9. Dairy Products
As much as 60% of the world’s population cannot digest milk. In fact, many researchers think that being able to digest milk beyond infancy is abnormal, rather than the other way round. Milk is also a common allergen that can trigger inflammatory responses, such as stomach distress, constipation, diarrhea, skin rashes, acne, hives and breathing difficulties in susceptible people (11).
Plus, hormones, pesticides, and antibiotics fed to cattle make their way into milk too, compounding the problem (12).
Find them in: Apart from obvious milk products like butter and cheese, foods with hidden dairy content include breads, cookies, crackers, cakes, cream sauces, protein powder, and boxed cereals.
Milk is an allergen, so it usually explicitly appears on food labels.
Substitute: Replace milk with coconut milk or homemade nut milk. Use coconut oil instead of butter and cashews instead of cheese.
8. Non-Organic Meat
Commercially produced meats are feed with grains like soybeans and corn, a diet that is high in inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids but low in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats. They are also loaded with antibiotics and hormones to keep them free from infection and speed up reproduction. Recently, studies have found that chicken sourced from certain countries contain alarming levels of arsenic.
Find them in: Unless otherwise stated, most, if not all, beef, pork and poultry you can find in the supermarkets and restaurants come from feedlot farms.
Substitute: Free-range organic meat from animals that are fed a natural diet grass and vegetables.
7. Processed Meat
Processed meat is cured, salted, smoked, or otherwise preserved meat. It typically contains add nitrates, corn products, soy, and preservatives and coloring agents.These ingredients make the food product so toxic that it’s carcinogenic, causing bowel cancer. Now that’s hard to swallow (13)!
Find them in: ham, hotdogs, sausage, lunch meat, bacon, and salami.
Substitute: Eat fresh meat, poultry, and fish or organic alternatives like smoked salmon or beef jerky.