Good nutrition helps ward off pain

Food is the most neglected of medicines. Day in and day out, the foods you choose as fuel either build your body up or tear it down. A low-fat, moderate-protein diet, based around vegetables, fruits, legumes, and grains, is what the human body was designed for. Making the right food choices — starting with an emphasis on plant foods in as close to their natural state as possible — is one simple way you can ward off pain and help ensure good health in the years to come.

Sports injuries, flesh wounds, joint aches, and back and neck pain all have one characteristic in common: inflammation.
The most important dietary consideration for normalizing inflammatory response is the proper type and amount of fat. Prostaglandins, hormone-like compounds that either promote or subdue pain and inflammation, are in large part mediated by the types of fats you eat. For example, cold-water fish and flaxseed are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which promote the production of anti-inflammatory prostaglandins while curtailing the production of harmful prostaglandins. In other words, if you eat cold-water fish several times a week and add flaxseed to your recipes, you'll give your body more of what it needs to support a healthy inflammatory response — and less of what it doesn't.

Most other types of fat tend to promote inflammatory prostaglandins. The worst culprits are processed oils, saturated fats and hydrogenated oils (such as peanut butter and margarine). Keep your overall fat intake in the 20 percent range, and avoid unhealthy fats as much as possible.

You should also drink eight to twelve 8-ounce glasses of pure, filtered water every day.
Ensuring your body is adequately hydrated is one of the simplest ways to relieve. Here's why: The shock-absorbing discs in your lower back and the cartilage in your joints require water for their cushioning effect. Dehydration causes these protective surfaces to dry out, losing their sponginess and causing discomfort. Lack of water also prevents tissues from flushing out acids that are produced as a result of stress, triggering the release of pain-causing substances called kinins. Rehydrating your body will address both of these factors, but it will not happen simply by drinking a few glasses of water at one time. You'll have to increase your water intake for several weeks before your tissues experience the maximum benefit.