It's a delicious but vicious cycle: Food, particularly high-sugar and high-fat foods, can bring acute relief both from physical and emotional pain, studies show. But in the long run, overeating may make your pain worse.

"My patients say when they hurt they have to eat," says Dr. Francis Keefe, Ph.D., professor in the department of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, Durham. Unfortunately, pain relief from food is usually short-lived, and the long-term consequence is weight gain. And that can make your joints hurt, not to mention your self-esteem.