Your spine is the most important set of bones in your body. One of the biggest splits in the animal kingdom is between vertebrates and invertebrates, animals with spines and without them. Your spine holds your upper body up, it protects the nerve bundle that connects to every corner of your body, and it does this while being remarkably flexible. If you’ve received a spinal injury lately or you’re receiving chiropractic care, you should consider adjusting your diet to account for your spinal health.
Calcium
Bones aren’t bones without a healthy amount of calcium. Your muscles also use calcium, including the core muscles that keep you upright and keep your posture natural. The most obvious way to get calcium is in dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese, but you can also find calcium in dark leafy greens like kale, spinach, and collard greens. Another good source is small fish since you can get calcium from their bones.
Magnesium
Magnesium is another important mineral used in bone structures, and your body uses it for hundreds of other processes throughout your body. A magnesium deficiency can lead to weak bones, and it’s more common than calcium deficiency since you won’t find it in dairy products. However, there are plenty of vegetables with good magnesium content like dark leafy greens, beans, nuts, whole grains, and avocados. You can also get your magnesium intake from tofu, dark chocolate (the darker the better), and bananas.
Protein
The bones in your body are very much alive, and there are millions of cells inside them that constantly build up and dissolve the mineral structures. That’s how your bones are able to heal after a break. That means you need plenty of protein to keep your bones strong, and it also helps with creating the collagen that links bones and muscles together. You can find pure collagen supplements, but you can also get the amino acids you need by eating a diet that includes a wide variety of protein sources.
Vitamin D
Each vitamin plays a variety of roles throughout your body. Vitamin D happens to be especially important for your spinal health since your body uses it to absorb the calcium you eat. You won’t find vitamin D in many foods, but luckily you don’t need it. Instead, your body can create vitamin D in your skin when you’re exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun. Still, if you need vitamin D from other sources you can find it in fatty fish livers, fortified milk, beef liver, and eggs.
A good diet with plenty of nutrients can protect you from a lot of problems later in life. This includes osteoporosis, slipped disks, and sciatica. Of course, it can also help to visit a chiropractor who can identify your back problems and treat them to either speed up recovery or improve your health in general. If that’s what you need and you live in our area, schedule an appointment with Andresen Active Healthcare and find out how our chiropractic specialists can protect and strengthen your back.