One of the central themes in therapeutic nutrition is controlling inflammation in the body, as this process can be extremely damaging for individuals who are fighting chronic illnesses, including cancers. Their diet requires carefully balancing nutrient intake with the inflammatory effects of the foods those nutrients come from. The main culprit here is sugar, and the problem with sugar is that it is very, very difficult to avoid. In the simplest terms, sugar is anything that is not fat.
An anti-inflammatory diet contains no more than 25 grams of sugar per day, equivalent to about 50-90 grams of carbohydrates (depending on the particular source, since carbohydrates are made up of sugar and fiber in different proportions). So how does this compare with a conventionally “healthy” diet?
To put it in perspective, I decided to track my own carbohydrate and sugar intake based on conventional dietary recommendations, and the results were quite surprising.
According to my food journal, most of my sugar came from fruits, orange juice, vegetable juice, whole wheat toast, brown rice, chickpeas, and starchy vegetables. I would balance my intake of intrinsic (i.e. non-added) sugar with proper fat and protein. On average, it turned out, I consumed 45 grams of intrinsic sugar and 110 grams of carbohydrate per day. Of course, most of the food had fiber in it, but the number was still high - one pear alone contained 17 grams of sugar and 27 grams of carbs. Six soaked almonds had six grams of carbs, while lamb had no sugar or carbs.
This information highlights the dangers inherent in the approach taken by most people who follow conventional dietary recommendations. Despite sticking to what they believe to be well-founded advice, they still experience inflammation and are puzzled about its causes.