We have all had pain of one kind or another, and for the most part, we do not enjoy it one bit. We strive to make the pain go away, whether that is with heating pads, ice, pharmaceutical drugs, chiropractic adjustments or other therapies. We will spend great sums of money and travel great distances to find a way to end pain.
Pain is defined as a noxious stimulus, and noxious indeed it is. However, pain is an important signal to let you know something has gone wrong and needs attention, which can be life-saving. So much as we may hate it, it is a necessary part of our health and longevity. It is important to understand what the body is asking for so that the best steps can be taken to address the problem and (hopefully) the pain as well.
Pain Drugs are Dangerous
You might be shocked to learn that more than 16,500 people a year die from the complications of using ibuprofen, and that the number one cause of acute liver failure in the United States is acetaminophen. The reason people keep buying them is because they reduce pain, but at what cost? The opiate epidemic of narcotic pain relievers is incredibly damaging and shows little sign of abating. How many lives are damaged and lost because of opioid addiction?
As if these consequences weren’t enough, there is also another glaring problem: these drugs do nothing to treat the underlying cause of the pain. They do not heal, or treat, or cure.
Natural Alternatives for Pain Relief
We are urgently in need of a way to treat pain and inflammation that is both safe and powerful. It can even save lives. That is why the emerging research on effective botanical interventions is so important.
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Reduce Inflammation with Curcumin
Curcumin is a concentrated extract of the spice turmeric. For relieving most types of pain, addressing inflammation is key, and curcumin may be the most effective natural anti-inflammatory in the world.
Rather than mask the pain signal, or drive down inflammation artificially, curcumin actually modulates inflammation, and reduces pain with relatively little risk. It also does what these drugs cannot do: it boosts the healing of the underlying cause of pain.
Unfortunately, curcumin is hard to absorb. There is a patented, clinically studied enhanced absorption curcumin that uses turmeric essential oil, rich in ar-turmerone. It has been shown to reduce both pain and inflammation in both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, performing as well as drugs. There are also other formulas with enhanced absorption.
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Boswellia for Athritis Pain
The perfect companion to curcumin is the ancient herb, boswellia, sometimes known as frankincense. In fact, the combination of curcumin, turmeric essential oil, and a standardized high-AKBA boswellia was shown to stop arthritis pain as effectively as the prescription drug celecoxib, with better reductions in pain and greater increases in walking distances. And unlike celecoxib, known for adverse effects that include increased risk of heart attack and stroke, the herbal group saw no serious side effects at all and was very well tolerated
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Relieve Pain with Hemp Oil & Phytocannabinoids
There has been a lot of focus on one compound found in hemp oil, cannabidiol, known better by its shorthand name of CBD. Though CBD has studies, more recent research has found that CBD on its own is not nearly as powerful as the full spectrum of phytocannabinoids in hemp. In fact, CBD has over 100 distinct brothers and sisters in this family that can provide even greater levels of benefits.
It’s important to look for full-spectrum hemp oil. Several published studies have shown great benefits for many types of pain utilizing the phytocannabinoids in hemp oil. For the cleanest source, European oil grown on land that is Ecocert certified is stellar.
Herbal Combinations for Better Pain Relief
While all these interventions on their own are very useful, for serious pain relief, the combination is best. Pairing a clinically studied, powerful curcumin- and boswellia-based product with a premium European hemp oil addresses pain in two ways: reducing inflammation and activating the endocannabinoid system.
These products are fine on their own, but even better together, and can relieve pain while addressing the underlying problem that is causing the pain in the first place.
