We truly are what we eat. If you have chronic pain, you should consider the fact that what you put in your diet could be making your aches and pains worse. Scientific evidence shows that the things we eat can influence our experience of pain—whether by alleviating an underlying health condition or exacerbating it.
If you don’t know whether or not you’re eating the right food groups, our physical therapist team is happy to educate you about making smarter choices in your diets so that your physical therapy treatment plan will be more effective overall! We encourage you to call our clinic today if you’d like to set up an appointment with a physical therapist and see how your food can help with your mood and function. In the meantime, here are three small but effective ways you can relieve your pain with a healthier diet.
1. Make sure to drink enough water each day! Include this in your diet.
Did you know that our bodies are mostly made up of water? It’s important that we replenish ourselves sufficiently throughout the day to replace the water we lose with movement, metabolism, sweating, and other basic physiological functions.
Drinking enough water in your diet can also keep your tissues healthy and may help reduce pain and stiffness in your joints. So in addition to consuming water-rich foods like veggies and fruits, it’s also important to drink filtered or spring water regularly.
You might be wondering, how much water is enough? Good question! Aim for about one-third to one-half your body weight in fluid ounces per day. This is typically a rule of thumb for most people, but you may need more or less depending on your health, activity, and environment.
2. Cut back on inflammatory foods.
Foods known to promote damaging inflammation in the body include dairy, gluten, trans fats, and perhaps the most notorious of all—sugar. Chronic inflammation has been linked with everything from arthritis to Alzheimer’s disease.
Minimizing or completely eliminating inflammation inducing foods from your diet is one of the best ways to help reduce your pain symptoms. Keep in mind that if you eat these things regularly and then suddenly stop consuming them, you may actually notice a brief flare-up of your pain and other symptoms like headaches, food cravings, and irritability. This can happen if your body is so used to having these substances in your body that removing them causes withdrawal-like symptoms!
Don’t worry about this though. It’s not an excuse to go back to eating an unhealthy diet! Fortunately, most people see these issues resolve within a week or two.
3. Healthy fats are good!
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in foods like eggs, nuts, and fish. They decrease inflammation and promote a healthier gut and immune system, all of which can lead to improved pain management.
Eating more of these foods and adding a high quality omega-3 fatty acid supplement is essential for people with chronic pain. This is especially true since many of us consume too little omega-3 and too much omega-6, which is found in things like vegetable oils. When you can, you should use olive oil instead of vegetable oil in your cooking!
The standard American diet has a high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3, which has been shown to promote inflammation. Increasing omega-3 fatty acid consumption helps normalize this ratio and will improve tissue health throughout the body. Other nutrients that help reduce inflammation include antioxidants, phytonutrients, and vitamins and minerals like magnesium and Vitamin C, which are rich in foods leafy green vegetables and berries.
Still want some more nutritional assistance?
Physical therapy can provide you more information about the right diet you should adopt, as well as get you started with a healthy exercise regime. If you want help dishing up healthy and pain-relieving meals that can enhance your injury recovery or chronic pain condition, contact our physical therapy clinic today and schedule an appointment. We’d be happy to offer you comprehensive and customized guidance!
