Different foods can be good for spine health. Let’s talk about a few foods for a healthy spine.

Foods with Anti Inflammatory Benefits

Reducing inflammation helps minimize pain throughout the body, including in the spine. Too much inflammation can put pressure on sensitive nerves around the spinal column or stiffen the many joints in your spine.

Eating more foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids can have anti-inflammatory effects on the body. Examples include fruits, vegetables, and fish.

At the same time, foods rich in omega-6 fatty acids promote inflammation in the body. Limiting your intake of these foods (fried foods, grains, oils) can help prevent inflammation from building up in your body.

Read more about the relationship between diet and chronic pain.

Using Diet to Help Keep Your Bones Strong

Keeping the bones of your spine strong can help prevent fractured vertebrae. Eating foods with calcium and vitamin D help your body maintain strong bones. Examples of calcium rich foods include dairy products, salmon, tuna, and spinach. Vitamin D is found naturally in salmon, tuna and egg yolks. In addition, breakfast cereals are often fortified with vitamin D.

When bones weaken individuals are at risk for osteoporosis. Watching your diet is one way you can try and prevent the onset of osteoporosis.

Foods for Healthy Muscles

One of magnesium’s roles in the body is to help provide for healthy muscles and nerves. Scientists continue to study the effects of magnesium but have related low magnesium levels with back pain. In one study, bringing the patients levels of magnesium in their body to normal ranges usually resolved their back pain.

Food rich in magnesium help the body maintain appropriate magnesium levels. These include nuts, spinach, yogurt, cereals, and soymilk.

There are a lot of reasons to maintain a healthy diet. When you think about what you’re eating, make sure to include some foods for a healthy spine!