164 | What Actually Helps Chronic Pain?

Nutrition, supplements, and what the evidence says

In this episode, I’m joined by Chelsey Hoffmann, PA-C, RDN, who specializes in pain medicine at Mayo Clinic, to break down where nutrition fits into chronic pain management and how to evaluate supplements without overpromising results.

We cover:

• Why a Mediterranean-style diet should come before supplements for pain
• Supplements with evidence for neuropathic pain vs. musculoskeletal pain
• What we know about alpha-lipoic acid, turmeric/curcumin, glucosamine, chondroitin, collagen, omega-3s, magnesium, vitamin D, and PEA
• Chelsey's algorithm for experimenting with supplements 
• How to define whether a supplement is actually “working”
• Medication interactions and patient populations that require extra caution
• When nutrient deficiencies should be investigated before adding another supplement

Resources mentioned:

• Episode 75: Are Your Patients Taking Too Many Supplements and Don’t Even Know It?
• Episode 73: Is That Supplement Worth It? 
• Connect with Chelsey Hoffmann on LinkedIn

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Disclaimer: This podcast is a collection of ideas, strategies, and opinions of the author(s). Its goal is to provide useful information on each of the topics shared within. It is not intended to provide medical, health, or professional consultation or to diagnosis-specific weight or feeding challenges. The author(s) advises the reader to always consult with appropriate health, medical, and professional consultants for support for individual children and family situations. The author(s) do not take responsibility for the personal or other risks, loss, or liability incurred as a direct or indirect consequence of the application or use of information provided. All opinions stated in this podcast are my own and do not reflect the opinions of my employer.