Help My Hurt

When food causes pain

by Marijke Durning, RN on March 13th, 2008

Living with a condition that can be made worse by the food you eat can make it difficult or frustrating to find foods you like to eat that are also good for you.

Food is often a social thing - we gather around dinner tables with friends, go out to eat at restaurants, and we celebrate life with food and drink. So food isn’t just a nutritious part of life, it’s often a way of life.

So how can people with food-triggered pain manage just like everyone else? It does depend on what the issue is. For example, if you have celiac disease, this is a disorder that can’t be cheated on. You can’t have gluten -not even the tiniest bit. Even if it doesn’t hurt you in the short-term, it can really hurt you in the long term.

Migraines

Other illnesses aren’t so cut and dry. Migraines, for example. While some people have migraines that aren’t food-related, others do. And what might be a food trigger for one migraineur is not necessarily a trigger for another migraineur. Here are some common ones:

- Foods with tyramine, a substance that is found in food that ages, like cheese

- Alcohol, specifically darker ones, like red wine

- Food additives in foods like processed meats, hot dogs, MSG in Chinese food

- Some fruit, like figs, raisins, over ripe avocados and bananas

- Freshly based yeast breads, sourdough breads

IBS

If you have problems with your bowels, such as irritable bowel disease, you may have other issues with food.

Some foods may cause cramping and diarrhea, while others may cause horrible gas pain.

What often happens when someone is diagnosed with IBS or they think they have it, the restrict their diet severely. They eat something, have a bad reaction and then strike that from their diet. But, it’s not as easy as that because there may be other influences other than just the foods. Dieticians recommend that people use and elimination diet to find what foods are the culprits. That means to eliminate the foods most known to trigger IBS symptoms and then introduce them back into the diet one by one. That way, you will notice which foods are your triggers.

Here are some of the most common ones:

- Dairy products

- Fats, butter, oil, sauces, salad dressings

- Caffeine

- Chocolate

- Food additives, particularly MSG that is found in many Chinese foods

- Artificial sweeteners

Contrary to popular belief - people IBS generally need a good healthy dose of fiber in their diet.

Do you have a food-related chronic illness/chronic pain? What is it and how do you deal with it?

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POSTED IN: Chronic Pain, Headaches/Migraines, IBS/IBD/Crohn's, Pain Management, Prevention of Pain