EIGHT FOODS THAT FIGHT ACHES AND PAINS

You know that taking certain supplements can help to combat aches and pains caused by arthritis and other conditions, but did you know that some foods have painkilling and anti-inflammatory properties?
Here are eight foods you might want to put on your plate if you suffer from chronic pain...

Turmeric

A spice commonly used in Indian cooking, turmeric contains the chemical curcumin, which has anti-inflammatory properties and can help ease the pain of osteoarthritis and regulate the body's immune response, reducing the inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Extra-virgin olive oil

You already know the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. As well as helping you to live longer, it seems that enjoying a diet high in olive oil could help to manage your pain.

Extra-virgin olive oil contains a natural phenolic compound called oleocanthal, which prevents the production of pro-inflammatory COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. This reduces inflammation and eases pain, much in the same way that ibuprofen works. Extra-virgin olive oil from Tuscany is said to have the highest oleocanthal levels.

Pomegranates

Pomegranates might not be something you think to eat every day, but you might want to give them a go if you suffer with chronic pain. The seeds of the fruit contain anthocyanin antioxidants, which reduce inflammation, and ellagitannin antioxidants, which studies show are effective at treating pain. 

CHRONIC INFLAMMATION? WHAT IS IT AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOUR HEALTH. PART 1

Scan the obits and you’ll see the usual suspects listed as causes of death—heart disease, cancer, stroke, and complications from diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. 

What you won’t read about is chronic inflammation, a deep-body immune response that medical researchers are beginning to recognize as the underlying reason we develop these deadly conditions.

“Most major diseases seem to have a chronic inflammatory component,” says integrative medicine expert James Dillard, M.D.

“Evidence shows that arthritis, certain allergies, and asthma are increasing at alarming rates,” says Ski Chilton, Ph.D., a professor of physiology and pharmacology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the author of Inflammation Nation. 

The dramatic upswing in these milder conditions suggests that chronic inflammation is also on the rise and that it will increasingly fuel serious diseases as well.

While the medical establishment is still trying to better understand chronic inflammation, a growing body of research is casting light on the poorly understood process and pointing us toward ways to fight it.

What the Heck Is Inflammation?

Chances are you’re already familiar with acute inflammation. This is the redness, heat, and swelling of a gum infection or a hammer-meets-thumb injury. 

These reactions are triggered by the flood of white blood cells summoned by your body to surround and protect the wound. 

Acute inflammation also occurs internally when you get an infection, such as pneumonia. In that event, those same white blood cells take aim at the bacteria in your tissues and bloodstream.

In both cases, the heat and swelling of acute inflammation are all part of your body’s battle against the invaders that cause infection—they help speed the healing process.

Related: 6 Surprising Inflammation Causes 

ARTHRITIS - HOW CHANGING YOUR DIET COULD HELP REDUCE PAIN

According to Arthritis Care Northern Ireland nearly 230,000 people live there with the debilitating disease. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form, followed by rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

As the drugs used to treat arthritis often work through action on the immune system or reduction of inflammation, the role for diet in arthritis is targeted at these functions also. Unfortunately some medications can come with negative side-effects. Nutritional interventions, although perhaps not as consistent and sometimes not as effective as medications, will more often than not help with a condition, without consequences to health.

Additionally tailored dietary intervention will offer other health benefits alongside its expected therapeutic aid. This is why many people use dietary manipulation - alongside medications or in some incidences instead of medications - when tackling a health complaint.

A dietitian's role goes beyond treatment and prevention of arthritis. A dietitian must also help combat the side effects caused by the medications such as taste changes, mouth sores, abdominal pain, ulcers, loss of appetite, nausea, thinning of the bones, weight loss and weight gain.

In addition to nutrition-related side effects of the medications, dietitians also help with drug-nutrient interactions. For example certain medications interact with folic acid, calcium and potassium within the body.


Related: Managing Pain While Avoiding Opiod  Abuse

Osteoarthritis

When it comes to osteoarthritis (OA), obesity is a strong risk factor. Obesity is the greatest modifiable risk factor for OA. People with a BMI>30 kg/m2 are nearly seven times more likely to develop knee OA than people with a healthy weight. The reason for this is twofold.

THE ARTHRITIS GENE HELPED HUMANS SURVIVE THE ICE AGE.

The gene that increases your likelihood to suffer from arthritis could also be the gene that helped humans survive through the Ice Age, scientists have discovered.

In what can only be described as one of the biological world’s greatest double-edged swords, it appears as though evolution both gives and very definitely takes away.

The gene in question causes people to become more compact, a trait that became increasingly common as humans started moving north away from Africa.