A Healthy Diet Equals a Healthy Back

Although it may not be the first thing that comes to mind, your diet can influence the health of your back.

A balanced diet including the proper amount of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients helps support the musculoskeletal system, build strong muscle and bone, and reduce the incidence of back problems.  In addition, weight loss, daily exercise, and smoking cessation can optimize spinal health, as well as your overall health.

Spine-health.com has done a great job giving an overview of how your food intake influences your spinal health.  They clearly outline the benefits of the common vitamins we seek to include in our daily diet.

In particular, I recommend paying attention to calcium which is essential for bone health and minimizing the complications of osteoporosis.  Vitamin D also improves calcium resorption so spend a bit of time in natural sunlight.  And don’t forget super foods such as spinach, kale, and broccoli which include large amounts of vitamin B12, iron, magnesium, and calcium.

After all, the best medicine is preventive medicine!

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