The Best Foods to Eat for Healthy Feet!
Oct 12 , 2021
Tags - Food for Healthy Feet
When you think about a healthy diet, you probably think about your heart, weight or blood pressure.
But did you know, your diet has a direct impact on the health of your feet too?
If you suffer from painful feet, it could be because you’re not feeding the foot the right foods. And when your feet are in pain, it can make it difficult to reach fitness goals or even complete regular daily tasks.
Before we dive into the best foods to eat, let’s take a brief look at the effects poor nutrition has on foot health:
- Diabetes: raised blood sugars can cause foot ulcerations and can trigger issues like loss of sensation and poor circulation.
- Inflammation: a diet full of processed sugars activates the release of cytokines (inflammatory messengers). Plus, a diet full of saturated fats trigger adipose (fat tissue) inflammation
- Obesity: an increased BMI is often associated with foot pain and disability
- Bone health: interlinked with obesity, those with a higher BMI are prone to chronic foot conditions like osteoarthritis and plantar fasciitis, and there is an increased risk of fractures
- Poor circulation: circulatory problems can create various issues with your feet and legs
As you can see, poor nutrition will affect how healthy your feet are. To minimise these risks and keep your feet in the best shape that they can be, here are 4 of the best foods that you should eat.
1. Omega 3 Rich Foods
Salmon and other “fatty fish” are rich in omega 3 acids, and these healthy fats have been proven to produce a whole range of health benefits.
Firstly, Omega 3’s have natural anti-inflammatory effects, which have been found to reduce the effects of both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in the feet.
Secondly, Omega 3’s help to reduce the clumping of platelets in the bloodstream (which is the direct cause of blood clots in the veins).
For vegetarians or vegans, who generally have lower levels of omega-3, you can increase your intake through rapeseed oil, soya, flax, linseed oil, walnuts and plant-based butters.
2. Fruits
Fruits are a great source of fibre as well as anthocyanin, which helps to slow down sugar absorption and decrease the risk of diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases.
More specifically, anthocyanin is present in berries but cherries have the highest levels. Research reveals that a regular consumption of cherries prevents gout attacks; a form of arthritis that commonly affects the joints of the feet.
Moreover, high vitamin C content helps with collagen production which is vital for your tendons and ligaments.
And fruits also contain other antioxidants that have important disease fighting elements and anti inflammatory properties important for bone health.
3. Greens and Beans
Both leafy greens and beans contain antioxidants, complex carbohydrates, fibre and iron which makes it an excellent food choice to prevent diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol.
Greens like kale, broccoli, sprouts etc allow good calcium absorption, as well as contain a variety of other micronutrients your bones need. For instance, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, manganese, copper and iron.
In particular, spinach is incredibly high in B vitamins which is vital for nerve health, and helps to prevent and manage peripheral neuropathy: a condition where nerve function begins to deteriorate and attacks the feet first.
Simply, a leafy diet can help to offset its effects.
4. Dairy and Vitamin D
Dairy products and Vitamin D will help you to build stronger bones and combat any early signs of osteoporosis, fractures and other structural deformities.
Dairy products include yoghurt and cheese, both of which are great sources of calcium. In addition, a glass of milk will contain around 300mg of calcium.
Going back to yoghurt, it contains probiotics, otherwise known as “good” bacteria that helps with digestion. Plus it has very strong anti-fungal properties which have been known to decrease the effects of Athlete’s foot.
In fact, some studies suggest that even soaking the feet in yoghurt, rather than eating it, helps to prevent and treat athlete’s foot conditions.
The Bottom Line
So now that you have a better understanding of what food you should be eating, it can help not only prevent any possible foot issues down the road, but also how you can proactively boost your feet’s health through a proper, nutritional diet to ensure your body is getting the right vitamins.
That’s not to say you can’t enjoy a cheeky biscuit or a takeaway, but have these as an occasional treat rather than a regular habit.
Overall, if your feet are not functioning properly, it will affect the quality of your life in the future, so you should take nutrition seriously.
For more information, please get in touch today.
Check our full range of comfortable shoes here in the meantime.
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