It’ll come to us all – when we wake up in the morning with unexplained aches and pains that come and go at different parts of the day. Too often we just get on with the day and ignore them. But there will come a day when the persistence of those aches and pains are too intense to ignore, and you will need to start investigating if there is something affecting your health.
Getting yourself physically checked out for any musculoskeletal problems will help to pinpoint if there are any medical issues that you need to be aware of
While waiting to consult your doctor, it would be wise to take a long look at your lifestyle, as there are a number of different lifestyle factors that might be affecting how your body feels.
STRESS AND OVERWHELM
In our modern life we tend to live day to day in a high state of stress – it’s become a normal state that does us no good. It suppresses the immune system, making you more prone to colds and flus, infections and inflammation. Your heart rate and blood pressure are unnaturally, and persistently high, you over produce the stress hormone cortisol and your body is less able to regulate and repair itself.
High cortisol levels can be caused by many different things – infections, trauma and stress being the main ones. It can be the precursor to many issues that plague our 21st century lives – diabetes, digestive issues and IBS, weight gain, and fertility.
Addressing how and why you are stressed, and putting in place measures to change the more damaging aspects of your lifestyle will contribute massively to easing those aches and pains.
LACK OF SLEEP
During sleep your body rests and repairs itself – a good sleep is exceptionally restorative. Without quality sleep, both your brain and your body stop working optimally, causing mental and physical confusion and disorientation.
LACK OF WATER
Not drinking enough water leads to dehydration. You body cannot function properly, again, causing dizziness and disorientation, contributing to those aches and pains.
POOR DIET AND NUTRITION
There are well established strong links between a diet high in refined sugars and processed carbohydrate, and chronic inflammation. As we age, knee joints particularly seem to stiffen up and cause us pain. We automatically think that there is something physically wrong, but often this pain can be caused by a diet high in processed sugars. Sugar stimulates the production of free fatty acids in the liver. When the body digests these free fatty acids, the resulting compounds can trigger the inflammatory process.
Other foods that have been linked to inflammation include:
- Sugary foods, including desserts, pastries, chocolate and sodas.
- Saturated fats, such as red meat, full fat dairy products and many rich desserts.
- Trans fats, such as those used in fast food, fried foods, cookies and donuts.
- Excess omega-6 fatty acids that are found in corn oil, sunflower oil and vegetable oil.
- Refined carbohydrates, including bread, white rice, past and potatoes.
- MSG added to Asian foods, soy sauce and many prepared soups and deli meats.
Once you have eliminated any obvious cause cause for your unexpected aches and pains, your doctor may consider conditions such as fibromyalgia, ME and chronic fatigue syndrome. Even with these conditions, it is wise to take a long, hard look at your lifestyle. The older you are, the slower your body takes to repair itself, and the more care you need to take with your diet and alcohol intake. A better diet and more will help your body to heal and repair naturally.
