Anti inflammation diet

Adding lots of good fats really helps. Saturated fat is actually anti-inflammatory.

Lots of leafy greens. A vegan diet is also very beneficial. Ive had a lot of success with less inflammation with it

Yes, I do this (still a work in progress). Yes, it has helped so far. Tremendously. But part of this is because a good chunk of my chronic pain is caused by inflammation. If your pain isn't caused by this, then it may be useless. BUT...it's a non-invasive thing to try to eliminate your pain, typically with no side effects, and all it takes is you spending time and effort on working on a diet change, and perhaps a little money on new foods.

With chronic pain, I figured I had nothing to lose, and something to possibly gain.

However, in my experience, there isn't any one anti-inflammation diet that works for everyone. There's a diet that is less inflammatory for YOU, and that's what can help.

There are a some foods that have substances that cause inflammation - in most people, this doesn't matter, because we also eat foods all the time that have anti-inflammatory substances in them and it kinds of evens out. However, for folks with extra inflammation, having foods that add inflammation can have a big effect on pain.

Last I read, some foods that can add inflammation are dairy, legumes (including soy), foods in the nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants), nuts, and grains. Dropping all grains is something I've been hearing as having helped for pain in more and more folks I'm meeting in the auto-immune disease community. No studies done on this practice, just anecdotal accounts, though. Most people I know trying this simply drop these, see if it helps, and add them back in slowly to see what they can tolerate. For me, it took 2-4 weeks before I noticed effects, although for some foods it was mere days.

Many people also seem to have foods that bother them personally, for whatever reason - they are intolerant, slightly allergic, can't process them right, whatever. An elimination diet is the only way they figured these out, keeping a food journal to track symptoms/pain and food choices.

Also, it seems very important to try to add IN anti-inflammatory food choices, too. If you have inflammation as a cause of pain, dropping foods that make it worse will help, but you'll likely still be inflamed unless you also get things to help calm that down, too. There's a cookbook that I know some folks have found useful for this that's on this website: http://lowhistaminechef.com

Her food is low histamine AND anti-inflammatory, but the recipes look pretty good. Also fairly good for healthy choices that try to keep up good vitamin and nutrient levels, which is obviously important too.

Again - this isn't something that works for everyone. But if the pain is related to inflammation, then in my experience, it can help, yes.

I'm not sure what the formal "anti-inflammation diet" is, but I used to suffer from chronic pain in my leg after a bad tibia/fibula fracture. I have a metal rod in there now. I was in pain for a long time before trying to fix it with diet. I guess I did an elimination diet. I started with the basics, fresh veggies, broths, then lean meats, and slowly added in more regular foods. I made changes on a weekly basis, but would generally notice a reaction to foods within 24 hours, usually sooner. For instance, processed meats are probably the worst and set me up for a world of pain. I was also very reactive to dairy and alcohol. I found out I'm allergic to avocados and bananas. Pastas and breads aren't the best, but I can have them in moderation without setting off alarm bells.

Now that I know what sets my pain off, it's practically gone unless I trip up. I couldn't resist the corndog at the art&wine festival a couple weeks ago. Paid for it.

as stated before "anti-inflammatory" diet can be different for everyone. You may want to do an allergy work up to see what your inflammation triggers could be.

I'm getting ready to start with turmeric paste. It was recommended for my doggie (who has cancer) and it's supposed to help. I'd already made a batch for Dakota, so why not?? If it does anything for me I'll let you know.

I sorta followed an anti-inflammatory diet, but not for chronic pain, I did it to see if I could help my acne since acne is ultimately an inflammatory response. My derm had me try eliminating caffeine, sugar, and dairy to see if it made a difference, and it did!

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

Has anybody tried this way of eating to help with chronic pain?

If so did you notice a difference and what time frame did things improve for you?

@RuNaRoUnDaFiEld last year the doctors wanted me to start Enbrel injections for my chronic pain management. Cancer risks were too much for me to start when I started researching the subject but learned about coconut oil helping some people as well as cutting out carbs like sugar and grains.

Finally I dropped under eating 50 carbs total daily by going off of them cold turkey because it was only 30 days to my doctor's appointment to start on Enbrel injections. I have tapered up to 5 tablespoons of coconut oil in my first cup of coffee each day.

By the end of 30 days my joint and muscle pain had dropped from a subjective 7-8 level to 2-3 level on a 1-10 scale. At about 90 days 40 years of seriously limiting IBS started to clear up and by 180 days was GONE. I have been very low carb and very high fat with medium protein for 10 months now. Short of losing my mind I never plan to return to living on carbs again. Yes the doctor was stressed out that I passed on Enbrel.

Best wishes. Diet can make me better or worse health wise I now know by experience.