Inflammation is part of your body’s natural defense against things that adversely affect health, like bacteria, viruses and toxins.

But your immune system is complicated, and its components are sometimes triggered by unexpected things — including certain foods.

“Our diets play an enormous role in what’s happening inside our bodies, much more than most people probably realize,” says Dr. Karla Saint Andre, an endocrinologist at Houston Methodist.

We all know the obvious consequence of making consistently unhealthy food choices: weight gain. What you may not realize is that being overweight is linked to increased levels of inflammation in the body.

The story of how our eating habits can lead to inflammation doesn’t stop there.

“An unbalanced diet means eating a lot of processed foods, which contain ingredients that can activate inflammatory processes directly,” Dr. Saint Andre adds.

This is less noticeable than weight gain, of course, but Dr. Saint Andre emphasizes that it’s still harmful.