Product Description

Did you know that ginger can prevent migraines and that coffee sometimes cures them? Did you know that rice can calm your digestion, that sugar can make you more sensitive to pain, that evening primrose can ease the symptoms of arthritis?
        
Drawing on new and little-known research from prestigious medical centers around the world, Neal Barnard, M.D., author of Eat Right, Live Longer and Food for Life, shows readers how they can soothe everyday ailments and cure chronic pain by using common foods, traditional supplements, and herbs.
        
Dr. Barnard reveals which foods regularly contribute to pain and how to avoid them. He guides the reader to specific pain-safe foods that are high in nutrition but don't upset the body's natural balance, as well as foods that actively soothe pain by improving blood circulation, relieving inflammation, and balancing hormones. Complete with delicious recipes, Foods That Fight Pain is a revolutionary approach to healing that will transform your life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40510 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-27
• Released on: 1999-04-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780609804360
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Foods have special effects on pain, and research studies substantiate this, says Neal Barnard, M.D., in Foods That Fight Pain, a book endorsed by fellow doctors Dean Ornish and Andrew Weil. You can use foods to fight pain in these ways:

1. Choose pain-safe foods. Reduce inflammation by avoiding foods that may be causing or aggravating your pain.

2. Add soothing foods that ease pain. Different foods may improve blood flow, relieve inflammation, or balance hormones.

3. Use supplements if needed. Herbs, extracts, and vitamins can relieve pain.

Barnard explores a variety of medical conditions, such as migraines, arthritis, digestive problems, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, diabetes, herpes, sickle-cell anemia, kidney stones, urinary infections, and back, chest, breast, menstrual, and cancer pain. For each, Barnard explains the causes of the pain and what dietary changes are likely to alleviate it, with exercise and lifestyle recommendations. Barnard backs up his points with 30 pages of research citations.

Most of the recipes are quick to prepare, and include an elimination diet to avoid trigger foods. A nutritional breakdown (calories, fat, protein, carbohydrate, and sodium) accompanies each recipe. Following the advice in this book will not only relieve your pain, but increase your overall health. Highly recommended. --Joan Price

From Publishers Weekly
Although the strategies laid out by Barnard have, despite the subtitle's claim, been presented in other health books, they've seldom been explained this succinctly. According to Barnard (Food for Life), certain foods and nutritional supplements can alleviate pain as well as or better than prescription drugs. From backaches to bowel problems, cancer to canker sores, Barnard offers clear explanations of the physical processes involved as well as practical dietary and nutritional advice. No matter what the problem, for starters he recommends a low-fat, high-fiber, strictly vegetarian diet, the same as the one prescribed for heart patients by Dr. Dean Ornish, whom he quotes extensively. Citing scientific studies as well as anecdotal evidence, Barnard tells how powdered ginger, for example, can prevent motion sickness, alleviate migraines and the pain and swelling caused by osteoarthritis. Vitamin B6 can be used to treat carpal tunnel syndrome as well as menstrual pain. Lists of "trigger" foods to avoid for various health conditions are valuable, if sometimes daunting: for example, the trigger foods for arthritis include all dairy products, all meat (including fish), wheat, citrus fruit, potatoes, tomatoes, nuts and coffee. A hefty section of menus and recipes by Jennifer Raymond makes it easier to practice what Barnard preachesAa technical sermon whose main message is: eat your veggies. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
A physician and author of several diet and health books (e.g., Eat Right, Live Longer, LJ 4/15/95), Barnard has written an extensive consumer book on diet therapy for pain. Each chapter discusses a different type of pain, complete with scientific evidence and explanations of the origins of the pain, foods that trigger it, and foods that reduce it. The last chapter offers pain-control recipes contributed by Jennifer Raymond, the author of numerous health-related recipe books (e.g., Fat Free & Easy, Heart & Soul, 1997). Already familiar with cholesterol-lowering recipes, Raymond has incorporated Barnard's pain-control foods into her easy recipes and even tried them on family and friends. Compared with other books on diet therapy, which focus mainly on arthritis pains, this book has a wider coverage, touching on issues such as poor circulation, food sensitivities and inflammatory pain, hormone-related pain, and metabolic and immune problems. A highly informative book for consumers seeking alternative therapy for chronic pains.
-?Lily Liu, Arkansas Children's Hosp. Lib., Little Rock
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

No Relative Pain
I just wanted to post a quickie review of Foods that Fight Pain. One of my relatives recently read the book and has since found tremendous relief for her arthritis. She has suffered for many years, always wondering if food could be part of her problem. As often seems to be the case, her doctors discounted her suspicions, telling her that food could not be to blame. However, she got a copy of Dr. Barnard's book, followed the elimination diet in it, and discovered which her trigger foods are--dairy, coffee, and citrus. Since changing her eating habits, she's had substantially less pain and she credits the book with her turnaround.

I think the book is a wonderful addition to the growing library of information about how foods affect our health.

Top recommendations from this Amazon customer!

Excellent, timely litany on whats wrong with a Western diet
Dr. Barnard comes through again with an common sensical explanation of how the typical American diet is destroyning the lives of so many people. He notes with simple clarity that eating foods that humans have never eaten during their 3 million years of evolution results in illness and disability. By eliminating these foods like dairy products, animal flesh and certain other items, it becomes possible to restore our bodies to health and become free of chronic pain.

I have prescribed a similar diet for my patients for many years, and like Dr. Barnard, the most frequent response I get, after often dramatic results, is "Why? Why didn't any doctor ever give me this information before?"

I know why; its because too much money is being made by the pharmaceutical companies, the meat and dairy industries, and yes, the medical profession by keeping people dependent on their products. If you or someone you love suffers from arthritis, severe menstrual pain, migraines or any other chronic pain, you could do nothing better than to read this book and heed its advice.

Jerry Vlasak, M.D., F.A.C.S.

A great Book
The last thing I expected to hear was that my back pain could be related to food. I understand how you can eat bad stuff and it can lead to heart attacks and cancer which you hear on the news alot. But I never heard of food causing back pain until I read Dr. Bernards book.

I have had back pain for several years and sometimes take a pain killer to help me sleep. My regular doctor sent me to another doctor who did lots of expensive tests, but the result was no relief in the pain except when I take pills. I decided to give Dr. Bernards plan a try to take out all the trigger foods and then add them back one at a time. You know what I found out? Corn! It was the corn that made my back hurt! The same day I started eating corn again my back went into spazm. I stopped the corn and the pain was gone again in a couple days. Just to be sure I ate corn again and the pain was back! I will tell you that it is a lot easier to make sure I do not eat corn or corn products than it is to have that pain come back. I would have paid a lot of money to get rid of that pain but I did it just by reading a book. Thank you Doctor Bernard. I recommend it to everyone.