Did you know that certain foods increase pain and inflammation in the body?

If you have pain, whether it be in your back, neck, hip or even arthritis you can take control of your pain levels by limiting or completely eliminating these foods from your diet.

Inflammatory Foods Include:

1. Sugar
2. Dairy
3. Trans fats: Fried and many Processed Foods
4. Refined Carbohydrates and Gluten
5. MSG
6. Alcohol
7. Nightshade Vegetables: Such as Tomatoes, White Potatoes, Eggplant, Pepper, Paprika and Tobacco.

The next time you have a pain flare up take a moment to review what you have eaten during the last two days and it will help you detect which foods are causing inflammation in your body. 

There are many food programs out there to help you create an anti-inflammatory diet.  Here are a few great resources:

• The Whole 30 is a program that uses the Paleo Diet as a base and was designed with inflammation reduction as it’s goal.  It’s completely free and their website provides information on what to eat, what to avoid and recipes: whole30.com
• The Arthritis Foundation offers tips on what to eat and what not to eat along with recipes: www.arthritis.org
• Dr. Jessica Black, Naturopath, wrote The Anti Inflammatory Diet and Recipe Book which is full of tips, recipes and eating plans: drjessicablack.com

Acupuncture is also great for pain and inflammation relief, however, you being empowered with knowledge that will improve your quality of life is even better.