Spine and Back Pain and Depression and Cognition Helped by Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Inflammation is effective and normal…in certain circumstances like defending a part of the body that is injured or infected. Inflammation is not good...like when it hangs around too long. Inflammation is a cellular level event and may contribute to a multitude of chronic diseases: cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, lung, mental, metabolic, neurodegenerative, and more. (1) Executive Chiropractic of Iowa strives to decrease inflammation’s impact on the health of our West Des Moines chiropractic patients experiencing issues like back pain, headache/migraine, depression and even cognitive issues associated with Alzheimer’s. An anti-inflammatory diet has a role in this effort.
INFLAMMATION LINKED TO BACK PAIN, DEPRESSION, ALZHEIMER’S…
A systematic review and meta-analysis of existing medical studies regarding the role of inflammation and depression reported that a pro-inflammatory diet was associated with a greater risk of depression symptoms and diagnosis contrasted with those who chose an anti-inflammatory diet. (2) Another study suggested a link between low back pain and pro-inflammatory diets as well. A study of 7346 people revealed that those reporting the highest inflammatory diet had higher risk of reporting low back pain, too. (3) Connections between diet, nutrition and Alzheimer’s disease have been described. The good news is that nutrition was described as being able to regulate the immune system and even alter the neuroinflammatory processes related to Alzheimer’s and age-related cognition issues. (4) These descriptions demonstrate just how far-reaching inflammation can be.
…EVEN MIGRAINE
Migraine as primary headache is projected to affect 14.4% of people and rated as the biggest contributor to disability in people over 50 years of age. Migraine is studied a lot as to what its mechanism is but still remains a bit of a mystery. Researchers summarized that many factors play a role: vascular function, trigeminovascular pathway activation, pro-inflammatory and oxidative stats may contribute to migraine pain. Studies associating migraine to the role of dietary interventions are few, but a recent data search found that Ketogenic diet, modified Atkins diets, and low glycemic diets may improve mitochondrial function and energy metabolism, reduce CGRP (calcitonin gene related peptide) level, stabilize serotonin, and suppress neuroinflammation. Through inflammation and irregular hypothalamic function, obesity and headaches (migraines too) may be linked. The inflammatory link came out in the published papers. Dietary interventions like the intake of essential fatty acids (reducing omega-6 and increasing omega-3 which were documented to affect inflammation) were discussed as helpful. (5) Executive Chiropractic of Iowa knows the power diet and nutrition may have in disease processes like migraine, back pain, depression, and cognition.
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET
Executive Chiropractic of Iowa also knows many of us do not like the word diet. It often brings to mind what we can’t have. A good diet allows a lot of good food though. Basic guidelines for an anti-inflammatory diet design consist of eating eggs, coffee, tea, fish, lean meat, legumes, honey, vegetables and plain dairy like milk, yogurt, hard cheeses, kefir with limited intake of red meat and other dairy and sugar while avoiding canned/processed food, sweetened drinks, and alcohol. (6) We are confident our chiropractic patients can handle this type of diet!
CONTACT Executive Chiropractic of Iowa
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares how inflammation and the immune system interact and how chiropractic care and the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management may be beneficial.
Make your next West Des Moines chiropractic visit with Executive Chiropractic of Iowa. If inflammation has overstayed its good and normal welcome, let’s talk about taking some steps toward a more beneficial anti-inflammatory diet.
