Inflammation Alarms: Hidden Triggers in Your Favorite Processed Foods

7. Excessive Sodium: The Stealthy Pressure Cooker

It’s not just the salt shaker on your table; the vast majority of our sodium intake comes hidden in processed and restaurant foods. Canned soups, deli meats, frozen dinners, sauces, and even bread can be loaded with it. Manufacturers use sodium ingeniously for flavor and preservation. However, this chronic overload contributes to high blood pressure, strains the cardiovascular system, and can promote a low-grade inflammatory state, making it a pervasive, often underestimated, health risk.

8. Gluten Overload (in Ultra-Processed Forms for Some): The Modern Wheat Woe

For individuals with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, gluten (a protein in wheat, barley, rye) triggers significant inflammation. But even for others, the highly processed, de-natured forms of gluten found ubiquitously in modern processed foods—from fast food buns to commercial baked goods and snacks—can contribute to gut irritation and a pro-inflammatory environment due to their rapid digestion and interaction with gut bacteria, a far cry from traditionally prepared whole grains.