Eat Food, Not Advil

I was absolutely thrilled when I flipped through the current issue of Oprah’s magazine and found an article all about whether or not to ‘take a pill or see a doc’ for a handful of common health concerns.

What piqued my interest in particular was the piece on whether or not to work out or take a pill or see a doctor if one is experiencing muscle soreness.

I was completely expecting to read a recommendation to take an Advil, but much to my pleasant surprise, the suggestion was actually to look at one’s diet and make sure it was anti inflammatory and rich in vegetables, healthy fats and good protein sources.

Imagine that!

How refreshing to see a piece in a magazine with such huge distribution acknowledging the significance of what we put in our bodies and how we feel.

Of course, if you’re experiencing something beyond normal muscle fatigue after workouts, look into it.  

Gait abnormalities, muscle imbalance, lack of proper body work or sleep and improper footwear are just a fraction of things that can contribute to post workout pain that exceeds that natural delayed onset muscle soreness we all experience.  It’s part of being an active human being and often, quite easily addressed.

Please don’t just take more and more pills for mysterious pain and never figure out what the cause is,  in the first place.  That’s just a band-aid that can get quite dangerous in the form of causing internal bleeding when taken in excess.  No, thanks.

Good on you, Oprah, for publishing an article that highlights the focus of what ‘medicine’ should really be all about; in the words of Hippocrates, “Let food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”!