Food for Special Medical Purposes and Nutraceuticals for Pain: A Narrative Review
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The present paper focuses on the possible contribution of food compounds to alleviate symptomatic pains. Chronic pain can more easily be linked to anticipatory signals such as thirst and hunger than it is to sensory perceptions as its chronicity makes it fall under the behavioural category rather than it does senses. In fact, pain often negatively affects one's normal feeding behavioural patterns, both directly and indirectly, as it is associated with pain or because of its prostrating effects. NUTRITIONAL COMPOUNDS FOR PAIN: Several nutraceuticals and Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMPs) are reported to have significant pain relief efficacy with multiple antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Apart from the aforementioned properties, amino acids, fatty acids, trace elements and vitamins may have a role in the modulation of pain signals to and within the nervous system. CONCLUSION: In our opinion, this review could be of great interest to clinicians, as it offers a complementary perspective in the management of pain. Trials with well-defined patient and symptoms selection and a robust pharmacological design are pivotal points to let these promising compounds become better accepted by the medical community.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Bioactive Molecules Released in Food by Lactic Acid Bacteria: Encrypted Peptides and Biogenic Amines
- A central role for amyloid fibrin microclots in long COVID/PASC: origins and therapeutic implications
- Bioaccessibility and bioavailability of phenolic compounds
- The Glutamate Hypothesis in ALS: Pathophysiology and Drug Development
- Therapeutic Approaches to Genetic Ion Channelopathies and Perspectives in Drug Discovery
- Effects of the Mediterranean Diet on the Components of Metabolic Syndrome Concerning the Cardiometabolic Risk
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.