3 Ways What You Eat Impacts Your Feet

March is National Nutrition Month. You may think that doesn’t sound like something your podiatrist would care about but at Texas Foot Specialists we know that what you eat can have a significant effect on the health of your feet. Here are a few reasons your feet will thank you for paying more attention to your diet:

1. People who maintain a healthy weight have less foot pain. It’s a fact many studies have proven: patients who are overweight are more likely to experience foot pain. There are also several podiatric conditions that are exacerbated by weight or have obesity as a risk factor. Among these are flatfeet, plantar fasciitis and arthritis.
2. Your food choices can trigger or fight inflammation. Patients with a chronic inflammatory condition such as Achilles tendonitis, arthritis, sesamoiditis or gout can help control the amount of pain and inflammation they experience with their food choices. Some foods such as, sugary drinks and snacks, fried foods and artificial additives can actually increase inflammatory responses in the body. Other foods like green leafy vegetables, olive oil, walnuts, blueberries and cherries, can actually help prevent inflammation.
3. Your diet can make you more prone to certain diseases. Diabetes, hypertension, gout and heart disease all have a dietary component. Each of these can significantly impact your feet by causing circulatory, nerve, inflammatory and immune system impairment. Plus, the debilitating effects of these diseases makes it hard to stay active—an important part of good foot and overall body health.

Eating right is not a matter of “good days” and “cheat days.” It’s about changing how you see food and increasing nutrient rich foods while decreasing the amount of harmful, empty calorie items you consume. To learn more, visit: http://www.eatright.org. To find out if a foot condition that you have may be related to diet, contact our Houston (713-664-6677), Pasadena (281-991-0600) or Sugarland (281-242-4448) office and talk to one of our podiatrists, Dr. Bruce Miller or Dr. Gregory Mangum.