Article updated January 2025.
Food brings enjoyment, social connection, and fuels our bodies through life, but the food choices we make can have some real benefits for our health. Feelings of pain can affect all of us from acute, short sharp episodes to chronic daily pain it rarely discriminates. In fact, pain is highly subjective and has both sensory and emotional aspects.
To experience relief, we need to assist the body to feel at ease both physically and emotionally. Whether pain is triggered by posture, stress, injury, chronic disease, hormones or exercise looking towards diet for relief may benefit all kinds of pain.
The anti-inflammatory effect of certain foods
Certain foods contain compounds, which may promote an anti-inflammatory action in the body, prevent the breakdown of pain relieving chemicals and even assist to heal the body. Here are some nutrients commonly cited as pain relieving which can be easily added to the diet by consuming foods rich in such nutrients.
Vitamin E
Action: Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
Foods: Almonds, beef, egg yolk, sunflowers and wheat germ.
Try: An almond milk based smoothie with added 1-2 tsp wheat germ
Tryptophan
Action: An essential amino acid in the production of serotonin, our ‘feelgood’ chemical messenger, helping to put the body at ease.
Foods: Banana, dairy, legumes, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, peanuts and oats.
Try: Sliced banana drizzled with peanut butter and sesame seeds as a snack
Olive Oil
Action: Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action.
Use: Drizzle on salads, use in cooking and for marinating meats/fish.
Try: Drizzling steamed vegetables with olive oil and sprinkling with crushed walnuts.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Action: Encourages anti-inflammatory action within the body.
Foods: Fatty fish (salmon, herring, mackerel), walnuts, chia seeds.
Try: Crusting salmon with a mix of chia seeds & walnuts and pan-frying or baking.
Flaxseeds
Action: Encourages anti-inflammatory action within the body.
Try: Grind up and sprinkle of porridge, add to smoothies or bliss ball mixtures.
Probiotic-Rich foods
Action: Good bacteria supports gut health and immunity, which may assist in reducing overall inflammation.
Try: Yoghurt, kefir, tempeh, sauerkraut, kombucha, kimchi, miso.
Phenylalanine
Action: Helps the body make feel good chemicals to overcome sensation of pain.
Foods: Almonds, avocado, banana, brown rice, cottage cheese, fish, lentils, whey protein.
Try: Mashed avocado and cottage cheese on sprouted brown rice bread for breakfast or a light lunch.
Herbs and Spices
Turmeric: Contains the anti-inflammatory compound curcumin.
Ginger: Potent anti-inflammatory and may promote feelings of warmth by improving circulation.
Hot peppers: Contain the warming compound Capsaicin which assists with blood flow at the site of pain and reducing pain signalling.
Try: Golden milk, ginger tea or adding ground up hot peppers to stews and casseroles
Relaxation
Relaxation and calming down the nervous system also may play a role in pain relief, some nice techniques to help promote parasympathetic nervous system activation (rest and digest mode) are:
- meditation
- walking in nature
- deep breathing
- yoga
- cooking
- reading a book.
Article by Zoe Bingley-Pullin, Nutritionist, Chef and the “Good Chef” from Ten’s Good Chef, Bad Chef
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