Foods have special effects on pain, and research studies substantiate this, says Neal Barnard, M.D., in
Foods That Fight Pain, a book endorsed by fellow doctors Dean Ornish and Andrew Weil. You can use foods to fight pain in these ways:
1. Choose pain-safe foods. Reduce inflammation by avoiding foods that may be causing or aggravating your pain.
2. Add soothing foods that ease pain. Different foods may improve blood flow, relieve inflammation, or balance hormones.
3. Use supplements if needed. Herbs, extracts, and vitamins can relieve pain.
Barnard explores a variety of medical conditions, such as migraines, arthritis, digestive problems, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, diabetes, herpes, sickle-cell anemia, kidney stones, urinary infections, and back, chest, breast, menstrual, and cancer pain. For each, Barnard explains the causes of the pain and what dietary changes are likely to alleviate it, with exercise and lifestyle recommendations. Barnard backs up his points with 30 pages of research citations.
Most of the recipes are quick to prepare, and include an elimination diet to avoid trigger foods. A nutritional breakdown (calories, fat, protein, carbohydrate, and sodium) accompanies each recipe. Following the advice in this book will not only relieve your pain, but increase your overall health. Highly recommended.
--Joan Price
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Owner Reviews, Ratings, Comments and Criticism
I just wanted to post a quickie review of Foods that Fight Pain. One of my relatives recently read the book and has since found tremendous relief for her arthritis. She has suffered for many years, always wondering if food could be part of her problem. As often seems to be the case, her doctors discounted her suspicions, telling her that food could not be to blame. However, she got a copy of Dr. Barnard's book, followed the elimination diet in it, and discovered which her trigger foods are--dairy, coffee, and citrus. Since changing her eating habits, she's had substantially less pain and she credits the book with her turnaround. I think the book is a wonderful addition to the growing library of information about how foods affect our health. Top recommendations from this Amazon customer!
