Each day, millions of Americans suffer from chronic joint pain that will not subside no matter what they may do.  Many of those who are suffering have tried everything in order to try and combat their persistent arthritis and chronic joint pain.  Unfortunately, those dealing with this condition are told by health experts that there is nothing that can be done to cure the problem.

As a result, most will give medication a try but will often find that it has little to no effect.  In fact, it’s well known that many over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications can actually lead to intestinal bleeding (1).

With that said, many of these same individuals suffering from severe joint pain and arthritis often times also suffer from poor digestive health.  It’s not uncommon for digestive conditions such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) to cause symptoms such as joint pain and arthritis.  Furthermore, many will be surprised to learn their joint pain and arthritis can be a direct result of poor gut health.

Luckily, we plan to go over all the facts in this post as to how inflammatory conditions such as IBS and IBD can cause symptoms in the body such as joint pain and arthritis.

What is Joint Pain?

Although it may seem obvious, it’s important to understand that any form of inflammation in the body, such as joint pain, is a direct cause of toxicity.  In fact, inflammation is the body’s way of trying to protect itself against toxicity that may be entering the system.

Unfortunately, this inflammation often comes in the form of chronic joint pain and arthritis.  However, this is the body’s way of signaling to the individual that something internally is not right.  If nothing is done to correct this toxicity, these conditions often times become much more severe and will begin to effect other parts of the body.

Yet, those with poor digestive health conditions such as IBS and IBD, can be more prone to developing toxicity in the body.  In fact, maintaining good gut health is essential for both the prevention of joint pain and optimal health.

IBS, Candida, and Joint Pain

IBS can influence joint pain in several different ways.  However, the most common is through possible fungal overgrowth’s such as candida.  It’s been shown that those suffering from IBS almost always have a fungal overgrowth such as candida in the gut (2).  For those unaware, candida is a pathogenic fungus capable of causing all sorts of disorders in the body and can cause the gut microbiome to shift in a negative direction.

Those with candida overgrowth will naturally be more prone to developing toxicity in the body.  This is because candida can release over 70 different toxic byproducts into the body.  Although all of these byproducts effect the body negatively, the toxic byproduct Gliotoxin can be extremely damaging to the liver.

Research has shown that gliotoxin has the ability to destroy liver cells and can significantly reduce the functionality of this vital organ.  This becomes problematic because all blood coming from the stomach is first filtered by the liver before being released to all other parts of the body.

As a result, it’s very likely that those with a candida overgrowth will not be filtering blood properly due to poor liver function.  This allows toxins to easily pass through the liver and reach other parts of the body.  When the immune system recognizes these toxins in the blood, it may cause symptoms such as inflammation in order to protect the body.

Intestinal Permeability and Joint Pain

It’s very common for those suffering with IBS to have a permeable gut.  This simple means that the protective mucosal lining has been destroyed and the gut has now become “leaky.”  When this occurs, undigested food particles can easily pass through the digestive lining and into the blood stream.

This can be extremely problematic because these undigested food particles will be recognized as a threat by the immune system.  As a result, symptoms such as joint pain and arthritis are not uncommon reactions that can occur due to this intestinal permeability.  It should be mentioned that fungal overgrowth’s such as candida can also contribute to intestinal permeability (3).  This is because candida will actually burrow itself into the digestive lining and create microscopic spaces between intestinal cells.  This allows undigested food particles to easily pass through the small microscopic spaces within the digestive lining.

Foods That Promote Joint Pain

As well as possible pathogenic fungal overgrowth’s, there are particular foods that can also cause inflammation in the body.  Typically, foods that contain high amounts of anti-nutrients will naturally be inflammatory to both the gut and body.  For those unaware, plant foods contain the most anti-nutrients when compared to any other food.

Plant foods, despite popular belief, actually can make digestive conditions much worse.  Interestingly, research has shown that phytic acid, an anti-nutrient present in all grains, can contribute to intestinal inflammation and bind to minerals in the body (4).  Furthermore, dark leafy greens contain extremely high amounts of the gut irritating anti-nutrients called oxalic acid.  It should mentioned, most leafy greens are naturally goitrogenic and can contribute to thyroid disorders in the body if eaten in excess.

With that said, it’s important to understand that any food which causes intestinal inflammation can naturally contribute to symptoms such as joint pain and arthritis.  Removing inflammatory foods and healing the gut can do wonders for those dealing with chronic inflammatory conditions in the body.  For more information on foods that can contribute to joint pain and inflammation, please visit our Homepage.                                   

The Best Diet for Reducing Pain Naturally

If you suffer from IBS and are also dealing with chronic inflammatory conditions such as joint pain and arthritis, it’s imperative that you change up your diet immediately.  This means consuming foods that will help reduce intestinal inflammation and seal the gut.

Luckily, we’ve covered the best diet to follow if you suffer from IBS.  All this information can be found on our Diet Protocol Page.  Here you will find a complete outline of the best foods to eat if you suffer from a digestive conditions such as IBS.

That being said, it’s imperative that those with IBS include high quality animal foods in their diet.  In fact, animal foods should form the base of the diet; while all other foods should be supplemental.   Animal foods do not contain any anti-nutrients.  This means they do not contribute to intestinal inflammation like most plant foods.

Also, animal foods contain all the necessary vitamins, minerals, and amino acids needed in order for healthy repair and recovery in the body.  As mentioned before, many with IBS often times have a destroyed mucosal lining and suffer from intestinal permeability.  Animal foods can help seal the gut and can help rebuild the mucosal lining so that undigested food particles are unable to pass through the intestines and into the blood stream.

Try our Cookbook for Joint Pain

Our Intestinal Health Cookbook can be great for anyone suffering with both IBS and inflammatory conditions such as joint pain.  This cookbook contains over 20 different gut friendly recipes that not only taste good, but are great for your health!

We understand the difficulty that comes with changing diet.  In fact, it was for this reason that we created our Intestinal Health Cookbook.  Our goal is to make the transition from diets as simply as possible!

Many find that the cookbook helps them stay true to a gut healing and IBS friendly diet.  Those worried about sticking to the diet should consider giving our cookbook a try.

Use Bone Broths Frequently

A great way to naturally improve the health of the gut and reduce inflammation is to consume more bone broths.  Bone broths are one of the most nutritious foods you can get your hands on.  It’s full of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that can help improve the overall health of the body dramatically.

In particular, bone broth is an excellent source of collagen.  Collagen has been shown in studies to help reduce inflammatory conditions in the body significantly (5).  In fact, many athletes will take a collagen supplement in order to help reduce pain and promote faster recovery in the body.  However, although collagen supplements can be useful, we highly recommend that you get all your collagen needs from a more natural source such as bone broth.