Have you ever heard the saying “just lose a few pounds and your low back pain will disappear?” While it’s fairly common knowledge that too many extra pounds often leads to back pain, there’s certain diets and food to avoid that help too!
Yes, weight loss is important, and you’re flooded daily with every type of weight loss program imaginable, especially right here in Los Angeles, California.
Since even with all our modern day advances we’re very similar genetically to our Paleolithic ancestors, the cave man, let’s take a brief look into their diet, what food they avoided, for a more balanced diet.
Lean meats, preferably grass fed, with fruits and vegetables made up the vast majority of the cave man diet. Even today, our bodies break down and assimilate these foods with a minimal inflammatory response to your system. It’s inflammation often at the root cause of illnesses such as back pain, candida, and muscular skeletal conditions, initiated from your abdominal wall and digestive system.
So, what’s the secret to why cave man didn’t have back pain in Los Angeles? The answer is they didn’t eat gluten! This protein is found in wheat, rye, and flour products such as pasta, bread, cakes, cereals, beer and more.
Too much gluten in your diet causes an inflammatory response and immune reaction in our bodies that ends up damaging the small intestine, leading to gastrointestinal distress and nutritional deficiencies. Over time, this can lead to weight gain and an assortment of medical conditions.
There’s a proven connection between gluten and back pain. Your back pain can result from too much gluten just because of too much inflammation in your lower abdominal wall. This inflammation shuts down and inhibits your lower abdominal muscles from activating properly, which is important to stabilize your pelvis and lumbar spine. Your lower back and abdominals are one in the same, and work together to support your muscular skeletal system. Think of them as a “corset” where they support and stabilize your lower back and spine from the back and front side. At least now you know that when eating that break or pasta, you may be de-stabilizing your lumbar spine, and increasing inflammation to the surrounding lower back and pelvic muscles.
Now you see why it’s important to cut down on and avoid gluten if you suffer from back pain, sciatica, abdominal pain or any musculoskeletal condition. It’s easy to find “gluten-free” foods in the grocery stores, as many stores devote an entire section to it.
Try a more “gluten free” diet, and you may notice your weight decreasing and energy levels increasing. Your back pain might disappear so you enjoy your life so much more, and sit, stand, and walk pain-free.
