Those with chronic pain are finding solace in an unusual location—their shopping carts. Using anti-inflammatory diet to treat pain at its underlying source, functional medicine practitioner Rachel Foster has created a food-as-medicine method.
Rachel’s programme starts with removing typical inflammatory triggers: processed vegetable oils, refined carbohydrates, and synthetic additions. She then creates meals centred on the most powerful anti-inflammatory drugs found in nature.
Omega-3s found in fatty fish such as salmon compete with NSAIDs in terms of pain relief. Especially when combined with black pepper, turmeric provides curcuma, a strong anti-inflammatory agent.
Rachel’s anti-inflammatory diet’s backbone is colourful fruit. Antioxidants found in dark leafy greens, berries, and brilliant orange veggies neutralise inflammatory free radicals. She advises daily “eating the rainbow” to obtain a range of these beneficial molecules.
Rachel stresses meals high in collagen and bone broth for clients suffering with joint discomfort to help connective tissue. People with neurological discomfort gain from her focus on foods high in magnesium, such as dark chocolate and pumpkin seeds. Even those who enjoy coffee get advice; she advises moving to lower acidity green tea or mushroom coffee.
The outcomes stand on their own. Weeks of Rachel’s food-based approach have seen many of her customers report lower pain levels, less medication use, and more vitality. “Your fork is the most powerful tool you have against chronic inflammation,” she adds very often.
