Food and Chronic Pain
Posted on | October 15, 2009 | 8 Comments
the more i am learning about food and how it impacts the body, the more i am baffled at how this isn’t being taught to doctors, and other health professionals.
it makes perfect sense that the food we put into our body has a direct impact on how our body performs. or, rather, how it doesn’t perform. and yet, most doctors have no clue. or would rather treat the symptom versus finding the root cause.
for those that suffer with chronic pain and/or inflammation, there are things that you can do to manage the pain through diet. did you hear that? through diet. not pills. not drugs.
what have you got loose? aside from a lot of pain and swelling. and perhaps a few trips to the pharmacy.
this article from about.com: nutrition is incredibly informative. and it even touches on the nightshade family. pretty incredible, right?
some highlights:
Pro-inflammatory foods will increase inflammation, increase your pain from the inflammation and may also raise your risk for chronic disease.
Omega-3 essential fatty acids are very powerful anti-inflammatory agents. They are found in cold water oily fish, walnuts, flax seeds, canola oil and pumpkin seeds.
Olive oil is another type of oil that will reduce inflammation. In fact, olive oil has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and will help to reduce pain. Other healthy oils include rice bran oil, grape seed oil, and walnut oil.
Whole grains are excellent sources of fiber, and a high fiber diet will reduce your inflammation.
and the bit about the nightshades:
Another possible source of irritation comes from the nightshade family of plants. Whole fruits and vegetables are important to eat for their vitamins, minerals, and natural antioxidants. However some vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplant may actually make pain from inflammation worse. These vegetables are part of the nightshade family of plants and contain a chemical alkaloid called solanine. Solanine can trigger pain in some people.
[photo from the original article at about.com: nutrition]
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8 Responses to “Food and Chronic Pain”
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October 15th, 2009 @ 9:19 pm
Gorgeous photo: love the fruit and the pottery.
One of my relatives who is a doctor does not like to hear precisely what you are saying from another relative who knows much more about nutrition than she does.
Thank you for having a blog to educate about nutrition. One doctor, one asked why he doesn’t tell his patients about certain healing diets, said his patients won’t listen anyway. Sad.
October 16th, 2009 @ 5:14 am
[...] Veggie educates about nightshades and remarks “it makes perfect sense that the food we put into our body has a direct impact on [...]
October 16th, 2009 @ 12:57 pm
Great info-I am glad to see that Rice Bran Oil is mentioned. Most people are not aware that rice oil has more antioxidants and vitamin E than olive and canola. It also contains gamma-oryzanol which is a more powerful antioxidant than vitamin E.!!!
October 21st, 2009 @ 3:24 am
Great article – it’s so true that what you eat make a difference in how you feel, in every way, emotionally and physically. Most doctors know very little about this, and even many nutritionists are still putting really outdated information out there.
Just an addition to your Omega 3 EFA list – hemp seed oil! It’s so awesomely high in both Omega 3 and Omega 6. It may be hard to obtain in some places because of regulation due to the fears of politicians and law makers that it will open the doors for cannabis legalization. Which is unfortunate because hemp is an incredible superfood. It has very few known pests, so doesn’t require much in the way of pesticides even when grown by non-organic commercial farmers, but I think most of it is grown organically at this point.
I know in Canada they have been much more sensible about their approach to hemp and much of the hemp in North America is grown there. But if you do a search for “Ruth’s Hemp Products”, you’ll find lots of great hemp-based foods. I’ve heard interviews with her and was really impressed by her knowledge and commitment.
November 22nd, 2009 @ 11:17 am
I’ve been telling my husband about this same thing. I think as I read more about the connection between food and allergies and pain we become more aware and make better choices. I have to do more reading and hopefully hone in on some of the foods we love to eat that also help our bodies heal. Thanks.
May 18th, 2010 @ 1:13 pm
I am just concerned about the main source of Omega 3 which is the liver of fish. as you can see, fishes can accumulate mercury and pcb. “:
May 18th, 2010 @ 11:42 pm
@Kyle – i agree that it can be tricky to find the right fish oil. but high quality (and mercury free) sources exist. it just costs a little more…
July 26th, 2010 @ 11:58 pm
Omega 3 oil can really help your heart and arteries so take a sip of it regularly.;”