Diet and Metabolic Health Coaching for Pain

Diet and metabolic health coaching is part of every physiotherapy visit at the Padda Institute in St. Louis. We review what you eat and when, because raised blood sugar, belly fat and all-day snacking hold the body in an inflamed state, and inflamed tissue is more painful and slower to mend.

Coaching runs through every visit of our physician-directed physiotherapy program.

What is diet and metabolic health coaching?

At each visit we set aside time for food: what you ate, when you ate it, and how it is affecting your pain and healing. Dr. Padda’s position is that chronic pain is, for many patients, a metabolic disease, and that is why food is on the agenda every time.

How does it help with pain?

Pain is not only about the spot that hurts. Raised blood sugar, belly fat and grazing from morning to night hold the body in a state of inflammation, and inflamed tissue is both more painful and slower to repair. Stress and poor sleep pile on. Consistent changes to your food and meal timing help every injection, ablation and exercise do more.

What happens at a coaching visit?

A conversation, not a lecture. We review your meals, what tripped you up, and pick one or two changes to try before you come back. If your physician ordered an RQ breathing test, your results set the plan.

The eating protocol, one step at a time

Treat food as medicine and as information your body acts on. Eat when you are truly hungry, not when you are bored. No two patients are alike, so your physician adjusts these steps for you. You receive the written protocol on your first visit, and we review it every time you come in.

Before Step 1: walk after every meal

Take a ten-minute walk after anything you eat or drink, a glass of water included.

Step 1: Cut out vegetable oils completely

“Vegetable oil” is really industrial seed oil, and it has no vegetables in it. Check every label and pass on any food that lists one. Skip cooking sprays.

Step 2: Cut out sugar and sweeteners

If it tastes sweet, it goes: juice, soda, diet soda, candy, and chips too. Artificial sweeteners are out too; allulose is probably safe.

Step 3: Protect your sleep

Aim for seven or more hours of unbroken sleep each night. Keep the TV, phone and computer out of bed.

Step 4: Supplements

Krill oil, vitamin D3 paired with K2, and homemade SIBO yogurt are the ones your physician may suggest. Check with your physician before starting anything new.

Step 5: Pick your plan with your physician

Eat within a time window

Fit all of the day’s eating into a window shorter than eight hours. Once that feels normal, cut the window by an hour each week until it is four to five hours. Breakfast is the meal most likely to set you up to overeat the rest of the day.

Keep moving each week

Your physician builds your walking and strength plan, with 150 minutes of activity a week as the floor. Keeping your muscle protects you while you heal. If you smoke, we will help you quit.

What should you tell us first?

• If you take insulin or medicine for diabetes or blood pressure, new eating habits can shift the dose you need. Every medicine adjustment is made by your physician. Read why your pill list moves before your pain does.

How long does it take?

Part of every visit.

Related reading: how sugar, refined grain and seed oil do harm, why we treat insulin before the joint, why belly fat hurts, the RQ breathing test.