The Little-Known Link Between Pain and Inflammation

Every first year medical student, like myself, is taught that tissue damage causes pain and inflammation. Better said, the inflammation is the cause of much of the pain that we experience. More and more people are suffering from chronic body pain and often they don’t know why. There are many causes and sources of pain. Pain in its most basic form, is a signal from the body to the brain that something has gone wrong or tissue damage and inflammation has occurred.

Nutritional Link Between Pain and Inflammation

A traumatic accident or injury is easy to understand. But many times, the cause of pain is elusive or mysterious. Pain can be food or nutritionally based. Refined sugar and other food toxins (trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, toxins like acrylamide, mercury, synthetic chemicals) can cause tissue damage. The damage and pain continues unless the body gets the proper food and nutrients. These vital nutrients (vitamins, minerals, enzymes and co-factors) are needed to repair the damage and reverse the inflammation. Processed food, refined food, fast food and junk food do not contain the necessary nutrients and are not only ineffective, but cause more inflammation.

We can call these “anti-“ foods, because they do more harm than good. They may cause the stomach, pancreas, digestive system, etc. to become become exhausted and drained of nutrients and burn out. This burnout and damage results in several things. First, the organ either stops working altogether, as in the case of the pancreas with diabetes. Or the organ becomes weak and slow and functions improperly. An example of this would be acid reflux. This is when the stomach is weakened and loses the ability to secrete digestive enzymes. Without the digestive enzymes the stomach is overfull and inflamed and food is ejected upward into the esophagus causing burning. If this seems to be your situation, take a look at our food alternatives guide to improve your diet, reduce inflammation, and reduce pain.

High Blood Pressure Linked to Nutrition

Another example of health issues caused by poor nutrition is high blood pressure. The cardiovascular system becomes damaged and loses the ability to adapt to the variations of heart and blood circulation changes. Any organ can become weak and dysfunctional because it has been drained of necessary nutrients. The most successful method of improving or reversing organ weakness, nutritional deficiency and inflammation is to work with a knowledgeable and experienced holistic nutritional doctor. And you don’t even need a prescription!