2024 – New Year, New Feet – Nutrition for your Feet
Welcome to the new year – 2024! It feels like yesterday we were celebrating the Millennium! Let’s start the year with some positive attitude and create some new habits. Did you know that you can improve the health of your feet by managing your diet? Maintaining a healthy diet that is low in trans-fat, sodium, saturated fat and rich in fruits and vegetables, can lower the risk of heart disease, help you lose weight and reduce inflammation.
What’s the best food for healthy feet? What foods should you avoid if you want to reduce your risk for foot pain and injury. What kind of food makes inflammation and pain better or worse?
There has been a lot of research about diet and inflammation in the body. Inflammation is a risk element for several chronic ailments. It is a common cause of foot pain related to different types of inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and psoriatic arthritis. It can also contribute to heel pain such as plantar fasciitis.
Foods that reduce inflammation and pain, promoting healthy feet
Vitamin C
Many foot problems, including tendinitis and plantar fasciitis, develop because of inflammation. Fortunately, Vitamin C can help fight that inflammation. Foods rich in Vitamin C include oranges, kiwis, strawberries, tomatoes, kale and spinach. In fact spinach offers double or triple-duty for your foot health. It is a foot-superfood!)
Calcium and Vitamin D
Your feet are made up of 26 bones, so it is important to eat foods rich in calcium to help prevent osteoporosis which is often associated with an elevated risk of fractures. In fact, a stress fracture of the foot can be one of the first signs of osteoporosis.
For the body to absorb calcium, it is important to have sufficient levels of vitamin D. Calcium rich foods include dairy products like milk or cheese, leafy greens such as broccoli and spinach, salmon and sardines. Sometimes it is advisable to take daily supplements of vitamin D to meet your daily requirements. Regular exercise can also be very helpful.
Vitamin B
As our diabetic patients know, neuropathy takes a toll on your foot health. Neuropathy makes your feet feel numb and, in some cases, it can cause tingling of the feet or burning foot pain.
Although it is hard to reverse the condition, Vitamin B can help support your nervous system. In fact, adding vitamin B to your diet can sometimes improve your neuropathy symptoms. Foods rich in Vitamin B are tuna, cottage cheese, salmon, eggs, and sardines.
However, there are certain food types which are best avoided if you suffer from inflammation. These include:
- Refined grains, trans fats, and sugar found in junk foods and baked goods;
- The saturated fat found in red meat;
- The omega-6 fats are found in many vegetable oils, such as soybean, sunflower, and corn oils.
When it comes to your improving the health of your feet, nutrition is extremely important. Fuelling your body with the right foods builds a good foundation for healthy bones and muscles, encourages circulation, and limits inflammation and pain.
For more information about nutrition and your feet in Diabetes, visit www.diabetes.org.uk.
Podiatrists are specialists when it comes to your foot health. So if you are experiencing any discomfort in your feet, we are more than happy to help.
For more information about our range of treatments, please contact us on 01455 246100. We would love to help you with any foot health issues you may have.
Thank you for reading – 2024 – New Year, New Feet – Nutrition for your Feet.
Faye, Natalie, Lisa, Maria, Zoe, Claire and Julia