By Jane Oelke, N.D., Ph.D.
Special to NurseZone
It amazes me to find a substance in food that taken in excess can cause chronic pain to the body. Many types of food and food additives that can cause pain are actually regulated by the government; they are supposed to be safe.
In my position, I test clients and their supplements to find the root cause of chronic pain; I ask about dietary habits or chemicals in their work environments. I often discover chemicals or foods are causing chronic pain symptoms in these patients. When the chemicals are removed from the environment or diet, much of their pain subsides.
When talking to clients, I often ask if they can determine which foods tend to worsen their pain, and if they crave certain foods. One of the foods I am always listening for is diet soft drinks with aspartame (Nutrasweet®). From personal experience, constant headaches were alleviated when I was convinced to stop drinking Diet Pepsi. I was a regular user and once I stopped drinking it, the chronic headaches were alleviated.
Stop drinking diet soft drinks and discover what difference it can make. Many patients feel better after abstaining from diet soft drinks for only a couple of weeks.
Splenda® is the latest sugar substitute to be introduced into the market. Advertising for Splenda says that it is made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar. However, this doesn’t tell the whole story. Early studies show Splenda causes many of the same side effects, such as headaches and chronic pain, as aspartame does.
Splenda is made by taking out three of the six molecules that make up sugar, and replacing them with chlorine molecules. If you are avoiding chlorinated water because of chlorine toxicity, then Splenda should be avoided as well.
Soft drinks have surpassed water as the number one beverage choice in the United States. Aspartame is not the only problem. When you have fibromyalgia or any other autoimmune disease, you need good minerals in your diet to distress the immune system. The phosphoric acid in dark soft drinks will rob your body of calcium. The sugar version is not better for you either, since sugar stresses your adrenals, especially when it comes in concentrated doses, like it does in any sugar-laden soft drink.
All soft drinks are very acidic, with an average reading of two to three pH. Acid urine and saliva pH levels are related to immune system stress, as well as joint and muscle stress. If you want your urine and saliva pH levels to stay in balance—in the 6.4 to 7.3 pH range—then avoiding soft drinks is important. Coffee and beer also have high levels of acid.Other substances can cause chronic pain as well. Fillers, preservatives, food additives and coloring agents in nutritional supplements can build up as toxins in the tissues. This often makes it harder to lose weight. Pain can be caused when these toxins are stored in body tissues disrupting the nervous system pain response. Consequently, it is important to use high quality nutritional supplements without a lot of fillers. Too many over-the-counter vitamins and minerals contain more fillers than nutrients and should be avoided.
When choosing foods for your daily diet, or supplements that support your daily diet, look for foods and supplements that do not have sugar substitutes, preservatives like propylene glycol, and any food colorings. Find out what chemicals, processed foods or supplements are causing your pain and reduce or eliminate them, and you may see a remarkable improvement from pain in a short amount of time.
Jane Oelke, N.D., Ph.D. is a Traditional Naturopath and Doctor of Homeopathy in southwest Michigan. She is the author of “Natural Choices for Fibromyalgia” and “Natural Choices for Attention Deficit Disorder.” She is a professional speaker on natural health topics. She can be contacted at DoctorOelke@aol.com or through her website at www.NaturalChoicesForYou.com.