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Can Your Diet Relieve Your Back Pain?

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Back pain can really disrupt your life. Back pain can make it difficult for you to be as active as you'd like, and it can also interfere with your ability to sit comfortably or fall asleep at night. Unfortunately, it can also be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of your back pain, and treatments that work for one person may not work for someone else. However, the food you eat is often overlooked as a possible solution for back pain. If you haven't found an effective way to relieve your back pain, it's possible that changing your diet may bring the relief you've been looking for. Take a look at what to eat, and what not to eat, when you're looking for back pain relief.

Up Your Calcium Intake

You're probably aware that calcium is important for forming and maintaining strong bones. This applies to the bones in your spine as well. If you're not getting enough calcium, you're at risk of compression fractures or spinal curvatures that can cause back pain. What you may not know, however, is that calcium also helps with your muscle tone and nerve health, both of which are important for a healthy, pain-free back.

You can add more calcium to your diet by upping your intake of dairy products and green leafy vegetables like kale and broccoli. You can also find calcium in certain fish, like salmon. Some foods, like bread and cereal, are fortified with extra calcium, so check the labels when you shop.

Eat Foods That Reduce Inflammation

Inflammation of the nerves and muscles in your back are another common cause of back pain, and other types of chronic pain as well. Most over-the-counter pain remedies, like ibuprofen, are anti-inflammatory agents. However, there are foods that work to reduce inflammation as well, and including these in your diet can go a long way toward easing your back pain.

Flax seeds, berries, kiwis, and olives, or olive oil, are good examples of foods that are effective at reducing inflammation, and incorporating these into your diet can help reduce back pain. You may also want to look at adding the spice turmeric to your food whenever possible. This spice prevents inflammation by blocking inflammatory chemicals.

Avoid Inflammatory Foods

Just as some foods can reduce or prevent inflammation, other foods can exacerbate the problem. Often these are foods that you should try to avoid anyway ā€“ fried foods, sugary snacks and sodas, and other processed foods, like white bread and pasta, can all contribute to inflammation.

Foods containing nightshade, like tomatoes and eggplants, are also thought to be linked to inflammation. If you frequently consume these items, you may need to consider eliminating them from your diet to see if you feel better without them.

A chiropractor who specializes in treating back pain may be able to help you determine the cause of your pain and decide on a treatment plan that can help. Talk to your chiropractor about your diet and find out if healthy changes to your eating habits can put you on the road to better back health. Contact a doctor, such as Dr Rick J Jaminet PC, for more information. 


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