Nutrition |
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In the world of TN, there have been no specific dietary studies - conflicting or otherwise. TN is just not common enough to justify the kind of large and costly studies that are done in more widespread problems such as heart disease and diabetes. That leaves practitioners and individual patients to look for bits of information that seem to make sense. One approach is to focus on nutrients that have an effect on the nervous system in general. Another is to try nutrients or diets that seem to help other pains or somewhat related conditions such as multiple sclerosis. Even if nutrition therapy doesn’t knock out the pain entirely, some-times a well designed nutrition plan can improve other aspects of health or allow patients to get by on lower doses of medication. |
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| Pain-triggering foods |
Cutting back on anything that stimulates the central nervous system seems to make good sense. The last thing you want to do is excite an already hyper-excited trigeminal nerve. There is some evidence that certain foods or food additives can exacerbate neuropathic pain. And there is limited evidence that caffeine can aggravate pain. Since the trigeminal nerve and its fibers are responsible for almost all sensations in the face, anything that creates a significant change in the mouth is a potential pain trigger. That especially includes foods that cause sensations of heat (salsa, chili, hot sauce), cold, mint, sweetness, and acidity. The sharper the sensation, the more likely it is to trigger signals that end up “crossing tracks” to set off the pain-signaling nerve fibers. Some people report trouble with particular spices, such cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt or black pepper. Irritation may occur when eating foods that have strong odors, like hot mustard, horse-radish, garlic or onions. Vapors from these foods can sensitize the nerve endings in the nose and trigger an attack. For some, this also happens from steam of hot foods or drinks. Aspartame, an artificial sweetener, can also heighten sensitivity to pain. Some evidence exists that nuts, chocolate and other foods high in arginine (an amino acid) may contribute to post-herpetic neuralgia outbreaks. Some were able to reduce their pain by avoiding fatty foods and reducing overall fat in their diet to 20 percent or less of total calories. |
Two Levels of Approach |
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Beyond looking for particular facial pain/food links, alleviating face pain through nutrition can attempted on two levels. |
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1. |
By maintaining a healthy nervous system through special diet and vitamin regimens. |
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2. |
A more focused approach to help restore healthy myelin by using Vitamin B-12 injections |
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Evaluation |
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As with all facial pain therapies, feedback from patients reveals that nutrition and vitamins work for some, do not work for others, or offer relief for a limited time. The only way to determine if a therapy will be effective for you is to try it. If the program does not seem to be harmful, most doctors don’t discourage their patients from trying nutrition therapy. Concern arises, though, when plans suggest supplements that go well beyond the conventionally accepted levels. When a diet plan focuses too narrowly on certain food groups to the exclusion of others, it may also be considered harmful. |
For additional information from TNA |
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For more information on CAM visit: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine http://nccam.nih.gov/ |
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Posted 7-31-08 |
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