Nourish Your Back with These Vitamins
By Sara Butler
To your chiropractor, what you eat is almost as important as the way you sit and how much you exercise when it comes to the health of your back. Good nutrition plays an important part in your overall health as well as your spinal health. If you’re looking to enhance the health of your back then you absolutely need to be supporting it through nutrition. Here are a few vitamins that will do your back, and your whole body, good.
Vitamin C
This is probably the vitamin you are most familiar with since it’s touted as a miracle vitamin for what ails you. When it comes to your back, Vitamin C is essential in the formation of collagen. Collagen is a key ingredient in the process of forming new tissue, which comes in quite handy if you’re trying to recover from an injured ligament, tendon or vertebral disc. It also helps to keep your bones and other soft tissues strong.
Vitamin C can be found in many places. Most notably you can find it in citrus fruits such as oranges and pineapples. You can also find it in sweet potatoes, peppers and apples! Just one cup of strawberries has more Vitamin C than a medium orange.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is known as a vitamin that helps to support your immune system and fight off illness and disease. Your back also benefits from Vitamin A because it helps to encourage tissue repair and bone formation.
Vitamin A can be found in animal products such as butter, eggs, milk, and beef. If you’re a vegan or vegetarian you can find Vitamin A in plant sources such as cantaloupes, apricots, spinach and carrots too. The only thing you have to be aware of is that too much Vitamin A can increase your chance of bone fractures, so don’t go crazy. More is not always best.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is primarily known as a vitamin that assists in the formation of DNA. It’s also really important to the health of your central nervous system since it helps to promote healthy bone marrow, normal spine function and healthy blood tissue and nerves.
Vitamin B12 can only be found in animal products such as seafood, milk, beef, eggs and cheese. If you don’t eat any animal products the only way to get Vitamin B12 is through supplements or fortified foods. Make sure you get enough for your health!
If you are curious about ways in which you can eat to promote your spinal health, discuss it with your chiropractor during your next visit to The Joint Chiropractic!
