Using Food To Fight Pain

When I saw this headline on AOL recently, it made sense as we all know the power of food to heal our bodies, but somehow when pain is concerned you become skeptical.

In an article by Neal D. Barnard, M.D. he spells out exactly which foods, vitamins and herbs help.

Looking at particular pains he recommends:
Digestive pain - rice or peppermint oil
Migraines - ginger,feverfew ( an herb),coffee
Arthritis pain - natural plant oils

And for back pain he points out that the same plaque blockage that occurs in the heart showed up in the the lumbar arteries of those with back pain which could lead to treating this the same way we do heart disease by improving diets.

He points out that Vitamin B-6 can even increase your pain resistance to pain.

The article goes on to list food triggers that cause migraines and arthritis pain so check out the full article.

Remedies For Joint Pain

With spring finally here, if you are like me you are exercising like crazy. Determined to shed those few pounds that crept in over the winter, I'm exercising at my local Rec daily, doing tapes at home and during my lunch hour at work I walk. Of course my legs are a little confused by all of this action and are complaining.

For immediate pain I use arnica -- a cream that is homeopathic. It has no odor and works very quickly, just rub in on. Next I hop in a tub filled with Epsom salts. This old-time remedy really works. But I also add some drops of lavender oil to relax my body as well.

Another remedy I just heard of comes from the newsletter Bottom Line -- cabbage leaves. Seems the leaves contain anti-inflammatory compounds. It works for arthritic joints as well to reduce pain and swelling.

Here's how to apply it: Use a knife handle to bruise one or 2 larger, outer dark-green leaves from a head of green cabbage. Then warm the leaves in a steamer or oven. Wrap them around the sore joint, cover with a towel and leave in place for 15 minutes.