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Pain Management- Foods That Help Ease Pain
Pain- something that no one wants to experience even once let
alone daily and yet chronic pain is not uncommon. The Chronic
Pain Association estimates that 50 million Americans endure
chronic pain on a daily basis. Whether you suffer from
Fibromyalgia Arthritis, or a Sports Injury, pain from the
inflammatory response finds us and can make life miserable.
Taking anti-inflammatory medications is the first defense
against chronic or acute pain. Research shows if you want to add
even more relief to your pain symptoms you can make some small
changes to your diet.
Foods that have the greatest effect on the inflammatory process
are fats. The predominant omega-6 fatty acids present in the
American diet tend to promote inflammation while omega-3 fatty
acids help to inhibit the inflammatory process. The omega 6 to
omega-3 ratio in the Western diet is a high 16:1.8 leading some
researchers to say the typical Western diet is a
pro-inflammatory diet. No wonder we are in such pain! Even
though omega-6 fatty acids are good for us and needed in the
diet, we are eating far too many of them and not eating enough
of the health-promoting omega-3's. Omega-6 fatty acids are found
in beef, pork, chicken, whole milk dairy products, egg yolks,
vegetable and seed oils, and packaged convenience foods- all
staples of the American diet. The pain reducing Omega-3 fatty
acids are found in cold water fish (salmon, mackerel, halibut,
and tuna), ground flax seeds, canola oil, and walnuts.
There is one more fatty acid to throw into the mix and that is
omega-9. Not as much of an attention getting fatty acid but just
as important to know about. These fatty acids are also involved
in prohibiting the inflammation process bringing relief to its
sufferers. Omega-9's are found in olive oil, avocados, pecans,
almonds, peanuts, cashews, sesame oil, pistachio nuts and
macadamia nuts. All those nuts you thought were off limits, not
anymore. Just make sure you only eat 10 - 12 nuts for a serving
size so you don't add to your waistline with these high calorie
snacks.
Fruits and Vegetables- ah, here they are again. I wonder how
long it will take us to realize they really are good for us. The
antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables play a role in
decreasing damage by free radicals which to you and I means it
prevents the initiation of the inflammatory response nipping
it
in the bud. What's the recommendation? The same as it's always
been, 5-8 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. It's not
as tough as it seems. A serving size of fruit is the size of a
tangerine or half of a banana while the serving size for
vegetables is ½ cup cooked and 1 cup raw. Add some berries to
your cereal, some vegetable soup with lunch or sneak veggies
into your scrambled eggs, add them wherever you can.
Although this doesn't count as a legitimate study, my mother, a
long time arthritis sufferer decided to put some of these ideas
into practice. She decided to take 2 tbsp. of ground flax seeds
per day which she added to her oatmeal in the morning. She also
added almonds regularly. That was it. No other changes and she
found her arthritis pain markedly decreased. It goes to show
that small nutrition changes can make a big impact on your
health.
Now that you know the information, let's get practical. Here are
8 small diet changes you can make starting this week to decrease
inflammation.
1. Replace chicken, pork or ground beef with salmon, mackerel,
or halibut 2 times each week. 2. Use canola or olive oil in
place of other vegetable oils for salad dressings and cooking.
3. Add walnuts, almonds, or pecans to salads. 4. Snack on an
ounce of cashews or macadamia nuts with a piece of fruit. 5. Use
sliced avocado in your sandwich in place of the cheese. 6. Use
omega-3 fortified eggs (can find at all local grocery stores:
look for the sentence: fed with DHA and EHA). 7. Add 2 tbsp of
ground flax seeds to your oatmeal or yogurt. 8. Add a side salad
each night with dinner (filling up with veggies during your
meals will also help with weight management).
Using medications alone to manage your pain is difficult because
most drugs eventually lose their effectiveness and can cause
side effects. Take some small steps to add these dietary
practices so you can have a more complete support system to
alleviate pain.
© 2005, Meri Raffetto
About the author:
Owner of Real Living Nutrition Services, Meri Raffetto is a
recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness.
She specializes in weight management and cardiovascular
nutrition and offers online programs to help people reach their
weight loss and health goals. For more information visit
http://www.reallivingnutrition.com.
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