Transcript
Dr. Sanjay Gupta (0:03)
Welcome to Paging Dr. Gupta. I love this podcast because I get to hear from you, I get to hear your questions and then I get to answer them. We dig into the science, we do our homework, we talk to experts to try and provide you with the best answers and hopefully some news you can use. Kira is back with us. Who do we have first?
Kira (0:25)
Hey, Sanjay. So at the top of the inbox today is a question from Karen who wrote in to ask about the effects of diet on pain. She wants to know which foods and drinks she should limit or eliminate and which are actually helpful.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta (0:41)
Okay, Karen, this is a great question. It's something that I think about all the time. I think a lot of people are curious about this and luckily there's a fair amount of research on this. So get out your notebook and I'm going to tell you what we know after this short break.
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Dr. Sanjay Gupta (2:09)
Okay, Karen, it is fair to say that food can impact pain. That's sort of a headline. But keep in mind as you think about this, that what we choose to eat and drink is a conscious decision that we're making about how we choose things from our outside world to put into our inside world, from our environment into our bodies. We make that choice and we need to do it very, very diligently because how we nourish ourselves affects lots of things, obviously, including pain. Now, one of the things that's at the root of all this is something called inflammation, which you have heard of, no doubt. Inflammation often gets a bad rap, but it's an important part of the body's healing process. What we're really talking about is chronic inflammation, which is inflammation that is relentless and just won't go away even at low levels. It's believed to be at the root of many diseases, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, even Alzheimer's. And also can exacerbate pain conditions. Now there are certain foods that are known to be pro inflammatory sugar. Foods that contain a lot of added sugar, refined carbohydrates, fried foods, red and processed meats, sodas. No surprise those foods are going to inflame you more than other foods. The flip side is there are foods that are more anti inflammatory, fresh, whole, unprocessed foods, plant based foods. Look, if you're looking at your plate, as a general rule, try and make half the plate plants. That's a rule of thumb. But if you do that, you're probably getting a lot of anti inflammatory foods. Pick foods with a low glycemic load, lots of antioxidants and limit your sugar. Think about beans, lentils, legumes. If you're eating whole grains, then wheat, oats, rye, plant based proteins, you need proteins, but you can get proteins in plants as well. Beans, lentils, tofu, soy. If you're eating animal protein, then try and do that in moderation and think more towards fish, poultry, eggs and dairy, including yogurt and cheese. One thing that I've always thought of is trying to eat the rainbow of foods. So eat as many different colored foods as you can. If you're doing that, you're probably getting a lot of the good stuff that you want out of foods. And don't forget spices. Spices can have a lot of anti inflammatory properties. Paprika, rosemary, ginger, turmeric, sage, cumin. Now one thing I do want to point out, besides the inflammation story when it comes to pain, is that you may have sensitivities to certain foods, allergies, even to certain foods. And one of the things that you might be feeling as a result of that is pain. Something you can do. Something that I suggest doing is keep a food journal to sort of track if any foods might be triggering certain pains. Whether they be migraines, gut pain, joint pain. Pay attention to this. What did I eat? Did I develop pain? How soon after did I develop pain? If I didn't eat it, did I not develop that same pain? Oftentimes you're going to be the best judge of foods that are particularly good or potentially problematic for you. But again, plants, don't forget to eat them. We don't eat enough plants. Try and make half your plate plants. Finally Karen, don't forget to hydrate. Staying properly hydrated supports a range of the anti inflammatory actions that that I've just talked about. Supports a lot of different functions in the body. Hope that helps Karen, eat your plants. Hopefully keep out of pain when we come back. Can meditation help control pain?