What’s the Best Food for Healthy Feet?
We all know that our diets can impact many different aspects of our health. But what’s the best food for healthy feet? And are there foods you should avoid if you want to keep walking comfortably? Well, when it comes to your diet, some choices will reduce your risk for foot pain and injury. But others will increase your risk for inflammation and pain. So, today, we’ll tell you what to eat, and what to avoid, if you want your feet to feel their best.
Best Food for Healthy Feet: Learn Your B, C and Ds
Vitamin D and Calcium. Your feet have 26 bones, so making them strong is important. Foods with calcium support your bone health and growth while you’re young. Then, as you age, calcium-rich food can prevent osteoporosis. (Which will lower your risk for injuries like hairline foot fractures.) Now, calcium has a big job to do—but it needs some help. And that’s where vitamin D comes into play because it helps your body absorb calcium. To get your daily calcium, choose dairy products like cheese or milk, leafy greens such as spinach or broccoli, or even sardines. And for vitamin D, it’s probably best to add a daily supplement because it’s hard to meet your minimum daily requirements through diet alone.
Don’t forget to add vitamin C. So many foot problems, including tendinitis and plantar fasciitis, develop because of inflammation. Fortunately, vitamin C can help fight that inflammation. So look for foods rich in this helpful vitamin, including oranges, kiwis, strawberries, tomatoes, kale and spinach.[i] (Note: spinach offers double or triple-duty for your foot health. Just call it your new foot-superfood!)
Finish up with vitamin B. As our diabetic patients know, neuropathy takes a toll on your foot health. This medical condition is caused by nerve damage. It makes your feet feel numb; other times, it can cause tingling feet or burning foot pain. While hard to reverse, you can help prevent neuropathy by supporting good nerve health with vitamin B. In fact, adding vitamin B to your diet can sometimes improve your neuropathy symptoms. Add other foods like tuna, cottage cheese, salmon, eggs and sardines. (Another foot-superfood!)
Foods That Hurt Your Feet
When you’re looking for the best food for healthy feet, don’t forget to steer clear of harmful foods that could undo your efforts. What does that look like in real life? Steer clear of foods that cause inflammation, including red meats, trans fat filled ingredients such as shortening or even desserts that are full of refined sugars.
You’ll also want to avoid purine-rich foods, since these can trigger gout attacks. (And gout often strikes your big toe joint, causing terrible, burning pain and inflammation.) Many different foods can trigger gout. But the worst offenders include organ meat such as liver; alcohol; and foods, like fried treats, that are high in fat.
Now that you know how to eat to protect your feet, we hope you make some healthy changes. But if your feet already hurt? Don’t sit at home, hoping things will get better on their own. Instead, make an immediate appointment with our Westfield podiatrist, also serving Carmel, Noblesville, Fishers & Zionsville, Ind. That’s the best way to ensure that your feet will feel better, long before your diet changes start taking effect.