Back pain can completely derail your life by keeping you away from the people you love, getting a good night’s sleep, and physical exercise. While your first thought to ease back pain could be resorting to pain medications and other over-the-counter drugs, back pain relief could be easier than you think. What you eat can help or hurt you. Therefore, it is vital to pick foods that will help minimize inflammation and support your overall bone health. Many foods can reduce or increase inflammation, which is a significant cause of back pain. Most of these foods helping fight chronic back pain can be easily assimilated into any diet, even for picky eaters.
Kale
Numerous vegetables have anti-inflammatory properties, but in general, the greener the veggie, the better for you and your back. Kales are ubiquitous, and its salad is an easy way of getting some green into your life. You can throw a few into a smoothie and reap the benefits of a healthy life and painless back.
Olive Oil
Olive oil has numerous health benefits, including anti-inflammatory capabilities. Besides, it’s filled with antioxidants such as oleocanthal, a chemical that works just like ibuprofen for pain relief. All you need to do is put a drizzle onto your frying pan before cooking something or onto your salad to reap the benefits.
Cheese, Yoghurt, and Milk
Contrary to what most people believe about these dairy products, foods with anti-inflammatory properties aren’t enough. You must add a diet filled with calcium to help maintain and strengthen the bone mass. Cheese, yogurt, milk, and other dairy products are a perfect source of calcium. For vegans, orange juice, soy milk, and tofu are excellent calcium sources.
Ginger
Ginger is a superfood when it comes to health benefits. They have potent anti-inflammatory compounds known as gingerols that significantly reduce pain in arthritic people. Include ginger in your diet at least three times a week to relieve your back pain.
Coffee
This is where caffeine addicts will rejoice! Coffee has anti-inflammatories like polyphenol, which helps in relieving pain. Coffee also has the effect of distracting you from any pain in the first place. So, include a cup, two or even five a day to keep your back pain at bay.
Balanced diet
Eating a balanced diet with all foods from every group in the right amounts can help relieve all types of pain as it helps maintain a healthy weight. This is crucial in preventing spinal injuries as overweight and obese individuals are more susceptible to back and knee problems due to the joints’ extra strain.
Foods to avoid
Processed foods, saturated fats, and fast foods aren’t right for your health. All these foods fuel inflammation, which is the root cause of back and knee problems. These include pasta, white bread, snacks, rice, and sugary drinks.
Other foods to avoid:
- Vegetable oils- mixed vegetable oils, corn, and sunflower
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Vegetable and margarine shortening
- Full-fat dairy products
- Foods with trans-fats
- Foods high in saturated fats
