Diet and Chronic Pain
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A balanced dietFor most people, however, there are no specific foods to eat or avoid. The key is to follow a healthy, balanced diet that focuses on getting plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains and minimizes foods high in refined sugars and saturated fats. A healthy diet may help your manage chronic disease in a number of ways. For one, it can help you reach and/or maintain a healthy weight, which reduces the stress painful joints must bear and may reduce levels of inflammatory chemicals that are released by body fat. A healthy diet can also have a more direct effect on inflammation. For example, foods such as coldwater fish (salmon, mackerel and halibut) have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, while foods high in sugar, saturated fats and transfats may contribute to inflammation.
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Learn moreTo learn more about eating healthfully check out Choose My Plate, a U.S. government website that provides practical information to individuals, health professionals, nutrition educators, and the food industry to help consumers build healthier diets with resources and tools for dietary assessment, nutrition education, and other user-friendly nutrition information. If you have a health condition that requires a special diet, speak to your doctor or a registered dietitian about specific foods you should focus on or avoid.
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