Do you ever wonder if changing certain aspects of your diet could help alleviate discomfort in your back? Many foods have been shown to reduce inflammation, a known cause for back pain. So when you have back pain, changing your diet may help you avoid it.

Eat Your Veggies to Fight Back Pain

A mostly plant-based diet that includes such things as flax and chia seeds, is probably your best bet to avoid inflammation, especially when eaten in combination with omega-3-rich coldwater fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, black cod, tuna, and trout.

Avoid These Foods to Reduce Pain

Robin Barrie Kaiden, RD, CDN, a registered dietitian at Robin Barrie Nutrition in New York City, says that some people avoid nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, eggplant, white potatoes, and peppers) as part of an anti-inflammatory diet. Other foods to avoid? Processed foods, fast foods, and saturated fats. All of these fuel inflammation. This includes white bread, pasta, rice, sugary drinks and snacks, fried foods, and anything with partially hydrogenated oil.

The Calcium Factor

Another way to keep back pain at bay is to make sure you’re getting enough of the right nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D. Bone is the body’s storage reservoir for calcium. A 2010 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) gave new guidelines for daily calcium supplementation. These definitions are commonly referred to as the recommended daily allowance. According to the IOM, you shouldn’t consume more than 2,000 milligrams of calcium a day. 

Click Here To Read The Full Article 

This article was originally posted on everydayhealth.com