Podcast | the Gut-Brain Axis: Can You Treat Chronic Pain With Food?

Ever thought about how the cause for your persistent joint pain could be...your diet?

Could the food you're eating be triggering your migraines?

It is only recently that researchers have started unraveling the complex relationship between the gut and the brain, known as the gut-brain axis.

It has been established now that there are around five hundred million neurons in the gut that constantly and directly communicated with the brain.

So much much so that the gut is called our 'second brain'.

So then, could a disruption in this connection also trigger chronic pain, which is typically caused by neurological damage.

In this podcast, FIT speaks to Dr Maura Henninger, a naturopathic doctor based in New York, about this link between gut health and chronic pain and how fixing the former could help relieve pain disorders.

"When there is pain in a certain part of the body, we see where is that pain coming from? If you have pain in your joint, is it really beginning at the joint, or is it beginning somewhere else?"

Dr Maura Henninger, Naturopathic doctor

What Does Gut Health Have to Do With Chronic pain?

"There are studies that show that certain reductions in the short chain fatty acids in the gut, create more inflammation, and that inflammatory communication between the brain and the gut is exacerbated," says Dr Maura.

"...and this is just the tip of the iceberg," she adds.

Dr Maura also speaks of the correlation between food sensitivity and chronic pain, saying, "This is a big factor in reducing pain, like migraine. People with fibromyalgia have been found to have a very different microbiome (the microorganisms in the gut) than people who don't."

She also talks about how people with chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia often also have digestive issues like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).

"We can alter that," she adds.

Which means tackling your messed up gut can not only help relieve stomach issues like IBS, and leaky gut but also in turn help resolve long-standing chronic pain disorders.

Listen in to our podcast to know more about the gut-brain axis, how poor gut health can trigger or aggravate chronic pain, what kinds of foods you should avoid if you have migraine or fibromyalgia and how you can improve your gut health.