- One to two vegetable and/or fruit servings with each meal (even breakfast)
- Some form of oily fish (salmon, fresh tuna, anchoives) at least twice a week
- A daily helping of soya - edamame (soya beans), 250ml soya milk, tofu cubes, even soya-based frozen desserts
- Flaxseeds (linseeds) sprinkled over salads and yoghurt and mixed into sauces
- Olive oil for cooking and salad dressings
- Food such as asparagus, avocado and walnuts
And here's what to limit or remove entirely from your diet:
- Fats such as butter, corn and vegetable oil
- Red meats high in saturated fats
- 'Simple' carbs, particularly those high in sugar and low in fibre, such as sweets, doughnuts, cakes and fizzy drinks.
Munch some cherries Cherries are high in anti-inflammatory antocyanins, plant-based chemicals that give the fruit is dark red colour. some studies find that these chemicals can reduce the pain of arthritis and gout, as well as swelling and inflammation.
Have a piece of chocolate When pain is an issue, a small piece of dark chocolate may help. Like other sweet foods, chocolate can stimulate the release of pain-relieving endorphins in the brain. That's why newborns are often given sugar water to suck on during painful procedures, such as collecting blood from their heels (and perhaps why most women in one recent survey said they preferred chocolate to sex). But unlike sugar, a small amount of dark chocolate can actually be
good for you - it's full of antioxidants that can help conditions such as diabetes.
Try chiropractic The evidence for the use of chiropractic for certain painful conditions, including back and neck pain, is irrefutable. Numerous studies show that it is effective - so much as that it is often now available on the NHS. Talk to your GP if you think chiropractic could help you.
Consider acupuncture This ancient healing practice, in which very thin needles, pressure or electricity are used to stimulate certain body parts, has become mainstream in terms of pain management. Acupunture stimulates the release of feel-good endorphins into your spinal fluid, where they serve as a kind of buffer to prevent pain signals from reaching your brain. Acupunture has been used successfully with few, if any, side effects to treat back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and generalised pain. One caveat: you may need repeat treatments if your pain is chronic.
Keep up your vitamin D intake According to a study of 7,000 British people aged over 45, chronic pain was more common among smokers, non-drinkers, people who were either overweight or underweight and, in women, those with low vitamin D levels. Researchers aren't sure whether supplements - rather than food or extra sunshine - could help chronic pain, but it's another good reason to make sure you maintain good levels of this vital vitamin.
3 pain-enhancers to avoidYes, some things you do may inadvertently make your pain worse. Here are the biggest culprits:
good
1 Sedentary living When you hurt, the last thing you want to do is move. But that's exactly what you must do. As stated before, studies find that regular, moderate exercise not only helps with the pain of osteoarthritis and other conditions, but may help to prevent it.
For instance, strengthening your core muscles with sit-ups and other similar activities can prevent or improve back pain. Exercise can even help with the pain of neuropathy, common in people with diabetes, by making your cells more receptive to insulin and reducing the damaging effects of
high blood sugar on nerve cells and blood vessels.
2 Fear of dependency If your doctor has prescribed medications to help you to manage your pain, use it as suggested. Don't wait until the pain is so severe that you can't stand it. By then, the medication probably won't help. Taking your medication before the pain breaks through makes it far more effecive, as well as making your life more pleasant. It also reduces the risk of drug dependence, which is the main fear of many people, because you don't learn to associate the drug with relief from severe pain. So make sure you ask your doctor exactly how often your medication should be taken, and report back promptly if the recommended dose is not controlling your pain. Often doctors suggest taking a double dose at bedtime, specifically so that the pain does not break through overnight.
3 Depression Slightly more than half of chronic pain patients seen in pain clinics also have major depression, and low doses of antidepressants are often prescribed to treat chronic pain. The linkage may come from brain chemicals such as serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline, which play a role in both conditions. That doesn't mean that the two conditions are one and the same; thus, it's important that your doctor treats your depression and your chronic pain so you can find relief from both.
A habit worth breaking
Next time you have a headache or your arthritis flares up, stop before you swallow those mainstay pain-relief medicines: ibuprofen or aspirin. Older people have been systematically excluded from most clinical studies on aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) - which include ibuprofen. But as it turns out, older people are most likely to experience one of NSAIDs' most troublesome side effects - stomach bleeding. The risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in the general population as about 1 percent; and for those witha history of GI bleeding, it's about 9 percent. Older people are also more at risk from heart-related side effects of NSAIDs.
If you need medication to control your pain, you may wish to start with paracetamol, which is milder on most people's digestive systems. If prescription-grade relief is necessary, you may be better off with opiods such as codeine and morphine, low-dose corticosteroid therapy or antidepressants or anticonvulsants, depending on the type of pain you're experiencing. One note of caution: if your doctor prescribes narcotic pain-relievers, make sure you take the smallest possibles dose. Older people tend'to be more sensitive to the effects of these drugs, getting stronger and longer pain relief on much smaller doses than younger individuals.
Memory problems
Have a piece of chocolate When pain is an issue, a small piece of dark chocolate may help. Like other sweet foods, chocolate can stimulate the release of pain-relieving endorphins in the brain. That's why newborns are often given sugar water to suck on during painful procedures, such as collecting blood from their heels (and perhaps why most women in one recent survey said they preferred chocolate to sex). But unlike sugar, a small amount of dark chocolate can actually be
good for you - it's full of antioxidants that can help conditions such as diabetes.
Try chiropractic The evidence for the use of chiropractic for certain painful conditions, including back and neck pain, is irrefutable. Numerous studies show that it is effective - so much as that it is often now available on the NHS. Talk to your GP if you think chiropractic could help you.
Consider acupuncture This ancient healing practice, in which very thin needles, pressure or electricity are used to stimulate certain body parts, has become mainstream in terms of pain management. Acupunture stimulates the release of feel-good endorphins into your spinal fluid, where they serve as a kind of buffer to prevent pain signals from reaching your brain. Acupunture has been used successfully with few, if any, side effects to treat back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and generalised pain. One caveat: you may need repeat treatments if your pain is chronic.
Keep up your vitamin D intake According to a study of 7,000 British people aged over 45, chronic pain was more common among smokers, non-drinkers, people who were either overweight or underweight and, in women, those with low vitamin D levels. Researchers aren't sure whether supplements - rather than food or extra sunshine - could help chronic pain, but it's another good reason to make sure you maintain good levels of this vital vitamin.
3 pain-enhancers to avoidYes, some things you do may inadvertently make your pain worse. Here are the biggest culprits:
good
1 Sedentary living When you hurt, the last thing you want to do is move. But that's exactly what you must do. As stated before, studies find that regular, moderate exercise not only helps with the pain of osteoarthritis and other conditions, but may help to prevent it.
For instance, strengthening your core muscles with sit-ups and other similar activities can prevent or improve back pain. Exercise can even help with the pain of neuropathy, common in people with diabetes, by making your cells more receptive to insulin and reducing the damaging effects of
high blood sugar on nerve cells and blood vessels.
2 Fear of dependency If your doctor has prescribed medications to help you to manage your pain, use it as suggested. Don't wait until the pain is so severe that you can't stand it. By then, the medication probably won't help. Taking your medication before the pain breaks through makes it far more effecive, as well as making your life more pleasant. It also reduces the risk of drug dependence, which is the main fear of many people, because you don't learn to associate the drug with relief from severe pain. So make sure you ask your doctor exactly how often your medication should be taken, and report back promptly if the recommended dose is not controlling your pain. Often doctors suggest taking a double dose at bedtime, specifically so that the pain does not break through overnight.
3 Depression Slightly more than half of chronic pain patients seen in pain clinics also have major depression, and low doses of antidepressants are often prescribed to treat chronic pain. The linkage may come from brain chemicals such as serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline, which play a role in both conditions. That doesn't mean that the two conditions are one and the same; thus, it's important that your doctor treats your depression and your chronic pain so you can find relief from both.
A habit worth breaking
Next time you have a headache or your arthritis flares up, stop before you swallow those mainstay pain-relief medicines: ibuprofen or aspirin. Older people have been systematically excluded from most clinical studies on aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) - which include ibuprofen. But as it turns out, older people are most likely to experience one of NSAIDs' most troublesome side effects - stomach bleeding. The risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in the general population as about 1 percent; and for those witha history of GI bleeding, it's about 9 percent. Older people are also more at risk from heart-related side effects of NSAIDs.
If you need medication to control your pain, you may wish to start with paracetamol, which is milder on most people's digestive systems. If prescription-grade relief is necessary, you may be better off with opiods such as codeine and morphine, low-dose corticosteroid therapy or antidepressants or anticonvulsants, depending on the type of pain you're experiencing. One note of caution: if your doctor prescribes narcotic pain-relievers, make sure you take the smallest possibles dose. Older people tend'to be more sensitive to the effects of these drugs, getting stronger and longer pain relief on much smaller doses than younger individuals.
Memory problems
You've misplaced your car keys, lost your mobile phone and can't recall the name of that new book someone recommended. You listened to the weather report this morning but... will you need a sun hat or an umbrella this afternoon?
And did your doctor want you to take that new medicine twice a day - or once every other day?
The stereotype is that memory loss is a part of growing old. In one survey of older people, it was ranked as the most-feared health problem - ahead even of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. It's no wonder: until recently, the conventional wisdom was that memory glitches and fuzzy
thinking couldn't be prevented - let alone fixed. Scientists thought that brain cells simply died out, never to be replaced. And what's more frightening to imagine than old versions of ourselves, physically healthy but with greatly diminished memories and mental skills?
But today the story is far more positive - and fascinating. scientists have long known that learning new facts and skills generates new connections between brain cells - and that the number of connections is far more important in keeping us mentally alert than the absolute number of brain cells. But recent research shows that adult brains can even create new neurons in some areas, especially in sites related to memory and learning. And scientists now know that this process is highly sensitive: too much stress, or stress hormones, and fewer new neurons survive; but new brain cells are enhanced by exercise and, interestingly, by antidepressants.
So a healthy lifestyle and continued mental activity actually create stronger, more prolific connections between the brain cells at any age, and may even increase our brain cell count - and all it takes is a little physical and mental effort to make it happen.
New thinking about memory
In study after study, researchers are discovering that a wide variety of brain 'fertilisers' - from exercise to good fats in your diet, from brain-training programmes to simply socialising more often with your neighbours - can promote the development of healthy, new connections between brain cells and even spur the growth of new brain cells. In turn, these stronger connections and fresh new neurons may prevent or even reverse age-related memory lapses and sharpen thinking skills. Keeping your brain well-'fertilised' may even lower your risk of major problems like dementia and
Alzheimer's disease.
While it's true that we need this kind of 'fertiliser' more and more with every passing decade, Australian research seems to confirm the idea that keeping mentally active staves off the brain shrinkage traditionally associated with old age. Among people over 60, those who scored lowest on a 'lifetime experiences' questionnaire had lost more than twice the average volume of brain cells in their hippocampus - the area associated with memory.
So, the researchers concluded, using your brain more stops age-related deterioration. And it doesn't seem to matter how you do it - anything from travel to learning a language to playing chess can help to preserve mental function into old age.
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