Chronic pain is associated with reduced quality of life, increased medical expenditures, and significant economic costs. It’s among the most common chronic conditions in the United States. (1)
Your diet is a contributing factor to chronic pain. It can increase your symptoms or be one of the best ways to reduce them.
A healthy diet can help your immune system turn on and off at it’s appropriate times. Eating an unhealthy diet, causes our immune system to run abnormally. (2) It can stay switched on causing chronic inflammation, leading to a whole host of issues.
The body’s immune system is built to protect you from foreign invaders that cause infection, illness, and disease. When you eat processed foods, loaded with harmful additives, you are filling your body with all sorts of invaders.
In fact, some studies have found that the immune system reacts to an unhealthy diet in much the same way it would respond to a bacterial infection. (2)
To improve chronic pain caused by inflammation, it’s crucial to pay attention to your diet. Keeping a food journal will help track what foods are causing inflammation.
Known foods that cause inflammation are gluten, dairy, processed foods, and added sugars. Try eliminating these foods to see if your symptoms improve.
An anti-inflammatory diet is a great way to reduce inflammation in your body. This includes lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, plant-based proteins, fatty fish, and fresh herbs and spices. Choose a variety of these foods to fill your body with the nutrients it needs.
Check out the nutrition link to get some healthy recipe ideas!
If you would like to improve your nutrition, contact Whitney Ferguson at firstname.lastname@example.org.
- Yong, J.R., Mullins, P.M., Bhattacharyya, N. (2021, April 2). Prevalence of chronic pain among adults in the United States. Retrieved from Prevalence of chronic pain among adults in the United States : PAIN (lww.com).
- (2021, February 15). Can diet heal chronic pain? Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/can-diet-heal-chronic-pain.