Foods, supplements, diet

[ianG]

For the most part I eat well and lead a fairly healthy life. But I was curious if anyone here has discovered how certain foods or supplements affect their backs and pain levels in positive or negative ways.

I know there are certain things you can take that claim to be helpful for soft tissue and joints like glucosamine, but the jury's still out on that one. Some research even claims glucosamine can be harmful.

Thanks,
Ian

[cls]

I had some success with two different herbal anti-inflammatories. Zyflamend which contains Rosemary, Turmeric, Ginger, Holy Basil, Green Tea, Hu Zhang, Chinese Goldthread, Barberry, Oregano and Baikal Skullcap. The other product I tried was Pycnogenol which is Pine Bark. I took both last summer when I believe I ruptured my disc. It seemed to help then but they don't help my latest symptoms. If you Google Pycnogenol you will find some fairly interesting research.

[Harrison]

Christine, interesting post on the pine bark. Cool!

There was an interesting conversation on glucosamine a while back, see this one. This is one of several, but it gets into some of the most common disagreements on efficacy.

On other dietary matters, I’ve become increasingly focused on the importance of a nutritious diet rich in fresh vitamins, natural amino acids and especially enzymes. I’ve found noticeable benefits associated with my intake of natural enzyme juices which I buy from several sources.

I recently purchased a wonderful book that goes into the nuts and bolts of “healing with nutrition,” perhaps you’ve seen or skimmed through the “Prescription for Nutritional Healing” by Phyliss Balch, CNC. It’s a great resource that has many pages on diets for certain conditions; e.g. back pain, arthritis, gout, inflammation, etc. Also, if you care to look more into the alternative aspects of healing with enzymes, some of Anthony Cichoke’s books deal specifically with back pain.

You may be able to find these books in your library or through your extended library network.

Hope this helps.