The easiest way to get rid of pain through your diet is by remembering a simple sentence:
NOBODY IN THEIR RIGHT MIND EATS CATS.
What are CATS?
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Tobacco
- Sugar
PLUS!
- Fried foods
- Gluten
Why is eliminating CATS and their fried and gluten pain-causing friends so important?
If you have pain anywhere in your body, you have inflammation.
Experts estimate that about 70 percent of inflammation originates in your gut.
When you make the effort to eliminate your CATS and their pain-causing friends fried foods and gluten, you discover how much better you feel even without over the counter or prescription painkillers, NSAIDs, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Side effects of NSAIDs include:
- Stomach problems, including bleeding, ulcers and stomach upset
- High blood pressure
- Fluid retention
- Kidney problems
- Heart problems
- Rashes
Some people have so many other health issues that even their doctors advise against painkillers.
People who really should avoid pain-killing drugs include:
- Anyone with decreased kidney or liver function
- Patients with Crohn’s or colitis
- Ulcers, gastritis sufferers
- Asthma patients
- GERD, acid reflux and hiatal hernia patients
- Anyone allergic to aspirin, other NSAIDS
- People taking blood thinners
- Pregnant women
- Anyone who drinks more than 7 alcoholic beverages per week or more than 2 per day
- Over 65
If you read over this last list, you recognize that even medical doctors advise a lot of people either to go easy or lay off pain killing drugs completely.
And yet we still want to be pain-free. What to do?
As a long-term nutritionist, day in and day out I teach people how to heal their pain naturally without drugs.
Part of what I do is teach people the virtues of an anti-inflammatory diet and how you can eat in a manner that tastes good while also making you feel better.
Because I like to make things simple, I came up with a sentence even the most forgetful person can remember:
NOBODY IN THEIR RIGHT MIND EATS CATS.
If you want to understand inflammation and your diet, you can look up the Inflammation Index at this link.
Foods that have a negative number on the Inflammation Index, such as:
- French fries -51
- Fruit cocktail in heavy syrup -49
Are PRO inflammatory and make you hurt more.
Foods that have a positive number on the Inflammation Index, such as:
- Acerola cherries +342
- Asparagus, cooked +38
Are ANTI inflammatory and make you hurt less.
Several years ago, one of my dear friends developed a head-to-toe rash.
She came to me in desperation.
I discovered what she needed to do to get rid of her rash was to get off sugar.
P.S., when she got off sugar because she was so eager to stop whole-body itching, she discovered that all her little aches and pains went away.
If you have been hurting all over or in specific places where you feel you can’t get relief, you might want to look at your diet.
Set up an appointment with me by emailing Catherine@unlimitedenergynow.com, calling 678-612-8816 or reaching out to me via Skype at catherinecarrigan to find out how you can feel better naturally.
As someone who experiences platelet function issues when taking NSAIDS, but who is dealing with prolapsed cervical spine discs, this is of great interest! I’ll stop eating CATS and their nasty friends and see what happens – a reduction in pain is much more important than gratifying my tastebuds!
Hi Kylie, Thank you so much for reading! Many people are shocked and happily surprised when they actually make the dietary changes to feel better. Let me know if I can be of service. Email Catherine@catherinecarrigan.com or call 678-612-8816 if you would like to set up an appointment. I help lots of people get pain-free with zero medication!
Hi Catherine,
Two questions-Besides cherries and asparagus, what are a few other + foods to reduce inflammation and pain?
I try to eat a lot of berries. Strawberry, blueberries, rasberries. How do they compare to cherries?
Also, is having a few glasses of wine twice per week unacceptable?
Thank you for another eye opening blog.
Hi Ed, I have started a NEW index of all the recipes on this website: https://unlimitedenergynow.com/recipe-index/
Look for all the recipes with Biodetox, which is our top selling supplement because it reduces pain and inflammation, detoxifies the body and heals your gut. https://shop.unlimitedenergynow.com/BioDetox-SUPP-01.htm
From years of working with people in pain, I recommend taking 3 capsules of Omega Plus daily to reduce pain and inflammation on an ongoing basis. You would have to eat 15 cans of tuna every day to get the same amount of essential fatty acids. https://shop.unlimitedenergynow.com/Omega-Plus-SUPP-07.htm
If you go to my most recent book, Unlimited Energy Now, you will find in the nutrition section a long list of foods high in phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are the healing properties of food primarily found in fruits and vegetables and will all reduce inflammation and pain in the body.
I know it’s a tall order, but if you shoot for 10 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, you will be getting roughly 3,300 to 3,500 ORACs a day. ORACs are oxygen radical absorption capacity, a measure of antioxidant activity.
Research shows the higher your antioxidant level the fewer diseases you will have and the longer you will live.
A serving is roughly 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked. It’s hard to eat that much food (for me anyway), which is why I am a big fan of juices and smoothies.Look for juice and smoothie recipes on my recipe index: https://unlimitedenergynow.com/recipe-index/
Berries are fabulous because they are low on the glycemic index.
Even though cherries are higher on the glycemic index, they have fantastic healing properties. Cherries heal gout and arthritis and relieve insomnia.
I had cherries for a snack just yesterday.
Red wine has more antioxidants than white wine.
The truth is that some bodies can process alcohol well and others can not.
About 40 percent of the population was born with impaired Phase II detoxification of the liver. If you have a family history of alcoholism or find yourself with lots of aches and pains, you will want to ask yourself if you aren’t better off getting your antioxidants and phytochemicals from fruits and vegetables.
I can usually cut a person’s pain level in half just with nutrition.
If I am working with a pain client, I will generally work with their nutrition first before doing any sort of therapeutic exercise or healing work. Even the most stubborn junk food eaters keep asking for Biodetox and Omega Plus because they are so effective in making people feel better.
Hope this helps!