If you're looking for relief from chronic pain, you may have come across rave reviews about Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA). With over 96% of studies showing that PEA is effective for treating chronic pain conditions without adverse effects on the body, you can see why.
Here we will breakdown PEA's benefits and how it works to help with chronic pain relief.
What is Palmitoylethanolamide PEA?
PEA is a chemical made up of fatty acid. It is found naturally in foods like green coffee, egg yolk, white fish, and broccoli. It is considered to be a natural painkiller and an anti inflammatory agent. It was discovered by Nobel Prize winner Levi Montalcini. Her work centered around using PEA to treat chronic inflammation and central neuropathic pain.
PEA is is consistently found in brain, liver, and muscle tissue.
Her work has been confirmed by further clinical studies (over 350 in the last 40 years) showing PEA creates a significant reduction in acute and chronic pain. PEA has also been shown safe an effective for treating the common cold and influenza virus. What makes PEA unique is how the pain reduction mechanism works and the lack of unwanted side affects.
How Does PEA treat Chronic pain?
Coming from the endocannabinoid family (a endogenous fatty acid amide), PEA works via modulation of mast cells and spinal glial cells to be affective against various inflammatory mechanisms. PEA is unique in that it possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive properties. This boosts your body's natural response to pain by dampening the response of the nervous system cells that cause pain.
PEA also lowers the proinflammatory cytokine production and build-up of neutrophils (immune cells that worsen conditions) in the stomach. The inflammatory cytokines contribute to gut damage. The endocannabinoid system PEA works with also helps balance out energy.
Use Cases for PEA's anti inflammatory effects
There have been over 350 clinical trials for use cases for PEA. The clinical data has strong support for the use of PEA in pain management settings. The use cases are numerous.
Widespread clinical research with PEA to treat the influenza infection, neurodegenerative disease, as well as other physiological and pathological conditions. PEA has shown signs of effectiveness against inflammatory bowel disease, acute respiratory tract infections, and nerve pain.
PEA was shown to be more effective than Ibuprofene in more than one research study.
PEA was effective at treating sciatic pain as well as other nerve compression syndromes such as carpal tunnel syndrome. In a placebo controlled study, PEA supplementation was effective against peripheral neuropathic pain and arthritis pain.
Taking PEA by mouth seems to reduce pain and improve function of people with osteoarthritis as well as post operative pain. Egg yolks were found to help prevent rheumatic fever in the 1960's.
PEA is also has been associated with positive brain health, energy, wakefulness, and alertness.
Further clinical trials are ongoing looking for other use cases of PEA to hep the central nervous system and other widespread uses. It also increases our tolerance to several bacterial toxins.
There is some evidence that PEA may be effective at treating multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury.
PEA also has been used as adjunctive therapy in major depressive disorder.
PEA and Chronic Pelvic Pain
PEA has been used to help with endometriosis in women. A research study looked at the effects of treating pelvic pain. PEA supplementation helped reduced pelvic pain and improved sexual function over 6 months.
PEA Supplements for Chronic and Neuropathic Pain Relief
Low endogenous PEA/ levels are associated with a number chronic health conditions and lower immune health. While PEA is naturally occurring in some foods, using PEA as a dietary supplement has been recommended for inflammatory pain relief.
The best types of Palmitoylethanolamide to take is micronized PEA vs other dietary supplements. Micronized PEA has been show to bind effectively to the receptor of the cell nucleus that relates to chronic pain and inflammation.
One product that meets this requirement in PEA For Pain.
Conclusion and Further Reading
The benefits of Palmitoylethanolamide PEA have been proven in a number of animal and human studies. This fatty acid has a great ability to deal with many inflammatory substances in the body.
Another huge part of PEA is the safety levels. In over 350 studies, the anti inflammatory action has proven to be safe in dealing with joint disease, neuropathic pain, and a house of immune system issues.
You can read a number of the studies on PEA at the National Library for Medicine.
