Erasing pain is all in what you eat
Do you suffer from chronic pain? If so, it’s a surefire indicator that there’s inflammation coursing through your body—a factor you really need to take seriously. Especially since inflammation can take hold and put other important bodily systems in jeopardy.
So when it comes to controlling pain and protecting yourself from a range of serious health issues, taking steps to address inflammation needs to be at the top of your priority list.
Drugs like ibuprofen can help derail some of your pain, but the problem with these drugs is that they can’t treat the root source of inflammation. So of course, it’s going to flare up, your pain is going to return, and you’re going to keep taking the drugs. (Good for the drug companies, but for you? Not so much.)
To douse inflammation for good, you’re going to need something that works from the inside-out. Something that can nourish your body and give it what it needs to ward off inflammation.
The solution isn’t found in a pill bottle. Nor is it found in a pain-reducing injection or expensive therapeutic treatment. The remedy to rid your body of inflammation and pain can simply be found in the comfort of your kitchen.
All you need to do is follow a few simple rules of thumb…
Dietary imbalance fans the inflammation flame
The first rule of thumb: Avoid foods with omega-6 fatty acids.
The standard American diet (SAD) includes a deluge of omega-6’s in processed, packaged, and fast foods. I should note that some omega-6 sources are nutritious — like flaxseeds and pistachios — but the overwhelming majority are not.
The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 intake is 1:1, but in the typical SAD diet, that ratio is more like 15:1 — an excessive and concerning imbalance!
In Dr. Fred Pescatore’s Pain-Free Life Protocol, he describes the consequence of this SAD fatty acid imbalance: “If you get too many omega-6s and not enough omega-3s, your blood and cells have a ‘ratio’ of fatty acids that keeps your entire body in a constant state of inflammation.
“And that chronic inflammation makes it much more likely that you’ll suffer from chronic aches and pains.”
Plus, Dr. Pescatore explains that excess omega-6 intake promotes excess body fat — especially belly fat — which also releases compounds that trigger chronic inflammation.
Turning down the dial on your chronic pain
If you’re looking to get your omega balance in check, start with your diet.
One way to counteract the imbalance is to get more omega-3’s — specifically DHA, EPA, and ALA — which have been shown to prevent and reduce inflammation, while also improving your health in dozens of other ways. Oily fish, like salmon and sardines, are extremely rich and optimal sources of omega-3’s (as long as the fish are wild-caught and not farmed).
Eating all-natural whole foods can also significantly help overcome the problem. Dr. Pescatore cites a study where researchers found that obese people who ate more fish and plant-based proteins like nuts and beans experienced less pain.
Dr. Pescatore’s advice here is simple: Shop the “perimeter” of the grocery store. And he adds, “Stock your shopping cart with seafood, meat, vegetables, fruits, and cheese. Or skip the supermarket altogether and do as much food shopping as you can at your local farmers’ market.
“Not only are most of the foods unprocessed, but they’re also more likely to be organic, locally grown, and seasonal — three more factors that can help decrease inflammation. Plus, they’ll taste better, too.”
Your anti-inflammatory grocery list
When it comes to eating healthy, anti-inflammatory foods, the real trick is to reduce your intake of acidic foods. Instead, choose alkaline foods.
You might not imagine that there’s much difference in terms of inflammation between carrots and green peppers, or between pecans and cashews. After all, those foods are all healthy choices, and yet two of them promote inflammation, while the other two calm inflammation down.
Dr. Pescatore explains, “If you’re in a lot of day-to-day pain, eat a diet that balances your body’s pH level — which measures how alkaline or acidic it is. An acidic pH can trigger inflammation, while an alkaline pH cools it.”
Making these choices is easy when you refer to Dr. Pescatore’s “Alkaline Cheat Sheet,” which guides you away from acidic foods that promote inflammation, in favor of alkaline foods that reduce an inflammatory response.
Here are a few common substitutions Dr. Pescatore outlines:
- INSTEAD OF: Cottage cheese, new cheese, processed cheese
- EAT THIS: Aged cheese, butter, cream, goat cheese
- INSTEAD OF: Carrots, chard, snow peas, spinach, zucchini
- EAT THIS: Arugula, asparagus, beets, bell peppers, broccoli
- INSTEAD OF: Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans
- EAT THIS: Almonds, cashews, chestnuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds
- INSTEAD OF: Canned fruit, cooked tomato, cranberry, fig
- EAT THIS: Apple, apricot, avocado, blackberry, blueberry
- INSTEAD OF: All-purpose flour, barley, bleached flour, corn
- EAT THIS: Amaranth, brown rice, buck wheat, kasha
- INSTEAD OF: Brazil nut oil, chestnut oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil, soy oil
- EAT THIS: Avocado oil, coconut oil, cod liver oil, flax seed oil, macadamia nut oil
You can find Dr. Pescatore’s comprehensive “Alkaline Cheat Sheet” in his Pain-Free Life Protocol, along with his list of five essential inflammation-fighting nutritional supplements that he highly recommends for anyone in chronic pain.