Meals while living with chronic pain. Part 2 - What to eat and how it helps you.

In Part 1 of this series, I talk about why emphasis on the kind of meals we have while living with chronic pain is important. Part 2 will cover what I recommend my occupational therapy clients eat and how eating like this would help you maintain optimal health even while you have chronic pain.

This is the Havard School of Public Health (HSPH) Healthy Eating Plate.

I am a big fan of the HSPH Healthy Eating Plate. I always show this to all my occupational therapy clients, regardless of what health conditions they may have. This Healthy Eating Plate is an excellent guideline to use for clients who want to lose and maintain weight, to regulate their blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood sugar, to regulate their sleep (yes!) and also for clients who have chronic pain too.

So what does this Healthy Eating Plate have to do with recovering from pain?

1. It is full of antioxidants which have anti-inflammatory properties.

If you notice, half the plate is full of fruits and vegetables. Now everybody knows fruits and vegetables are good for your health because they are full of fibre and nutrients which your body would need to maintain optimal functioning. In my earlier post I talked about how taking foods that are inflammatory can actually aggravate your pain. So anti-inflammatory foods, reduce inflammation and reduce pain, good right?

Also, take note that the portion of vegetables is double that of fruits. Fruit to vegetable ratio should ideally be 1:2 at every meal. Why? This is because of the sugars that fruits contain, and we want less sugar for less inflammation, right?

2. Healthy oils - you can refer to my post about omega 3, it's anti-inflammatory properties and how it has helped my clients reduce pain for further details.

3. Proteins

Your cells are made out of protein, so taking enough protein is an absolutely necessary part to aid recovery and for your body to be able to rebuild the damage done to them. If you notice, proteins are a quarter of your plate.

4. Whole grains

Yes, whole grains, not white grains, not refined grains. Try to cut down on the mee hoon, the mee sua, the noodles, the biscuits and bread - I know Malaysians seem to think these are "healthy" substitutes for rice, but they are not. They are actually worse for your health than rice is, so yes - you can go back to eating rice with a clear conscience now. ;) They are more processed than rice is, and ideally we would want to eat things that are as close to their original form as possible. Grains are essentially sugars and as mentioned in Part 1, sugars trigger inflammation.

Also, do note that the composition of a typical Malaysian meal is typically 99% grain (fried rice, fried noodles, char kuey teow, nasi lemak, roti canai, etc) so I would suggest to take this seriously if you're living with chronic pain and start reviewing your eating habits!

In Part 3 of this series, we will talk about how to make eating healthily easier for people living with chronic pain.