There’s a whole bunch of foods that keep you stuck in pain. Eat them and you’re practically asking for trouble.

But life isn’t all about what you can’t do. That’s probably why so many people fail to stick to diets… even when we know it’s for our own good. We just don’t like feeling like we’re missing out on something by following some big list of "don’ts."

So how about we turn the tables on that and take a look at foods that aren’t only tasty, but can actually help end a lot of our pain. That’s right. Eat any of these super foods and you’re not only enjoying your meal or snack, you’re actually fighting the inflammation that’s keeping you in pain.

Here are my seven favorite super foods that fight inflammation:

• Jalapeno peppers – chop these up raw into your salsa for a great kick and pain relieving power
• Dry roasted almonds – grab a handful of these tasty pain fighters for a snack
• Carrots – they aren’t just for Bugs Bunny… enjoy them raw as a snack or on your salad
• Broccoli – cooked or raw, broccoli quickly goes to work on inflammation too
• Olive oil – just a single tablespoon drizzled on your salad has as much pain fighting power as an entire half cup of broccoli
• Raw spinach – hope you love salads because adding some raw spinach to it will pump up your body’s ability to fight off systemic inflammation
• Wild Alaskan Salmon – my all-time favorite inflammation fighting food… wild Alaskan salmon is a heavyweight champion in a small package – a 3oz portion can fight inflammation as well as 6 cups of raw spinach!

Now those just happen to be some of my favorites. But there’s a lot more foods that can help you end the pain caused by systemic inflammation. And, you probably already guessed, plenty of foods that will keep you in pain. For more information, check out this great article on Are the foods you are eating keeping you in pain? and 10 Foods That Reduce Inflammation and Pain Naturally.

ed. (from comments)
Rose: I would add strawberries to that as well. They contain a lot of salicin, which converts to salicylic acid, the same active ingredient as found in willow bark and aspirin. I once had a client who had terrific nerve pain from an injury and he could get rid of it with a pint of berries – effects lasted all day!

Mary: Please don’t encourage people to eat raw goitrogens like broccoli. It takes cooking to reduce or eliminate that. So many women have low thyroid and these can make it even worse.

(Source: http://www.losethebackpain.com/blog/2010/09/23/7-super-foods-that-silence-pain/)