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Foods That Fight Pain: Revolutionary New Strategies for Maximum Pain Relief
Did you know that ginger can prevent migraines and that coffee sometimes cures them? Did you know that rice can calm your digestion, that sugar can make you more sensitive to pain, that evening primrose can ease the symptoms of arthritis? Drawing on new and little-known research from prestigious medical centers around the world, Neal Barnard, M.D., author of Eat Right, Live Longer and Food for Life, shows readers how they can soothe everyday ailments and cure chronic pain by using common foods, traditional supplements, and herbs. Dr. Barnard reveals which foods regularly contribute to pain and how to avoid them. He guides the reader to specific pain-safe foods that are high in nutrition but don't upset the body's natural balance, as well as foods that actively soothe pain by improving blood circulation, relieving inflammation, and balancing hormones. Complete with delicious recipes, Foods That Fight Pain is a revolutionary approach to healing that will transform your life.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 19, 1998
83 people are currently reading
375 people want to read
About the author
Neal D. Barnard
71 books405 followersNeal Barnard, MD, FACC, is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, and President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Dr. Barnard has led numerous research studies investigating the effects of diet on diabetes, body weight, hormonal symptoms, and chronic pain, including a groundbreaking study of dietary interventions in type 2 diabetes, funded by the National Institutes of Health, that paved the way for viewing type 2 diabetes as a potentially reversible condition for many patients. Dr. Barnard has authored more than 100 scientific publications and 20 books for medical and lay readers, and is the editor in chief of the Nutrition Guide for Clinicians, a textbook made available to all U.S. medical students.
As president of the Physicians Committee, Dr. Barnard leads programs advocating for preventive medicine, good nutrition, and higher ethical standards in research. His research contributed to the acceptance of plant-based diets in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In 2015, he was named a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. In 2016, he founded the Barnard Medical Center in Washington, DC, as a model for making nutrition a routine part of all medical care.
Working with the Medical Society of the District of Columbia and the American Medical Association, Dr. Barnard has authored key resolutions, now part of AMA policy, calling for a new focus on prevention and nutrition in federal policies and in medical practice. In 2018, he received the Medical Society of the District of Columbia’s Distinguished Service Award. He has hosted four PBS television programs on nutrition and health.
Originally from Fargo, North Dakota, Dr. Barnard received his M.D. degree at the George Washington University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the same institution. He practiced at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York before returning to Washington to found the Physicians Committee.
His latest book is The Power Foods Diet: The Breakthrough Plan that Traps, Tames, and Burns Calories for Easy and Permanent Weight Loss. With more than 120 recipes and beautiful food photography, it shows the surprising ability that certain foods have to cause weight loss.
Dr. Barnard has led numerous research studies investigating the effects of diet on diabetes, body weight, hormonal symptoms, and chronic pain, including a groundbreaking study of dietary interventions in type 2 diabetes, funded by the National Institutes of Health, that paved the way for viewing type 2 diabetes as a potentially reversible condition for many patients. Dr. Barnard has authored more than 100 scientific publications and 20 books for medical and lay readers, and is the editor in chief of the Nutrition Guide for Clinicians, a textbook made available to all U.S. medical students.
As president of the Physicians Committee, Dr. Barnard leads programs advocating for preventive medicine, good nutrition, and higher ethical standards in research. His research contributed to the acceptance of plant-based diets in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In 2015, he was named a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. In 2016, he founded the Barnard Medical Center in Washington, DC, as a model for making nutrition a routine part of all medical care.
Working with the Medical Society of the District of Columbia and the American Medical Association, Dr. Barnard has authored key resolutions, now part of AMA policy, calling for a new focus on prevention and nutrition in federal policies and in medical practice. In 2018, he received the Medical Society of the District of Columbia’s Distinguished Service Award. He has hosted four PBS television programs on nutrition and health.
Originally from Fargo, North Dakota, Dr. Barnard received his M.D. degree at the George Washington University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the same institution. He practiced at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York before returning to Washington to found the Physicians Committee.
His latest book is The Power Foods Diet: The Breakthrough Plan that Traps, Tames, and Burns Calories for Easy and Permanent Weight Loss. With more than 120 recipes and beautiful food photography, it shows the surprising ability that certain foods have to cause weight loss.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
December 11, 2009
I like that this book focuses on scientific data rather than anecdotal evidence. Unfortunately since it was written in 1998, it is already somewhat outdated. I don't think that the much information in here is wrong, but a lot of research has been done on Omega oils and Vitamin D in the last dozen years that may change the content of this book.
The author suggests three main strategies to manage the relationship between food and pain and I think they are good ones. 1)Keeping a lowfat vegan diet, 2) Using food elimination techniques to determine the "trigger foods" that cause problems for you 3)Using appropriate vitamin supplements for the pain that you have. The book gets a bit repetitive, as these same ideas are adapted to working with different sorts of pain. Nonetheless, the biochemistry stays understandable and interesting and the book as a whole is nicely organized.
This is a complicated issue that is very individual and the author does a good job of taking this into account. He takes it out of the emotional realm and just focuses on the facts. He lists common trigger foods, but acknowledges that every person is different.
The author suggests three main strategies to manage the relationship between food and pain and I think they are good ones. 1)Keeping a lowfat vegan diet, 2) Using food elimination techniques to determine the "trigger foods" that cause problems for you 3)Using appropriate vitamin supplements for the pain that you have. The book gets a bit repetitive, as these same ideas are adapted to working with different sorts of pain. Nonetheless, the biochemistry stays understandable and interesting and the book as a whole is nicely organized.
This is a complicated issue that is very individual and the author does a good job of taking this into account. He takes it out of the emotional realm and just focuses on the facts. He lists common trigger foods, but acknowledges that every person is different.
June 6, 2007
New to me when I read it, and really interesting information about how various foods affect our health in many ways. The main focus is on pain. Information is given about the inflammatory and anti-inflammatory natures of various foods. Promotes a vegan diet but shows which vegan (plant source) foods can cause problems also. It’s educational about which foods to include or avoid. The facts seem to correlate with chronic and acute sufferer’s actual experiences in their pain levels. Worth reading and giving the recommendations a try!
May 26, 2013
I have suffered from chronic pain since I was ten years old from a variety of conditions including Rheumatoid Arthritis, stomach ulcers, and recently (within the past 5 yrs) Fibromylagia, and stage III endometriosis. With that being said, I have easily swallowed my weight in oxycodone ten times over... My Mother gave me this book, Foods that Fight Pain, hoping to offer me some knowledge on natural pain relief.
I really liked this book, and the concept of using food to fight pain. I can't imagine a life without frequent Doctor visits, medication, and chronic pain. This is what I gathered from the book in regards to me:
1.) No meat
2.) No meat by-products (milk, dairy, cheese, butter, eggs, etc.)
3.) No corn (in any form including corn starch)
4.) No wheat
5.) No white bread/pasta
6.) No chocolate
7.) No tomatoes
Basically, I would need to follow a strict vegan diet of beans, legumes, fruits, and vegetables ONLY.
A bit overwhelming to someone who lives off fast food, pasta, casseroles, desserts, etc. -But isn't that interesting that my own diet may be poisoning me because of some defect in my immune system?
So my plan is to wean myself off these foods slowly, and that way I can learn what foods may or may not be triggering me.
Anyone else with a chronic pain condition can apply these same principles to themselves. The book includes a lot of conditions including but not limited to; Diabetes, Migraines, Osteoarthritis, Kidney Stones, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Cancer Pain, and Shingles. Overall it's a very interesting, thought provoking self-help book.
I really liked this book, and the concept of using food to fight pain. I can't imagine a life without frequent Doctor visits, medication, and chronic pain. This is what I gathered from the book in regards to me:
1.) No meat
2.) No meat by-products (milk, dairy, cheese, butter, eggs, etc.)
3.) No corn (in any form including corn starch)
4.) No wheat
5.) No white bread/pasta
6.) No chocolate
7.) No tomatoes
Basically, I would need to follow a strict vegan diet of beans, legumes, fruits, and vegetables ONLY.
A bit overwhelming to someone who lives off fast food, pasta, casseroles, desserts, etc. -But isn't that interesting that my own diet may be poisoning me because of some defect in my immune system?
So my plan is to wean myself off these foods slowly, and that way I can learn what foods may or may not be triggering me.
Anyone else with a chronic pain condition can apply these same principles to themselves. The book includes a lot of conditions including but not limited to; Diabetes, Migraines, Osteoarthritis, Kidney Stones, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Cancer Pain, and Shingles. Overall it's a very interesting, thought provoking self-help book.
April 3, 2025
This book has super bad ideas for me as I am celiac and he is all into whole grains which he says over and over until I could scream. He doesn't want us to eat any meat just vegetables. However, at least he says not to eat tomatoes which cause joint pain. I sure agree on that one.
Don't waste your time reading this!
Don't waste your time reading this!
October 27, 2021
This book has given me hope—and incredible results!—in the face of my lifetime battle with rheumatoid arthritis.
Dr. Barnard presents several solutions to helping with many types of pain (autoimmune, stomach, back, head, chest, menstrual, etc): elimination of common dietary triggers, permanent avoidance of inflammatory foods, lifestyle changes, and supplements.
I see a lot of reviews complaining that this book promotes veganism / eliminates animal products. Don't bash it until you try it. I once thought I would never give up animal products, especially dairy, but I tried it and it worked. When I stick to the diet Dr. Barnard promotes, I have nearly no problems with arthritis. I haven't seen my rheumatologist in eight years. Please don't criticize the messenger; he's just presenting the research. Try it or don't, but don't gripe about his recommendations unless you've tried them fully. In my experience, you have to go all in for several weeks or months to get better. Big changes get big results. Going in halfway gets you nowhere. If you're not willing to make major lifestyle and dietary changes, this is not the book for you.
I know that this works because when I do it, my arthritis goes away. When I let inflammatory foods back into my diet (curse you, American food culture!), it comes back. I'm grateful to Dr. Barnard for giving me a way to heal my body that doesn't involve toxic, expensive drugs and endless doctors' visits and procedures. I don't miss that stage of my life.
Dr. Barnard presents several solutions to helping with many types of pain (autoimmune, stomach, back, head, chest, menstrual, etc): elimination of common dietary triggers, permanent avoidance of inflammatory foods, lifestyle changes, and supplements.
I see a lot of reviews complaining that this book promotes veganism / eliminates animal products. Don't bash it until you try it. I once thought I would never give up animal products, especially dairy, but I tried it and it worked. When I stick to the diet Dr. Barnard promotes, I have nearly no problems with arthritis. I haven't seen my rheumatologist in eight years. Please don't criticize the messenger; he's just presenting the research. Try it or don't, but don't gripe about his recommendations unless you've tried them fully. In my experience, you have to go all in for several weeks or months to get better. Big changes get big results. Going in halfway gets you nowhere. If you're not willing to make major lifestyle and dietary changes, this is not the book for you.
I know that this works because when I do it, my arthritis goes away. When I let inflammatory foods back into my diet (curse you, American food culture!), it comes back. I'm grateful to Dr. Barnard for giving me a way to heal my body that doesn't involve toxic, expensive drugs and endless doctors' visits and procedures. I don't miss that stage of my life.
August 20, 2012
This was recommended to me by my PT whose mother was put on one of the diets for her arthritis pain and had great results. He writes clearly and cites references for many of his conclusions. I'm going on the diet during September to see if any of the trigger foods cited are a factor in my on-going stiffness and pain. Certainly worth a try and much cheaper and easier on the body than drugs.
December 21, 2021
While this book definitely shows it’s age, I do think this is a wonderful complement to other books about improving your health. I enjoy how this book specifically focuses on causes of pain, and I enjoyed how Dr. Barnard provides very specific recommendations for a variety of conditions. I think an updated version of this book would be quite interesting to read, since I would hope some of the gaps in research that are referred to in this book have been filled.
April 6, 2019
Non Fiction
November 11, 2023
Having read this in 2023, it feels quite dated but most of the contents make a lot of sense. I picked this book up from a thrift shop, and passed it on to one of my colleagues. The information inside the book along with the China Study have strongly influenced my dietary choices. I'm glad to have found this book since it was quite an easy read. I'd look into Barnard's later work where you will likely find much of the same information but in a more up to date format alongside new information and discoveries.
February 21, 2010
This book is a great dietary guide for anyone that has a chronic health condition. It teaches us how to choose foods that work with our bodies to ease pain. While I think it is a little extreme to eliminate animal and fish oils entirely in order to see a result, I think the plant-based diet that Dr. Barnard advocates for here is worth reading about.
March 6, 2014
Barnard has such an easy style of writing that makes his books a pleasure to read. Full of quality information based on research. Lots of good, doable recipes that even without going vegan, I can make small beneficial changes to my diet.
Great read !
Great read !
September 7, 2008
very helpful, have loaned this one to a friend already- what we eat can have major consiquences on how we feel and therefore on who we are!
June 4, 2010
back pain coming from disc degeneration probably starts as plaque blocked arteries for the discs
January 27, 2013
For anyone that is dealing with chronic pain conditions... this may expand your knowledge, capacities and bring you relief! Carpal Tunnel and beyond...
December 2, 2013
Very informative but a little too pushy into vegan diets. I appreciate knowing what foods will help with my pain but I don't need to change my entire diet to something I am uncomfortable with.
Want to read
August 20, 2014I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12851277
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12851277
December 8, 2014
Useful information. A lot of low back pain is due to dietary issues. This book explains why. I have seen lots of low back pain. I am a neuroradiologist. This book can help a lot of people.
June 10, 2019
Very interesting ideas. I have had A trapped nerve for 6 months and will do anything to rid myself of the pain.
January 12, 2013
Interesting, useful and supported by clinical research.
October 3, 2013
have pain? read this book
November 17, 2013
Very different approach to pain relief
April 10, 2015
Very interesting reading , I'm going to try some things listed and see if helps.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews