3 Foods Causing Inflammation that Women Eat Every Day

If you're doing all the "right" things but still struggling to lose weight, constantly battling PMS, or dealing with stubborn belly fat, the problem might be sitting right in your pantry. And no, I'm not talking about the obvious “junk food”.

I'm talking about three foods that most women eat every single day without realizing they're quietly wrecking their hormones, destroying their metabolism, and keeping them stuck in a cycle of inflammation and weight gain.

These foods causing inflammation aren't the ones you'd expect. They hide in meals marketed as healthy, and once you know what they are, you're going to look at your grocery cart completely differently.

What Happens When You Eat These Foods Daily

Before we get into the three culprits, let's talk about why this matters so much for your body. When you eat foods causing inflammation, your body goes into stress mode. This triggers a blood sugar roller coaster, which leads to a cortisol roller coaster. High cortisol steals from your progesterone production (remember, they're both made from the same mother hormone, pregnenolone).

Lower progesterone means worse PMS, more anxiety, poor sleep, and yes, that stubborn hormonal weight that won't budge no matter how little you eat. So when we talk about foods causing inflammation, we're really talking about foods that are disrupting your entire hormone system.

3 Sneaky Foods Causing Inflammation

Gluten-Free Packaged Foods

I know, this one probably surprises you. Let me be clear: naturally gluten-free foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes, meat, eggs, vegetables, and fruit are totally fine.

The problem is what happens in our brains when we see "gluten-free" on a package. We automatically think it's healthy. Gluten-free cake, gluten-free brownies, gluten-free crackers—we give ourselves a free pass because somewhere along the way, we've been conditioned to believe gluten-free equals healthy.

Gluten-free packaged foods are some of the worst foods causing inflammation.

That’s because they're typically loaded with fillers, gums, seed oils, and ingredients you can't pronounce. Things like carrageenan, natural flavors, and tons of rice-based flours that spike your blood sugar just as much (if not more) than their gluten-containing counterparts.

And if you're eating a lot of almond flour products, think about this: when do you ever sit down and eat five billion almonds? You don't. But when you're having almond milk in your coffee, almond butter on your toast, and almond flour crackers as a snack, you're getting an almond overload that can absolutely cause bloating and digestive issues.

If you have a genuine gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, then yes, you need to avoid gluten. But focus on those naturally gluten-free whole foods, not the packaged products masquerading as health food. When you do buy packaged gluten-free items, turn that package around and actually read what's in there.

Better swap:

Simple Mills crackers (made with real ingredients), or better yet, swap that gluten-free bread for a baked sweet potato or some rice.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

This one is the devil. I'm not exaggerating. High fructose corn syrup is one of the most inflammatory ingredients you can put in your body, and it's hiding in almost everything.

We're talking salad dressing, sauces, "healthy" bars, juices, ketchup, barbecue sauce, ranch dressing… the list goes on. This ingredient spikes your insulin, triggers inflammation throughout your body, impacts how you store estrogen, causes weight gain, creates mood swings, and absolutely destroys your liver health.

High fructose corn syrup is often found in foods with what the food industry calls the "bliss factor." Companies have spent millions figuring out the perfect ratio of salt to sweet that makes you want to keep eating and eating and eating. So not only are you consuming one of the most inflammatory ingredients out there, but you're also being manipulated to eat more of it.

Let me give you some real numbers that might shock you. I was buying barbecue sauce the other day and found one with 35 grams of sugar per serving. You're probably thinking that's not too bad, right? The serving size was two tablespoons. Who uses only two tablespoons of barbecue sauce on their ribs? Nobody. So you're easily consuming 70 grams of sugar in what you think is a savory, healthy meal.

Same with ketchup. Some of the top brands have 8 grams of sugar per serving, and the serving size is one tablespoon. One tablespoon. Do you see how quickly this adds up?

Better swap:

Primal Kitchen makes ketchup and barbecue sauce without high fructose corn syrup or added sugar. If you're used to the sweet taste, add a little bit of your own honey or maple syrup to transition your taste buds. For salad dressing, stick with olive oil, seasonings, and a little honey if you want some sweetness.

Artificial Sweeteners and Protein Powders

This is the one that gets so many women, especially those trying to lose weight. You think you're making a smart choice by reaching for the diet soda, the protein shake, the low-calorie protein bar. But these are absolutely foods causing inflammation in your body.

Artificial sweeteners like sucralose, aspartame, and others wreak havoc on your gut microbiome. They mess with your insulin sensitivity, disrupt your hormones, and keep you stuck in that weight loss plateau.

I see this pattern constantly with clients. They're relying on protein shakes for quick meals, protein bars for snacks, diet soda throughout the day. They're barely eating any real food, keeping their calories super low, and wondering why they can't lose weight.

Let me give you a real example. I had a client come in whose biggest struggle was weight loss. Here's what her typical day looked like: English muffin for breakfast with black coffee. Fair Life protein shake for lunch (loaded with sucralose). Dinner was a little bit of meat, some baby carrots, and four bites of watermelon that she literally counted out. Plus diet soda throughout the day.

That's not a lot of calories. But what is it? A blood sugar and cortisol roller coaster all day long. She's spiking her blood sugar first thing in the morning, getting zero real nourishment, not getting enough protein to build muscle or sensitize herself to insulin, and consuming artificial sweeteners that are destroying her gut microbiome and insulin sensitivity.

She was barely eating, constantly busy and stressed, and could not lose weight. This is what I see all the time with women who are chronically under-eating in an attempt to lose weight.

Better swap:

If you need grab-and-go options, try meat sticks, hard-boiled eggs prepped ahead of time, or make an egg bake with eggs, cottage cheese, veggies, and chicken sausage that you can portion out for the week. For drinks, try Olipop, Poppi, or Just Ingredients sparkling electrolytes instead of diet soda.

Simple Swaps to Reduce Inflammation & Weight Gain

I know this can feel overwhelming. You don't have to do everything at once. Start with one swap and go from there.

Here's where I'd start:

Salad dressings: Make your own with olive oil, seasonings, and a touch of honey

Diet soda: Switch to Olipop, Poppi, or sparkling electrolytes

Gluten-free packaged foods: Replace with naturally gluten-free whole foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, or fruit

Protein shakes and bars: Prep real food like hard-boiled eggs, meat sticks, or egg bakes

Ketchup and barbecue sauce: Look for brands like Primal Kitchen, or make your own and add honey to taste

Gluten-free cookies and candy: Swap for dark chocolate and nut butter

Weight Gain Goes Deeper Than Just Inflammatory Foods

If you're chronically under-eating, constantly dieting, and choosing these processed "healthy" options because you're trying to lose weight and you're busy, you're actually sabotaging your bigger goals.

Weight gain is a symptom, it’s not the root cause. When you're dealing with inflammation from these foods, blood sugar chaos, cortisol issues, and hormone disruption, your body literally cannot let go of that weight. It doesn't matter how few calories you're eating.

I've worked with hundreds of women who were shocked when I told them they needed to eat more food. More real food. They were terrified because they wanted to lose weight. But once we slowly adapted their eating, fixed their labs, balanced their minerals, and stabilized their blood sugar, the weight started coming off.

This is exactly what we do inside the Hormone Reset Program®. We dig deeper to figure out why weight gain is happening in the first place, especially if you're someone who's chronically under-eating and still struggling to see results.

Read Katelyn’s story of losing 20 pounds inside the Hormone Reset Program® without dieting or restriction.

You don't need to overhaul your entire pantry tomorrow.

Pick one of these three foods causing inflammation and make one swap this week. Maybe it's switching from diet soda to Olipop. Maybe it's reading the ingredients on your gluten-free crackers and choosing a better brand. Maybe it's prepping some hard-boiled eggs instead of relying on protein shakes.

Start there. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel when you remove even one of these inflammatory foods from your daily routine.

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This hormone-friendly recipe ebook is packed with tasty gluten and dairy-free recipes (including desserts) tailored to each phase of your cycle so you know exactly what to eat and when.