INFECTIONS
AND PAIN.
Different kinds of infections, pain, and joint problems, can all have
their origins in many factors. For example, an ordinary backache can
be caused by damage to the disks, pinched nerves, wrong position of
the joints or infection in the joints, inferior muscle condition,
wrong working positions, or obesity because it strains the backbone.
In the same way, there may be numerous causes for back pain and other
pains.
How then
can various pains be prevented and alleviated? Diet can have its own
important significance. It is true that no diet can help in all
problems, but it can be of help in many areas. For example, the
following diets have been found to be useful:
Fatty fish
such as salmon, rainbow trout, herring, Baltic herring, whitefish,
mackerel, sardine, tuna, etc. can alleviate infection and joint pains.
There are plenty of omega-3 fatty acids in fatty fish, which prevent
infection and can remove pains and decrease the need of infection
medicine. The same omega-3 fatty acids are also useful in the
prevention of heart diseases; in addition, they have been found to
alleviate symptoms of some skin diseases, such as psoriasis.
Plant oils,
such as rapeseed, soy, olive, corn, sunflower, and evening primrose
oil can prevent various infections (evening primrose oil has been
observed to be especially useful in treatment of different rashes such
as atopic dermatitis; other plant oils may have a similar influence).
They contain the same omega-3 fatty acids as fatty fish and fish oils,
and in those there is also plenty of vitamin E, which is an important
ingredient in the prevention of infections. A small increase of these
agents in the weekly diet can in no way be harmful, because they have
been found to decrease blood cholesterol and also prevent
cardiovascular diseases.
Vitamin E
and selenium
are ingredients "which can alleviate muscular pain. According to
one American study, these ingredients eased paralyzing muscular pain
and rigidity.” (Readers Digest: Terveyttä vai sairautta ruoasta,
p. 325).
Good
sources of vitamin E include plant oils (sunflower, corn, rapeseed,
soy, and wheat germ oil), whole meal grain, avocado, eggs and nuts (a
couple of handfuls of peanuts can satisfy the daily need). Good
sources of selenium are whole meal grain and meat (except not in areas
where the selenium content of the soil is low), fish, tomato, onion,
nuts, shellfishes, mollusks, and also many mushrooms.
Fresh food
that contains a lot of berries, plants, fruits, and whole meal grain
has been observed to be useful for those who suffer from joint
problems. This kind of food, containing plenty of vitamin C and other
vitamins, is certainly more useful to the body than refined food
(sugar, white flour, etc) that is often eaten. Many people have healed
from their joint problems and migraine when they have started to eat
food that contains plenty of vegetables.
