Pain is your body's way of telling you something is wrong, and the unpleasant stinging, burning, throbbing, or aching sensations can help you diagnose and treat a potential health problem. However, both chronic and acute pain can cause you to suffer, prevent you from working, and generally decrease the quality of your life. While pharmaceutical treatment options for pain like opiates do have a place in helping assuage discomfort, they often come with severe side effects and a considerable risk of addiction. As a result, more and more people are looking for natural pain killers to help mitigate their pain.
Natural Pain Killers In The Body
Did you know that your body actually produces its own natural pain killers called endorphins? Keep reading to learn more about endorphins and what releases this natural pain medicine.
What Are Endorphins?
Endorphins are chemicals our bodies naturally produce. We often call them the “feel-good” chemical, as they play an essential role in relieving pain and helping us manage stress. The hypothalamus and pituitary glands release endorphins into our bodies immediately when we feel pain or stress, but there are also ways to encourage the release of endorphins.
What Releases Endorphins?
Some natural ways to increase the amount of endorphins your brains releases include:
Natural Painkillers In Food
Certain common culinary items contain powerful pain-relieving effects. Perhaps the best example of this is turmeric — the bright orange spice often used in Southeast Asian cuisine.Turmeric, also known by its scientific name Curcuma Longa, is a flowering plant belonging to the ginger family. Like ginger, turmeric spice comes from the plant’s root. Typically the root is boiled and dried before being ground into a fine powder. In addition to flavoring our favorite curries and its use as a natural dyeing agent, turmeric also possesses potent pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects. It’s been used in traditional folk medicine for centuries, and modern scientific research is starting to catch up. In fact, two recent studies found that turmeric was surprisingly more effective than ibuprofen at assuaging muscle soreness, relieving pain, and reducing swelling.
Natural Painkillers In Cannabis
The cannabis plant, and the smorgasbord of curative compounds found within, have become extremely popular in the wellness community since becoming more readily accessible in recent years. One of its most promising therapeutic applications is as a pain reliever. When you think about cannabis, you may conjure conventional stoner stereotypes. But, while the plant does contain natural pain killers that get you high, like THC, it also contains the non-intoxicating compound CBD. We still need more clinical trials to determine the efficacy of CBD as a pain reliever, but preliminary research strongly suggests that CBD can help treat pain and inflammation.
Combining CBD and Turmeric
The best pain relievers often combine several natural remedies. Both CBD and turmeric may be effective natural analgesics when used on their own, but they’re even more powerful when combined. The Vitaldiol Relief capsule contains 35 mg of hemp-derived CBD isolate, and 250 mg of turmeric to help support you in the battle against aches and pains.