I ate two large bowls of Pad Thai last night, full of starch and sugar. I woke up with joint pain. Coincidence? Nope. A diet high in carbs or sugar can easily lead to joint inflammation and pain.

First, let me say that normally I do eat a healthy low carb / low sugar diet - but we were watching a brutal movie about child soldiers - Beasts of No Nation. And by the time I was halfway through it I was craving comfort food. So I ended up ordering Pad Thai and eating two giant bowls of it. This was a substantial deluge to my body which normally loves fresh salads and grilled chicken.

By a few hours later I had begun to have pain in my rotator cuff. That's something that comes and goes with me but usually only after a full day kayaking or other activity. Not when I'm just sitting in front of a TV.

All through the night I tossed and turned with new aches and pains. My lower back was sore. Even my upper spine was sore.

Here it is, nearly a full twenty-four hours later, and the symptoms are just starting to fade. Plus I'm exhausted from not sleeping well.

Why Does Sugar / High Carb cause Joint Pain?
Simple carbs cause a matching reaction in the blood stream, which is why there are all those blood sugar tests out there. One thing the body does as part of its processing is to release insulin and stress hormones (Cortisol) to handle the sugar. With the blood stream going everywhere, those components go into the joints. The joints then become inflamed.

Many people live with chronic joint pain thinking it's aging or overuse - when really their diet is a key part of the problem. If they converted to complex carbs and cut out the white flour / sugar / white bread, they might see many of their issues go away. Conversely, someone who normally does avoid those triggers who indulges hard could easily see the joint pain explosion - which I did.

The link between sugar / carbs and inflammation has been documented by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, CNN, and many other researchers.

The solution is easy enough. Cut out those pasta and white bread dishes. Cut out the sugars. Your body will feel better naturally. Instead of taking pain killers to deaden the pain of your body trying to tell you something is wrong, look to see if there might be a dietary reason for your issues - and fix it!




Lisa Shea's Library of Low Carb Books