Doctors and the medication they prescribe or suggest are one of the marvels of the modern day. Thanks to them, people can survive diseases that would have been fatal not so long ago and live happier, healthier lives in general.
However, as much as this is important, it’s just as important to ensure you are doing what you can to help yourself too. Your diet plays a big part in this; the better you eat, the better you will be. Interestingly, if you suffer from chronic pain, there are some specific foods that can help you deal with this.
Medication
While foods might help alleviate chronic pain, they are not a substitute for any medication you might be taking to manage your condition, and you should never stop taking them without speaking to your doctor first. Always seek a doctor’s advice for any ailments you have, as there is often a solution. For example, If you have migraines, sumatriptan can help enormously.
Ginger
Ginger, which can be used in all kinds of sweet and savory dishes, is an amazing ingredient to have on hand. You can add it to a stir-fry, tea, ice cream, and almost anything else. Not only does it taste great and give dishes an extra exotic flavor, but perhaps even better, it can be used to help with the symptoms of a variety of different medical conditions.
Some of the things that ginger can help with include:
- Nausea (including morning sickness)
- Inflammation
- Aids digestion
- Reduce cholesterol levels
Fish
Many of us could do with more fish in our diets. We eat plenty of meat and have enough (or almost enough) fruit and vegetables, but when it comes to fish, we don’t do enough. That’s a shame because fish can help with all kinds of health issues, including chronic pain. This is down to the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish which help with heart health, joint inflammation, and a small number of autoimmune diseases.
Ideally, you should have around three meals a week containing fish to get enough omega-3 fatty acids. If this is not possible, you can take supplements to help boost your intake.
Coffee
Coffee probably isn’t something you would expect to see on a list of healthy foods, but it can be highly beneficial – it depends on how much you have and how you drink it. A small amount of caffeine (this means around 100mg or one cup) has been shown to ease chronic pain for a short time. Therefore, if you find your pain is worse in the morning or gets worse during the day, have a cup of coffee and see if that helps.
Ideally, you shouldn’t have any coffee after about two or three in the afternoon, however, as it can then affect your sleep, and lack of sleep makes chronic pain worse.
If you don’t enjoy coffee, there are other ways to get some caffeine, including tea, chocolate, and even soda. However, as stated above, no matter how you’re getting caffeine, there must be a cut-off point if you want to sleep well.
