit tedious. It's like yeah I'm gradually dying. Am I currently in agonising pain? No. Ok then let's carry on...

It's like too much information about inflammation?!

It's like too much information about inflammation?!

Yes, it pays to be mindful but there really is too much information.

I'm the same re wholegrain. I think good quality white is much healthier than shop bought wholegrain. It's all about balance. If you're getting enough roughage elsewhere, then you're fine.

I read an article that said the concept of inflammation is scientifically sound, but that the wellness industry has it the wrong way around. Inflammation is the body's normal, healthy immune response, so it can be a sign of problems if you have too much, but it's not a problem to be solved or caused in itself. The article likened inflammation to fire engines. If you have a city with lots of disasters and fires then there will be a lot of fire engines around, but to say oh the fire engines are the problem, we need to reduce the fire engines, that's backwards. And likewise if the fires are caused by arsonists or riots you wouldn't say that arson and rioting are causing fire engines.

I think the people who want to sell books interpret this as what you eat is causing the fire engines. That inflammation is healthy in expected doses, but not when it hangs around (ie, chronic). It's easy to guess what a potentially inflammatory diet is, but no one ever stipulates what amounts, or what the crucial dose is.

I think life is too short for this level of introspection, and there are other pressing concerns (income, other health issues, sleep, stress) that they can't create a fix-all diet for. The idea that a holistic path to health only concerns food is problematic. But I think it gives people a sense of control, a simple fix.

Like PP's said, it is important if health issues are present, but what about a healthy baseline, how much white flour corrupts the health??? (not asking anyone here, just throwing it out there).

There's definitely a hyperfixation on every small morsel that goes into our months now.

@ThirteenRooms I do a very similar recipe originally from the river cottage cookbook, (loved that programme from years back), it does a great quick homemade pizza too, sauce made from saute shallot and passata and fresh mozzerella/ cheddar then only 10 mins in the oven. I keep them in the freezer for this purpose, also like them with adding strong grated cheddar before dry frying on my griddle😋

Do you know what does cause inflammation? Chronic stress and alcohol.

The number of times I’ve seen adverts for health retreats or detoxes or whatevers and then there is an open bar in the evening.

White flour is fine as long as you eat a high fibre diet. Cut out the alcohol and stress though.

Sounds delicious! Love HFW recipes.

I think, OP that it is yet another thing that has suddenly become the thing not to do. The problem with these trends is that although there may be a loose scientific basis, it gets lost in translation. It then gets picked up as the next thing by people who aren't very bright and before you know it is all over social media and you start to think it must be true. The the next thing comes along and the process starts all over again.

I love white flour: pasta, crumpets, first batch of the day croissants from a French boulangerie, warm fresh baked bread with cheesy topping and melted butter! It's the comfort stuff of childhood!

BUT if I am brutally honest, I do notice that eating more than the occasional bit of it (say once or twice a week tops) does make me feel sluggish and experience inflammatory type symptoms.

I wish it didn't!

I think the truth is it all comes down to sugar being not ideal, and the white carbs these days are processed in a way that is really only a heartbeat away from sugar.

As is usually the case with diet, I think it is about moderation. But I don't think it's total nonsense, no. Wish it was though!

I sometimes wonder if I've been beamed in from another planet or maybe a different time altogether. Inflammation of what FFS? Big toe? Head? Whole body? Ego?

Can someone help me get back to 1971? I was happy there!

I'm not sure I think a low sugar flatbread is something I'd feel unless I had a sensitivity or allergy. If your diet is otherwise sound, with lots of veg and good grains, I can't imagine ever having felt sluggish after a hummus and med veg flatbread.

It is personal though so I can relate to a degree, as I don't get along with high fat. I eat it and love cheese especially, but anything oily (even healthy oils) has a crappy effect on my digestion. I do believe in everything in moderation, unless we're talking fags, asbestos and cheap vodka

I eat what I like when I like end of.

I had a can of whipped cream and mini pancakes in bed last night.

Before that I had crisp and fajitas.

Washed down with coffee.

I’ve been doing everything wrong all my life apparently, I don’t do low carb diets, my diet consists of wholegrain breads, pasta etc. fruits, veg including potatoes fish and lean meats, I don’t eat huge amounts of protein at every available opportunity, I also do cardio most days which is a complete no no and a waste of time, I should be lifting heavy weights (yes I know weights are good but not in isolation). I do often wonder if the push for low carb, high protein diets and non cardio exercise is partly why we a seeing a surge of colon cancer in young people.

I too love carbs and cardio, we have to do what makes us feel good!

It is things like joints - so knees and hands especially. They can kind of just ache.

And then a lot of people get water retention from white flour, which can make you feel sluggish and heavy. And also things like brain fog and fatigue, and for some people mood, though those three are kind of linked and hard to untangle.

I do think it is very real. I know some people who suffer dreadfully.

I suffer just enough to know it isn't imagined, but I tend to eat a lot of wholegrains (which I also love), pulses, fruit and veg which really helps.

Incidentally, inflammation is the body's signal that it has something in it like infection or toxin, that it doesn't like. I think flour used to be fine when it was rough milled, but these days the manufacturing process of white flour and also supermarket bread is very different. The Chorleywood process is quite strongly associated with inflammation.

@ThirteenRooms Yes I agree, so far. and I’m 58 now, my diet and exercise regime has kept me slim, fit and hopefully healthy 🤞