You are ready to begin your nutritional healing journey toward a pain-free life, but do you wonder exactly where to start? It’s all so confusing – we are bombarded with information overload on a daily basis through social media, television, and radio. The food labels state things like “low fat, no sugar, and natural” but then you find out later that those labels are deceiving and not exactly what you’ve been promised. What you thought was a good thing, isn’t so great after all.
Today I’m sharing what you what can really benefit you, so that you can begin to heal from the inside out. This will include which inflammatory foods to eliminate, as well the anti-inflammatory foods to start incorporating.  The aim will be to eat foods rich in antioxidants, phytonutrients, healthy fats, protein, and fiber. Let’s take a look at how and where to find these kinds of foods.
 

5 Steps to Nutritional Healing of Pain

#1 Eliminate Processed Foods

Food marketing and labels have twisted our thinking as to what is actually food. Bread, pizza, pies and processed meats are not whole foods – they are what’s considered processed. And if you want less pain, and to reduce your pain naturally, it begins with food you eat. Specifically, you will benefit from removing processed foods from your diet. They contain preservatives, artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners, hormones and antibiotics, which can all be harmful substances.

Real foods, whole foods, are the key to pain reduction. These are the types of foods that are grown in a natural life cycle, and not manufactured in a plant and packaged up with a fancy label. Whole foods have nothing added or removed from the time they are harvested to the time you get them from the grocery store. Whole foods are fun to cook with, and relatively inexpensive. Herbs and spices are a whole food too, after all, they are just dried plants!  They will add flavor and color to your food, are full of antioxidants and nutrients, and best of all, they won’t set off a neurological nightmare of headaches, muscle aches, and joint pain.  Experiment with a pinch of this and a dash of that; you’ll be delighted at how good your food will taste!
Real foods, whole foods, are the key to pain reduction. Share on X

#2 Eat Whole Foods

Begin to incorporate whole foods wherever possible. Still not sure what a whole food really is?  Generally, this category includes whole grains, vegetables of all colors (green, yellow, orange, red and purple), fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds, and unprocessed meats. If you enjoy the occasional dairy product, those from goats or sheep are better tolerated and often raised with fewer antibiotics and hormones.(1)
More and more evidence is available stating that eating a whole foods diet that includes protein, healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables can lower the risk for many diseases including diabetes, pre-diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. (3)
The benefits whole foods offer include:

• Pain alleviation through combined effects of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients
• A greater nutrition source with more complex micronutrients
• A rich source of fiber
• Access to naturally occurring substances that protect our health
• Healthy fats that are anti-inflammatory
• Complex carbohydrates that are low glycemic and won’t raise blood sugar

#3 Choose Organic

By now, you have a better understanding of how fresh, whole foods will help you get the nutrients you need to improve your health and naturally relieve pain.  But the organic label, term, and movement in the marketplace have gained supporters on both sides.  Some say it does not matter if the food is grown organically or conventionally. Supporters of the organic movement produce evidence of how organic food is more nutritious and poses fewer health risks.  

A large meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that organic crops do have higher concentrations of antioxidants and other beneficial compounds, as well as a lower incidence of pesticide residues. (4) So by choosing organic foods, you can reap the health benefits without the harmful chemical exposure that can disrupt the normal functioning of your nervous, immune and endocrine systems. This means that whole organic food won’t present toxins that affect your nervous system, and won’t disrupt your hormones, which is a potential trigger for weight gain.  
There is no set rule for labeling a food “natural or whole foods”, other than “USDA Certified Organic.” (2) For a food to display the USDA Certified Organic label, the plants cannot be exposed to synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, sewage sludge or irradiation, the seeds cannot be genetically engineered (GMO), and the food cannot be processed or altered with artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. For animal products, the organic label assures no use of antibiotics or hormones and that the animal feed is organic and free of animal by-products.
Sometimes though, your local source may not have an organic option available, or if they do, it’s outside of your budget. Take a look at the website for the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Every year, they publish a list of the fruits and vegetables that have the most (or least) pesticide residues. The mission of the EWG is to make food supply more transparent so you can decide what to spend your money on.  When possible, buy organic; if it’s not doable, then follow the guidelines of the EWG to help you make the best choices.  You can find an update each year on their website at http://www.ewg.org/.
 
Here is the 2017 summary on the cleanest and dirtiest fruits and veggies:
Dirty Dozen: These have the most pesticides, with the “dirtiest” listed first.  Buy organic for these dirty devils!
Strawberries, spinach, nectarines, apples, peaches, pears, cherries, grapes, celery, tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, potatoes
Clean Fifteen: These have the least pesticides, so when faced with options or budgetary concerns, these may be OK to buy conventional.  Cleanest are listed first.
Sweet corn, avocados, pineapples, cabbage, onions, sweet peas, papayas, asparagus, mangoes, eggplant, honeydew, kiwi, cantaloupe, cauliflower, grapefruit
Download your own printable guide here, and keep it with you when you shop!
 

#4 Consume a Rainbow of Phytonutrients and Antioxidants

ROYGBIV, the colors of the rainbow, should apply to your diet also because one single color food cannot provide all the nutrients we need. Plants produce phytonutrients that have protective and disease preventive properties, and research shows these protect us too, not just the plants! (5) Some of these phytonutrients are used as marketing buzz words and may be familiar to you: polyphenols, resveratrol, flavonoids, isoflavonoids, carotenoids, phytoestrogens, phytosterols, ω-3 fatty acids, and probiotics.  They have specific effects on human health such as anti-microbial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, anti-spasmodic, and anti-cancer. These phytonutrients all work differently to produce health benefits, protect our cells from oxidative damage and reduce the risk of disease.
Remember, processed foods are stripped of fiber! Share on X

#5 Increase Fiber

There is no doubt that the standard American diet is lacking in fiber, which sabotages fat-loss efforts and keeps you in a painful and toxic state.  The average American consumes about 14 grams of fiber per day when in reality, total fiber intake should be closer to 25-30 grams. When you follow step #1 and avoid processed foods, you will already be on your way to achieving this goal of increased fiber!  Remember, processed foods are stripped of fiber! Eating a whole food keeps the fiber intact and you receive the benefit. Fiber helps detoxify the body from xenobiotics as well as help remove excess hormones.
There are two kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble.  Each of them has different benefits, and I’ll explain the difference.
Soluble: This kind of fiber will slow down digestion, which also slows the release of carbohydrates into the bloodstream, helping to keep blood sugar levels steady, controlling insulin, and preventing inflammation from rising. An added bonus is that soluble fiber also feeds the healthy bacteria in our gut, boosting our immune system at the same time!  
Insoluble: This type of fiber creates movement in the GI tract to help keep us regular.  We should have a bowel movement one to two times daily.  Another role of fiber that is often overlooked is that it’s really good at trapping toxins we have ingested.  With frequent bowel movements, these toxins are swept away quickly, before they have the chance of being reabsorbed.