What I Eat In a Day to Manage Chronic Pain
Key takeaways:
When Dani Fernández was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and hypermobility, she decided to change her diet to help manage her chronic pain.
Being in recovery for anorexia meant it wasn’t wise for her to restrict her diet. Instead, she added anti-inflammatory and nutrient-rich foods.
Dani chooses to eat for health first and taste second.
In February 2023, Dani Fernández started experiencing random pain all over her body. She had no idea why.
Dani had a slipped disc that she knew could be contributing to the pain and tingling sensation in her legs, but it didn’t explain the pain and twitching in her upper body. The pain didn’t go away, but it also didn’t stay in one place either. It often switched sides. It just didn’t make sense.
“I would wake up, and I would be like, ‘OK, what’s gonna hurt today?’” says Dani, a 25-year-old Georgia resident. “Every day was something different. It would be my neck, or my calf would feel inflamed to the point where I would feel pressure, and I would get scared that it would be compression syndrome or something like that, which thankfully it was never like that.”
Dani’s nerve pain was so intense that she cried for the entirety of an 8-hour road trip with her mom. Her left arm became numb and tingly. The sensation was alarming. She was also plagued with digestive problems. Her stomach hurt often.
Dani went to her primary care doctor, a neurologist, an orthopedist, and a rheumatologist to try to find answers for her chronic pain. Finally, after a slew of tests, the rheumatologist diagnosed Dani with fibromyalgia and hypermobility in September 2023.
Dani took prescription medication for nerve pain, but she says her body started to become reliant on it, so she stopped taking it. Doctors said she could have injections, but she didn’t want to do that unless it became absolutely necessary. Instead, she decided to focus on her nutrition and diet.
Instead of eliminating foods, she added nourishing ones
Dani, a native of Colombia who has been in the U.S. for 9 years, was diagnosed with anorexia at 15. She has been hospitalized three times for treatment, so she knew she needed to be very careful not to limit the foods she ate. Having enough nutrients is important for muscle, bone, and hormonal health, she says.
“When everything starts to hurt … you realize your health is the most important thing and not how you look,” she says. “When you’re not nourishing your body properly, problems start coming up.”
So instead of eliminating foods, she began to add them, including more anti-inflammatory and nutrient-rich ingredients to make herself feel better. To get in more Omega-3 fatty acids, for example, she ate more salmon and sardines.
She told herself: “I’m just going to make myself eat it. Like, I don’t care if it doesn’t taste the best.”
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To make sure she has enough protein, Dani eats beef, chicken and eggs. And she includes plenty of leafy greens in her meals. Spinach is her favorite. She eats blueberries and tomatoes almost every day. And she adds turmeric and black pepper to flavor her egg dishes and stews.
Dani says she noticed that foods that contain lactose make her stomach hurt — except for Greek yogurt — so she chooses alternatives, like almond milk. She still has ice cream (cookies and cream is her favorite flavor), but not often and not in large quantities. Instead, she has Greek yogurt with berries when she’s craving dessert.
She also swaps fried foods for more healthy alternatives. For example, Dani chooses grilled chicken instead of fried chicken at Chick-fil-A.
Tough changes for the better
Dani’s diagnosis has been tough for her to accept.
“It feels so unfair,” she says. “I cry. I get angry at the world, at the universe, at everything.”
Dani says she sees other people her age living active lives in a way she wishes she could. Even a short walk can bring on shin or calf pain that doesn’t go away.
“I just feel like my body is like an old lady,” she explains.
In May, Dani has genetic testing scheduled to see if she has Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, a group of rare inherited conditions that affect connective tissues. Connective tissues provide support in skin, ligaments, tendons, blood vessels, internal organs, and bones.
“Honestly, it will make me feel a little better” if the test is positive, she says. At least then, it would give her some answers.
Regardless, Dani will continue with her nutrient-rich, anti-inflammatory diet because she knows what helps her feel her best. These days, she shares her experience on TikTok to help other women her age around the world who might be experiencing something similar.
For Dani, everything is about health now.
“I’m going to have this lunch, not because I’m hungry or it’s the most delicious meal ever, but because I know that it will help me heal my body,” she says. “I feel like I am doing something good for me, something good for my body, and that feels good.”
Dani’s typical meal options
Here’s how Dani eats to manage her chronic pain:
Breakfast
Dani alternates between sweet and savory options for breakfast. Some days, she eats avocado toast with organic eggs seasoned with turmeric and black pepper. When she’d rather have a sweet start to the day, she’ll have a Greek yogurt bowl with Japanese sweet potato, berries, and nut butter.
Lunch
Dani’s favorite meal is breakfast, so she might have egg tacos for lunch. She also might have a sandwich with turkey or chicken. Whatever she chooses, the plate always has a protein, fat, and carbohydrate for a balanced meal. And she always adds a vegetable. It could be zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms — whatever she finds in the fridge. She likes to mix it up.
Snack
Popcorn is one of Dani’s favorite snacks. She also enjoys rice cakes with almond butter and banana slices. Occasionally, she eats vegan protein bars.
Dinner
If she hasn’t already had avocado toast, Dani might choose to eat that for dinner. She also could make a stew, salmon, or chicken; for a faster meal, she can toss organic chicken nuggets in the air fryer.
Dani isn’t a big fan of pasta, but when she has it, she adds sardines to the tomato sauce, which is how it’s served in her native country. Or she adds sardines to her salad. When she’s craving Colombian food, she’ll eat corn arepas (as long as she doesn’t have a ton of cheese).
Dessert
Dani eats ice cream, but only every so often, and not too much at a time. For her, a safer and equally delicious option could be Greek yogurt with berries or bananas.
Bedtime snack
If she’s still hungry on a late night, Dani eats cereal made of chickpea flour with almond milk.
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