by Alyssa Madill, Reach Health –
Your recurring knee pain could be more than that old hockey injury of yours. Maybe it has to do with how much sugar you ate on the weekend, or how many microwave dinners you’ve had this month. When there’s pain and discomfort anywhere in the body, it’s important to address it locally and systemically. By systemically, I mean investigating the internal environment of the body; this is the holistic perspective, which begins by looking at what is on your plate.
All foods that we consume have many descriptive properties and can affect your body in a number of ways. Food can be whole or processed, alkalizing or acidifying, anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory, nutrient-dense or lacking, local or imported. For each of these pairs, the former is generally preferred over the latter. For optimal health, we should try to consume whole foods that promote a more alkaline, anti-inflammatory internal environment; most vegetables and fruits will do this, especially the dark leafy greens.
So what does it mean to be acidifying or alkalizing? Do you remember learning about acids and bases (alkaloids) in high school? It’s a measurement of the concentration of hydrogen atoms; this ranges from zero to 14, with zero being the most acidic, seven being neutral and 14 being the most basic or alkaline. Each part of our body functions within a certain pH range, with our blood having the narrowest window between 7.35 to 7.45. Our body will do whatever it can to maintain the pH of our bloodstream, for our survival. This often puts strain on the rest of the system such as by pulling minerals from our bones.
The reason for explaining all of this is that many people have found themselves in a dietary routine that is both acidifying and inflammatory: they’re eating processed foods, excessive animal products, sugar, and refined grains, and minimal fruits and vegetables. All of this will greatly disrupt their internal environment, promoting chronic inflammation and leaving them prone to pain, fatigue and disease. I have seen this firsthand in practise, with many patients’ symptoms worsening in January after an overdose of treats over the holidays.
Having an imbalanced and unhealthy internal environment has been shown to slow healing processes, increase pain and decrease energy as well as quality of life. So what can be done? When you have pain, it is important to address with manual therapy and individualized exercise. But you can also take control of your health by avoiding processed foods and sugar, decreasing your intake of animal products and grains (focusing on the quality of these, in smaller quantities!), increasing your fruit and vegetable intake, and staying hydrated. Eating a variety of fresh produce will provide the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that your body requires. There are also specific anti-inflammatory foods that can be added to your diet including ginger, turmeric, beets, parsley, leafy greens and lemon. I challenge you to this: start your day with a glass of lemon water every day for the next week and see how you feel!
