So to feel energetic you need to put really healthy food into your body.
In the same way that you'd put good fuel or good petrol into a car to make sure it ran smoothly.
Now healthy food comes from the basic food groups.
So breads and cereals.
Pick the high fibre ones, wholemeal or wholegrain.
For dairy products pick the reduced fat or the low fat ones.
So yoghurt, custard, milk.
For protein foods select red meat or chicken or fish.
Or the vegetarian alternatives like eggs or canned beans or lentils.
And then when it comes to fruit and vegetables this is where you need to eat a rainbow.
So as much colour on your plate as you can manage.
Different fruits and different vegetables and salads.
And then when it comes to fats pick the healthier ones.
Things like canola or even avocado.
All of that mix of healthy food is gunna help you feel energetic and help with your pain.
There's a really important link between what you eat and your pain levels.
It can be through your weight.
It can be through the foods you eat.
And it can be both actually working together.
We know that there's some specific food components that can influence your pain levels.
We know that some fats can increase inflammation in the body while others can decrease it.
And this affects the sensitivity of nerves to pain.
Some types of dietary fats, omega 3 fats specifically, get incorporated into the red blood cell membranes in your body.
And they can help produce chemicals that dampen down pain.
They help to make your nerves less sensitive to pain stimulus.
Now omega 3 fats is in some foods but it's also in supplements.
For the foods you can actually have oily fish like salmon or sardines.
There are omega 3 fortified products.
You can have walnuts or flax seeds or linseeds.
So when it comes to supplements, that's where you need to talk to your healthcare team or your GP.
Because you’re growing still, you may need particular supplements that an adult wouldn't need.
So discuss it with your healthcare professionals.
Sometimes it can feel overwhelming with all this information and talk about pain and changing your food habits and medications.
But the important thing is that there's always more than one way to do things.
And the same applies to healthy eating.
But the really important thing and the really good news is that you can actually play a role in changing your pain levels and managing them.
Food is so important and so powerful.
Talk to mum, dad or your carers about the sorts of foods you like that are on the healthy eating list.
Now it's not gunna happen overnight but it absolutely is going to make a difference to your pain.
So hang in there.
You can do this.
