Sometimes you’ve exercised too much and your muscles hurt. Sometimes, you’ve got a terrible headache – perhaps you’ve slept too much, or too little? And sometimes, you’re tired, weary, and desperately in need to rest your sore, tired body after a long day. Pain is something we cannot avoid, no matter how healthy our diets and lifestyles are. But that doesn’t mean that pain should be lived with – research shows that there are some everyday foods that work like a charm to ease pain and replenish our systems.

Let’s start with bananas… if you have cramps, then this is the fruit for you. Cramping is usually the result of an imbalance in the body’s potassium supply. Because bananas are potassium-rich, including as little as one banana in your diet a day can help to replenish your daily needs and reduce cramping.

Ease arthritis and joint-pains with a few dashes of cinnamon. Researchers from the Nanjing University in China have discovered that cinnamon is highly effective in reducing inflammation, and also uric acid – the prime culprit for arthritis flare-ups.

Spice it up with Ginger and Turmeric. These two glorious spices have the same analgesic properties as aspirin or ibuprofen – without savagely attacking your stomach line or putting too much pressure on your kidney functions. On the contrary… both ginger and turmeric’s analgesic properties are amongst many of their favorable health benefits: the most important being that they will actually protect your digestive system, from oral to renal.

Get rid of that headache with a handful of cherries. Researchers from Michigan State University say that eating around twenty of these delightfully sweet little fruits will ease a headache. What’s more is that cherries have been discovered to ease muscular pain after a bout of weight-training.

Vitamin C rich fruit are also one of the best means for killing pain. We’re talking about strawberries, kiwis, oranges, guavas, lemons, and limes. Vitamin C is a very powerful antioxidant that has recently been discovered to reduce pain. Studies have suggested that eating vitamin C-rich foods will reduce pain after breaking a limb or going through surgery.

Go for some golden olive oil over your salad next time – and that’s because olive oil is rich in particular antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties that hinder the pain-causing mechanisms within the body. Because it is a monounsaturated fat, it is also a heart-healthy choice that happens to reduce high blood-pressure, a prime culprit when it comes to headaches.

Eat that lettuce – because researchers have recently discovered that it contains salicylic acid, a compound found in aspirin. Romaine lettuce in particular is quite rich in this compound, which is known to treat inflammation.

How’s that for natural painkillers? Before reaching for a box of pills, think again – whatever fruits, veggies, and spices you have in your fridge or on the bench might very well do your body a world of good, side-effect-free.

About the author: Raw Michelle is a natural health blogger and researcher, sharing her passions with others, using the Internet as her medium. She discusses topics in a straight forward way in hopes to help people from all walks of life achieve optimal health and well-being. She has authored and published hundreds of articles on topics such as the raw food diet and green living in general. In 2010, Michelle created RawFoodHealthWatch.com, to share with people her approach to the raw food diet and detoxification.