Do you suffer from back pain or sciatica? I used to. It certainly is painful and what’s even worse is that it can rob you of your life. Suddenly even the most basic things like walking, going to work, or even playing with your children can become a massive struggle against pain.
Most cases of back pain are caused by either muscle imbalances or inflammation. Muscle imbalances are a topic I’ll have to discuss later, but inflammation is no less significant. Inflammation occurs as a natural reaction from your body to protect itself from injury or toxic substances.
However, the typical western diet these days also contains a lot of unhealthy fats and other ingredients that cause inflammation. But did you know that there are foods you can eat that lower inflammation and can actually help relieve your back pain? Here are 4 of them:
Omega 3 Fats - These help with back pain by decreasing inflammation. They also reduce blockages in your arteries. This helps to improve blood flow and circulation, which allow all parts of your body (including your spine, vertebrae, discs, and nerves) to get enough oxygen to function properly.
You can find Omega 3 fats in seafood, particularly salmon, herring, shellfish, and trout. If you’re not crazy about seafood, don’t worry. You can also find Omega 3 fats in foods like tofu, walnuts, beans and squash.
Vitamin D - This vitamin can help reduce inflammation, improve muscle and nerve function, which makes your back stronger, and it also makes other painkillers more effective.
Fortunately, Vitamin D is easy to get, but unfortunately most people in our society are extremely deficient in it. Your body naturally produces Vitamin D when you are out in the sunlight. But far too many people work in drab office buildings all day long and don’t get the natural sunlight they need. If you can try to take a 20 minute walk in the sun every day. If this is not possible for you, you can always take Vitamin D supplements.
Antioxidants - You may have heard that antioxidants are good at preventing cancer by fighting “free radicals” in the body. But these same free radicals can also damage nerves and increase sensitivity to pain. Antioxidants control free radicals in your body and will help reduce back pain (in addition to their many other health benefits).
The most common sources of antioxidants are from beans, berries, and other fruits.
Olive Oil - This one is a bit strange. But did you know that olive oil contains COX inhibitors--the same element found in ibuprofen. COX enzymes cause inflammation in the body and the COX inhibitors in olive oil stop this enzyme from working.
Not only is olive oil 3 times more effective than painkiller pills like ibuprofen, but it doesn’t have the same negative side effects that many of the dangerous NSAID painkillers do, such as internal bleeding.
I hope this information has given you a few ideas on how to spruce up your diet to help you decrease inflammation and heal your back pain.
If you found this information helpful and you’d like to discover a simple sciatica home treatment to help you get over the pain on your own, check out my Back Pain Diet review where you will learn more ways your diet can help you relieve back pain.
Leroy Lombard used to suffer from sciatica brought on by Piriformis Syndrome. After studying the causes and cures for sciatic nerve pain and finding lasting relief himself, he enjoys sharing his knowledge with others.