Nutrition in Pain Modulation

Abstract

Diet and nutrition issues are common themes in the practice of integrative medicine. Some of these have become more familiar and even more mainstream during the past several years. Examples include the effects of dietary trans fatty acids on heart disease and carbohydrates on diabetes, as well as the protective effects of fish oil in several conditions. In recent years there has been more basic research and clinical information about anti-inflammatory diets, how to prevent diabetes, and how to make better food choices for health and antiaging. With this information, integrative physicians have been able to effectively manage and treat the conditions of many patients who have a variety of chronic illnesses, thereby improving the efficacy of conventional medical treatment and medication. More recently, the condition of chronic pain has come to the forefront of medical and social discussion. According to the United Nations World Drug Report, 2008, 0.6% of Americans between the ages of 15 and 64 use opiates, tying the United States for seventeenth in the world. 1 A Drug Enforcement Ad