Any musculoskeletal pathologies associated with dystrophic and degenerative changes require adherence to certain dietary rules. Rational nutrition is also of great importance in the complex therapy of osteochondrosis.
Diet food for such degenerative-dystrophic articular processes is not particularly strict and allows you to eat quite varied.
The main principles of diet therapy for osteochondrosis
The main requirement for the diet in the development of osteochondrosis lesions is the presence of food with a high content of chondroprotective substances, which are responsible for the synthesis processes in the cartilage tissues.
Also, joints and bones need calcium, which is contained in dairy products and eggs, cabbage and seeds. In addition, the daily menu should be low in calories, rich in minerals and fortified compounds.
There is no diet designed specifically for patients with osteochondrosis. These are rather recommendations for proper nutrition with a predominance of chondroprotective products such as jellied fish or jelly. These dishes are rich in protein collagen, which contributes to the restoration of old and the formation of new connective tissue cells.
How to eat while treating the spine
For the normal functioning of the spine and the osteoarticular system as a whole, trace elements are needed like:
- Phosphorus;
- Calcium;
- Manganese;
- Magnesium;
- Vitamins D, A , C, B, etc.
A fairly large amount of manganese is present in the heart, liver and kidneys, in natural cheese, egg yolk, algae, in bananas and potatoes, celery and legumes, in poultry and onions.
Vitamin A is rich in animal liver, fish meat, eggs, carrots and pumpkin, melon, peaches.
Vitamin B is present in large quantities in the brain, heart, beef liver and lamb kidneys, egg yolk, oysters and fish, lobster and mushrooms, crabs, buckwheat and corn, bananas, peas and soybeans.
The main supplier of vitamin D is fish oil, much less is found in milk and eggs and butter.
The well-known vitamin C is present in almost all fruits and vegetables, but the leaders in its content are berries and citrus fruits, apples and plums, greens and cabbage, peppers and pears.
In order for this vitamin to fulfill its main functions in the human body, it is necessary to eat foods containing it only raw or frozen . Ascorbic acid cannot be stored in reserve, so you need to replenish its content in the body daily.
What should be avoided from the diet?
Nutritional therapy, the purpose of which is to strengthen bones, the treatment of articular and cartilaginous tissues, requires certain restrictions in food, which is quite natural for a diet, although these restrictions are not so strict.
In addition, medical nutrition does not mean tasteless, with the right approach, you can eat satisfying, healthy and tasty at the same time. Here are some rules of nutritional therapy:
- It is worth excluding from your diet foods containing preservatives, excessive amounts of salt and sugar, all kinds of nitrites or nitrates, sulfur dioxide and monosodium glutamate ;
- It is also necessary to significantly limit the consumption of smoked meats like various meat rolls and sausages;
- You should give up various soda, coffee, sweet fizzy, as they contribute to calcium leaching from the teeth and the osteoarticular system;
- You should not eat a large amount of foods rich in saturated fatty acids, such as hydrogenated oils, margarine;
- Foods rich in refined sugar: pastries, cakes, marmalade and preserves, ice cream, etc.;
- Excessive doses of alcohol are also prohibited, the permissible daily dose of 40 ° alcohol for men is 20 g, for women – 5 g;
- It will not be superfluous to refuse the use of semi-finished products, marinades, hot spices and pickles;
- One of the most important nutritional points for osteochondrosis is the minimum salt content in the diet, since it provokes water retention in the tissues , which increases the load on the spine.
Natural chondroprotectors in food
Doctors and nutritionists strongly advise patients with osteochondrosis to include in their diet more foods rich in chondroprotective substances.
Such compounds are a building material for joints and cartilage, they help to increase the elasticity and elasticity of intervertebral discs, accelerate the healing and recovery processes in the cartilage tissue.
Products rich in chondroprotective substances include jellied fish or meat, jellied meat, grilled chicken wings. In addition, chondroprotectors are contained in jelly (gelatin), therefore, such a dessert dish can fully replace sweets such as chocolate or cakes.
With the regular use of such dishes, the joint tissues receive full-fledged chondroprotective nutrition.
Seafood
Patients with osteochondrosis should definitely include seafood in their diet, since they contain a lot of elements necessary for articular-cartilaginous tissues:
- Collagen is the basis of all connective tissue varieties;
- Manganese;
- All kinds of vitamins;
- Polyunsaturated fats;
- Phosphorus, etc.
Plant food
Along with protein products such as lean meat and fish, the basis of the diet of a patient with osteochondrosis should be predominantly vegetable products.
In addition to the fact that such food has a beneficial effect on the digestive processes, improves metabolism, provides the body with useful trace elements and speeds up metabolism, it helps to get rid of extra pounds, thereby reducing the load on the spine and intervertebral discs.
Foods rich in calcium, magnesium and phosphorus
As already noted, the osteoarticular system requires elements such as phosphorus, magnesium and calcium for normal activity and rapid recovery in pathological processes.
We can get these trace elements by eating certain foods:
- Calcium is rich in dairy products, eggs and cheese, heart, kidneys and liver of animals, cabbage and beets, seeds and nuts;
- The phosphorus content can boast of cabbage and salads, cheeses, peas and soybeans, fish and bran;
- The magnesium content is high in cheeses, cucumbers, seeds and nuts, legumes, spinach and avocados.
Consuming any of these foods every day, we provide our joints and bones with additional nutrition, accelerating metabolic and metabolic processes in them.
Read also about the beneficial properties of Febrofid in the treatment of osteochondrosis.
An integrated approach to nutrition
The nutritional system for osteochondrosis of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine requires an integrated approach, because the problem will not be solved if you just go on some kind of diet. Therefore, the development and compilation of therapeutic nutrition for each patient must be dealt with individually by a specialist.
Drinking regime
Our body vitally needs water, since all trace elements, in order to get into the processes of material metabolism, must first dissolve in water.
If the amount of water consumed per day is below normal, then the most important trace elements simply cannot be absorbed by the body, and with an excessively high level of fluid intake, all useful trace elements are washed out of the body. Therefore, it is extremely important to observe the drinking regime.
According to the assurances of experts, the daily water intake should correspond to 3% of the weight, and people with obesity or simply overweight need to calculate the daily water intake based on the ideal weight.
It is determined simply: you need to subtract 100 from your height (cm), the result will be your ideal weight. Note that the daily rate should be divided into equal doses, in other words, the water should be drunk gradually throughout the day, and not in 2-3 doses. For example, drink a glass of water per hour, and in the morning after waking up, it is recommended to drink two glasses at once.
Lack of fluid leads to disruption of metabolic processes, the nervous system falls into a stressful state, the processes of excretion of decay products by the kidneys slow down, which leads to intoxication of the body. The person becomes passive and nervous, feels drowsy, lethargic. Then swelling begins to bother, bowel problems (constipation) appear.
Furthermore, the intervertebral discs almost 80% of water, so the lack of its regular wheels gradually harden, compacted and creating sclerosis , which further exacerbates the osteochondrosis.
Benefits of a Rice and Salt-Free Diet
Doctors often recommend sticking to a rice diet, since such a nutritional system has shown itself to be very effective in treating spinal diseases.
This is due to the absorption properties of rice, manifested by its ability to absorb waste products and unnecessary salts that slow down metabolism and metabolic processes, and then remove them from the body.
Such a diet involves the consumption of rice that has undergone special processing:
- Prepare 6 jars with a capacity of 0.5 l and number them;
- In the first, pour 2 large spoons of rice, rinse it and fill it with running water;
- The next morning, add, rinse and soak the rice in a jar # 2;
- Perform similar actions with all the other jars, on the 7th day the rice in the first jar will be ready, you need to eat it, and pour the rice into the jar again and soak it.
- So every day – eat rice, fill up a new portion, the next morning eat rice from the next jar, etc.
This will wash out the starch in the rice. As a result, the cereal absorbs harmful and unnecessary compounds better, removing them from the body.
You need to eat rice raw for breakfast, then do not eat or drink anything for 4 hours, then you can eat as usual.
The mechanism of action of the salt-free diet:
Often, experts recommend adhering to a salt-free diet for osteochondrosis. It does not require any restrictions on food, you just need to exclude salt and dishes containing it from the diet.
The principle of operation of a salt-free diet is based on the removal of excess fluid from the body that has accumulated in it. This reduces the load on the diseased spine and joint tissues. In addition, with osteochondrosis, patients often also suffer from high blood pressure, and a salt-free diet helps to lower it.
The nutritional system of a patient with osteochondrosis should be based on a balanced and individual approach, taking into account whether the patient is overweight, concomitant pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract and taste preferences. Only with the correct formulation of medical nutrition can you achieve an increase in physical activity, weight loss and a decrease in exacerbations of osteochondrosis.