Heal Your Body With Food

In The Energy Times, an article called "Eating to Heal" by Linda Melone explains what happens to the body when it gets injured and how certain foods help heal the body.

For example, problems with the knee, hamstring, or back are also affected by the food the person eats. Conversely, there are foods you can eat to help the knee heal and perform better.

Those dull knees, hamstring, and back aches feel strained from working out. Eating certain kinds of food helps the muscles relax, and the dull aches disappear.

Other successful treatments like massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, or physical therapy help, but the body benefits and heals faster from certain foods in the diet.

Melone explains it takes only minutes after an injury when your body reacts to the discomfort and pain. An injury alerts your body's immune system to send white blood cells to the damaged area. The white blood cells heal the damaged area, and eating the right food helps the white blood cells heal the area.

Read on to find out which foods are best for healing the body.

Mary Shackelton, MPH, ND, a naturopathic physician who practices in Boulder, Colorado, explains that the resulting inflammation and swelling in an injury is a natural part of the healing process. Excessive inflammation may impair healing and cause unnecessary pain.

With pain in the knee and hamstring but not swollen or excessively inflamed, light workouts can continue. It is necessary not to overdo it. Start eating food that heals your body, so your injury is positively affected.

There are nutrients in food that effectively act as anti-inflammatories. Bromelain is one of them. Bromelain is an enzyme found in the fruit and especially in the stem of the pineapple. Eating fresh pineapple helps reduce swelling, bruising, and pain.

Certain foods you eat naturally heal your body. You should check with a nutritional practitioner when designing an injury-recovery supplementation plan. Why not go natural and eat foods that heal and avoid prescriptions. Particularly if you are taking medications or remedies of any kind, you need to consult with an authority.

I am telling you about natural healing for your welfare. But if you decide to use painkillers or other drugs, that is your choice.

If you are taking medications or remedies of any kind, you need to consult with an authority. Bromelain, as an example, enhances the absorption of antibiotics and both prescription and herbal sedatives. Why not go natural and eat foods that heal and avoid drugs altogether.

Salmon is by far the most delicious anti-inflammatory food and contains omega-3 fatty acids. It is healthy for your body, even if you are not injured.

The omega-3 fatty acids are in fish that contain a large amount of fat like salmon, tuna, and mackerel. You can even find them in dark leafy greens, flax seeds, and some vegetable oils. Shackelton recommends 1,000 mg of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and 500 mg of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) to help facilitate proper healing of the injury.

Getting bruises, aches, and other injuries is a painful experience, and an enzyme that reduces bruising and pain is something to notice.

Bromelain comes in a supplemental form that you can purchase over the counter. Bromelain functions as a digestive aid. So, if you take it on an empty stomach, it won't hurt your stomach. The supplement works as an anti-inflammatory. Shackelton recommends taking 500 milligrams four times a day.

When I have an injury, I eat pineapple and take omega-3 enriched foods. I also take a bromelain supplement called NOW Supplements. The moment I start chewing on the supplements, I notice my body feeling better.

Eating pineapple before and after surgery is beneficial to the healing process of the body. More than a hundred years ago, healers used pineapple for dressings to treat deep wounds. They encouraged their patients to drink pineapple juice as well. Even skin injuries healed in the same way.

Today, researchers investigated the success of using the enzyme of the pineapple for medical purposes. Sure enough, the bromeliad reduced swelling, pain, bruising, and inflammation after surgery. The fruit even relieves pain and discomfort from cancer treatments.

Now that I've explained how certain foods heal the body give them a try and see how they help heal your bruises, aches, or pains.