Meditation: The Natural Pain Reliever

Rather than popping pills to kill the pain of your aching back or for the headache from too much rushing around, we can tap into a natural pain reliever. Meditating can reduce pain by 40%. If you’re glazing over, thinking “I don’t do that stuff”, it can be as simple a starting with 5 minutes a day and focusing on your breath. I’m allergic to ALL pain meds, so every time one of my joints dislocates (almost daily), meditation IS my medication. Robert Cargill, PhD, a neurobiology professor at Wake Forest School of Medicine did a study showing that meditation decreases pain better than morphine. If you have never tried meditation, are you a little curious now, knowing it can relieve your pain? If you do meditate, have you experienced this?

Music and Pain

Probably partly because it distracts us, listening to music can help reduce pain. There are theories that it may affect how we perceive pain by causing the body to release endorphins. Listening to slow music does slow down breathing and heart rate. A study done at the University of South Alabama, Mobile was able to show that listening to either classical or self-selected relaxing music resulted in significant reduction in anxiety and anger. What do you like to listen to?

Improving Your Health

If you could have one thing improved in your overall health, what would you choose? Many are battling poor sleep, eating on the run causing less than desirable nutrition, stubborn weight problems, headaches, stressful schedules, etc. Just as it is too difficult too unclutter your entire house in one day, trying to “fix” your health all at once is overwhelming. What would you choose first?

For Chocolate Lovers

Dark chocolate has cardiovascular health benefits, including lowering blood pressure and reducing your risk of stroke due to the flavenoids that seem to improve the flexibility of blood vessels. According to Dr. Andrew Weil, the polyphenols in dark chocolate make it one of the few sweets that don’t cause inflammation. Sweets and sugar are known to cause inflammation and pain. Choose a high quality dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa and eat 1-1.5 oz. per day. That should make all the chocolate lovers happy.

Cherries for Pain

Take advantage of the fresh cherries in season now- they may reduce your pain. A study done by the US department of agriculture tracked the anti-inflammatory effects of the antioxidants found in Bing cherries. They found in not only reduced arthritic pain, but may help lessen the severity of other inflammatory conditions. In a study in the University of Vermont in Burlington, tart cherry juice prevented the symptoms of exercised-induced muscle damage. Farmer’s market here we come…

Diet for Pain Relief

Chronic inflammation can cause pain and other serious illnesses such as heart disease, some forms of cancer and Alzheimer’s, according to Dr. Andrew Weil. Dr. William Welches, a pain specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, as well as Dr. Weil, recommend an anti-inflammatory diet, limiting sugar, refined flours, processed foods, saturated and trans fats and hyrogenated oils and animal protein. Increase fish, nuts, seeds, beans, fruits, veggies, whole grains, cook with olive oil and canola and drink plenty of pure water.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

What relieves physical tension, decreases stress hormones, triggers the release of endorphins and increases blood flow? Laughing! The positive benefits of a good laugh are so powerful that journalist and author Norman Cousins watched Marx brothers movies as part of his recovery program, stating that a belly laugh gave him 2 hours of pain-free sleep. Besides watching funny movies, what makes you laugh?

Summer Headaches

The hot, humid days of summer can mean fun in the sun or be ruined by a pounding headache. They are likelier to occur on days that are significantly warm. Try these steps to avoid those summer headaches: wear sunglasses and hats with broad brims- too much sun can be a trigger; skip foods with nitrites like hot dogs and citrus like real lemonade, which also can be triggers; drink plenty of water because dehydration is a common cause of headaches and try not to disrupt your sleep schedule too much. Children are 3 times more likely to complain on humid or rainy summer days. Have you noticed more headaches during hot, humid days?

Acupuncture and Stress Relief

Stress relief, improved sleep, help with physical and emotional pain. What could possible provide all that? Acupuncture! According to a news report, the Salvation Army has set up a tent in Joplin that provides free acupuncture and acupressure for exactly that. They are using 5 specific points that have been used by the military that have been proven to relieve stress and trauma. They also have massage therapy. Have you ever tried acupuncture?

Tumeric and Pain Relief

Spicy food can temporarily boost your metabolism and increase your feelings of fullness. Tumeric, the yellow spice used in curry and mustard, has also been found to fight the pain of arthritis due to the anti-inflammatory action of curcumin, the anti-oxidant in tumeric. There are many tasty recipes using tumeric. What recipes have you tried?