I would like to address a common question that has come up on Facebook Fan Page.
“What effect does food have on your pain?”
The foods you eat can absolutely contribute to your pain, increase inflammation in the joint, slow down your recovery from a recent injury or surgery.
Here are 7 components that have an effect on your pain when it relates to foods.
- Hydration – A lot of times most people are not as hydrated as they need to be. And even if they ingest fluids, often times those fluids are high in caffeine or sugar. It is important to increase hydration (water, fruit, vegetables) especially if you experience hip tightness, pain, or knee pain. Hydration is powerful in terms of reducing inflammation, lubricating joints, muscles and carrying vital nutrients to an injured area of the body. Our primary body composition is water and fluid; this is vital for healthy moving joints and muscles!
- Gluten – There are some different school of thoughts when it relates to gluten. Some people feel that any type of gluten will have a negative effect, while some will look at the amount of gluten consumed. What I recommend is to take a break from gluten, processed grains, and foods that are high in gluten. Take a break from them for 7 days and see what effect that has on your pain, injury, and overall recovery.
- Sugar – A lot of the things that we eat tend to have high sugar content. Sugar has a negative effect on your body and can increase inflammation and pain. Watch out for foods that you are consuming, specifically processed foods that are high in sugar, and do what you can do to eliminate them for 7 days and see what effect that has on your body.
- Dairy – Whether you have a minor or major dairy allergy; it too can cause unnecessary inflammation. So when your body is fighting an allergic reaction, it distracts your body from its ability to keep your joints healthy, injury and pain free. What I recommend is again take a 7-day break from it to see what effect that has on your body and slowly introduce dairy to see if you notice any difference in your pain.
- Soy – This is a little bit different because oftentimes soy products and derivatives are found in nearly every processed food. A good chance is that soy is blended in as a flour in a number of your processed foods. Watch out for any type of processed foods that you are eating and try to reduce, eliminate them from your diet. Keep a journal and document how you feel when you have eliminated a high inflammatory food from your diet.
- Alcohol – This is well-known – Alcohol has a negative effect on the body and especially injury and pain. Alcohol is considered a poison by your body. It is metabolized differently and has a high inflammatory response. If you have consumed more than your body can process, you can almost see the effects of alcohol immediately. Not to mention impaired judgment and movement patterns.
- Processed Foods – This weaves in with the other components that I talked about. A lot of times sugar, soy, gluten are hidden and the body has a very difficult time digesting these packaged foods. Stick to vegetables, fruit, lean meats, nuts, and seeds. Avoid processed meats, bread, and anything with refined sugar. Drink water vs. pop drinks, sodas, limit coffee to a cup a day, eliminate sugar in your tea and you will start feeling much better and your body will recover from pain and inflammation faster!
What I really recommend for you to do is to challenge yourself for the next 7 days to eliminate those 7 things. You might need to spend a little bit of time thinking about what else you can eat and planning ahead is important for you to succeed. We believe that after 1 day you will notice a difference in your joints. You will be able to move a lot easier, with less stress and strain and likely notice decrease in pain. After those 7 days, you can start introducing some of those foods back and see if they trigger pain and inflammation.
If you are looking for a resource that I put together where it relates to this, what I recommend is the “Slimming Foods in 7 Days” book that I put together. It runs through a variety of foods and vegetables and other foods that you can eat that will help decrease your weight but then will also help heal your joints
Take care
Rick Kaselj, MS
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