Healthy Diet Advice for Better Mobility

Mobility, according to Miriam Webster is the ability to move freely and easily.

There are many conditions that can limit your ability to move easily. Back pain is reported to be the number one most disabling chronic pain in the world. Back pain can interfere with the most basic movements like sitting, standing, and walking!

According to the Health policy institute “Nearly 65 million Americans report a recent episode of back pain. Some 16 million adults — 8 percent of all adults — experience persistent or chronic back pain

Arthritis, another mobility limiting condition affects 24% of all adults, or 58.5 million people in the United States, according to the CDC Arthritis is a debilitating health issue that can severly impact mobility. Not to mention simple sprains and overworked muscles also affect being able to move freely and with ease

Given the numbers mentioned with just two conditions 65 million, 58.5 million we can see that mobility hindrance is a major concern that needs to be talked about openly. While there are many causes and medical treatments for these conditions, Diet and Lifestyle are just now being highlighted as a way to help and even prevent this. Enter DRS!. …

Does eating healthy impact mobility? Yes and in this article, learn about healthy diet advice that can speed healing, soothe aches and pains and help you regain your mobility.

How Weight Gain Impacts Mobility

I was a fat kid growing up… Straight Talk. I spent my teen and young adult years seriously overweight. How fat? Well, I had a 48” waist. I was 4 feet wide! With the classic Spare tire and more back pains than I care to remember. So I can tell you this from experience

A spare tire or extra weight around the middle and back pains go hand in hand like ice cream and cake.

I no longer have a truck tire (high five) It’s probably a bike tire now J but I can tell you with absolute truth, being overweight affects your mobility terribly. You don’t move easily, you tire quickly, all the activities you want to participate in.. you can’t or you don’t and you ostracize yourself.

Being overweight affects your weight-bearing joints these are your hips and your knees.

The extra weight increases the pressure on your joints. Over time, this extra pressure causes increased wear and tear on the joints, often leading to hip or knee replacement surgery. Have you ever heard a person complain of bone-on-bone pain? This is due to the cartilage being worn away.

Consider this. When you walk across level ground, the force on your knees is equal to 1½ times your body weight. A 200-pound man puts about 300 pounds of pressure on his knees with each step. Add an incline and the pressure is even greater, some 2-3 times your body weight when going up and downstairs and 4-5x when you squat to ties your shoes or pick up something you drop

As WebMD points out, choosing the right diet is an important part of maintaining a healthy and appropriate weight for your frame. For some people, weight gain from eating the wrong diet can actually trigger mobility issues. For other people, weight fluctuations can make existing issues with mobility worse.

This is why, if you’re struggling to maintain or regain mobility, it can be smart to start with a goal of healthy weight management. Working towards achieving your optimal (ideal) body weight will require dietary changes.

What Is a Healthy Diet?

Before you begin this section DRS urges you to please remember. Your diet is just your eating lifestyle. It’s not a fad or something you do short-term to lose a few pounds. As you eat every day, it is something you do every day! We urge you to stop thinking of Diet/Dieting in the traditional way it’s being and is still being presented to you.. Join us and learn how to change your eating habits, your eating lifestyle and thus develop a healthy diet

According to Harvard Health^, eating the wrong foods can actually make it harder for you to move freely and easily without pain! However, according to Harvard Health, and DRS, with so many fad diets and extreme eating programs advertised as “healthy” it can be very confusing, very difficult to determine what eating healthy actually looks like. Diet Rite makes this easy for you!

As the National Council on Aging points out, “This type of confusion is called “food insecurities” and it is especially common as people get older.” (We call it lying.. straight talk) It’s important to know that a healthy diet for you may not necessarily be a healthy diet for your partner, your friends, your parents, or your children (That almost takes the family meal off the table).

At each stage of life, the body needs more of some nutrients and less of others in order to stay healthy. However, there are staples that do remain constant throughout your healthy eating regimen. The amount of these staples may change, but the right foods or healthy foods will remain consistent! (If that is true, and it is, then healthy food choices will work for your friends, your parents, and your children right? That just makes sense…straight talk)

Diets Don’t Work, But Healthy Eating Does

Researchers from the University of California noted, that DRS agrees “Diets do not work. They go on to say “Given the way dieting is presented today, It is a recipe for failure (So what does it say when “Experts” are creating a recipe for failure? As we explain why in this and other articles hopefully you will join us and learn how it really works!)

Calorie restrictive, diets the researchers states not only remove necessary vitamins, minerals, and nutrients but also sets you up for a future full of dangerously unhealthy and emotionally stressful weight fluctuation.

Their research states “as your body is increasingly depleted of the calories it needs to run basic processes, it turns to “the muscles. Women’s Health Magazine states, cutting calories too stringently will literally force your body to burn muscle instead of fat.

When your body burns muscles for nourishment and energy, you start to feel more physical aches and pains. Like the heart, lungs, major organs, and muscle groups are depleted, your

the body will send warning signals in the form of physical aches and pains.

Here is where the confusion starts, because the key to losing weight is to burn more calories than you are taking in right? So how do you do this when someone says “But you’re depleting yourself of vital vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.”

If you need or want to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, you have to change what and how you eat, not simply cutting calories in a diet misconception, but by realizing that changing your eating habits is changing your diet. Developing healthy eating habits or a lifestyle that heals, soothes aches and pains, increases your energy and your mobility. When you do this… You Diet Rite!!!
Mobility-Limiting Foods to Avoid

Medical News Today highlights certain key foods to avoid because they are known to affect mobility. This means that if you already have mobility issues, these foods can make it worse.

Foods People following an anti-inflammatory diet should avoid include:

Processed Meats.
Sugary Drinks.
Transfats, are found in fried foods.
White Bread.
WhitePasta.
Gluten.
Soybean oil and Vegetable
processed snack foods, such as chips and crackers.

Unfortunately, these foods seem to be everywhere today and thus can be very hard to avoid. They are saturated fat, sugar, and refined carbohydrates.

However, according to the Arthritis Foundation certain other foods that have gotten a bad reputation for causing inflammation are actually mostly okay to eat!

Dairy, citrus fruits, mushrooms, dark chocolate, and popcorn are all basically okay to consume so long as these foods do not trigger other health issues for you (such as lactose intolerance, a well-known side effect some people get when consuming dairy).

Popcorn delivers antioxidants and useful fiber, while white bread is packed with folic acid. Mushrooms have potassium, an essential mineral for building strong muscles and nerves.

Dark Chocolate has cancer-fighting antioxidants and citrus is a natural immune booster. Dairy, especially low-fat dairy, can help some people who are at risk of gout, a painful mobility-limiting condition, feel better.

Here again, there is no one-size-fits-all recommendation for which foods to include and which foods to eliminate. While it can help to know about foods that may cause some people to experience health or mobility issues, this does not necessarily mean these foods cause those issues for everyone.

Building Your Own Healthy Diet

Healthy diet advice that targets your individual mobility concerns begins with learning about the cause of your condition. If you don’t know the cause, then try eliminating certain foods to see how it affects you. Try this for a short while, starting with certain foods you suspect may be triggering your discomfort or movement. While this can be a painful experiment, try these helpful healthy eating tips:

Eight foods to eat and why

Including specific foods can strengthen the bones, muscles, and joints and help the body to fight inflammation and disease, thus improving mobility over time. People with osteoarthritis can try adding the following eight foods to ease their symptoms:

Oily fish

Oily fish contain lots of healthful omega-3 fatty acids. These polyunsaturated fats have anti-inflammatory properties so they may benefit people with osteoarthritis. People with osteoarthritis should try to eat at least one portion of oily fish per week. Oily fish include:

Sardines
Mackerel
Salmon
Fresh Tuna

Those who prefer not to eat fish can take supplements that contain omega-3 instead, such as fish oil, krill oil, or flaxseed oil.

Oils

In addition to oily fish, some other oils can reduce inflammation. Extra virgin olive oil contains high levels of oleocanthal, which may have similar properties to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Avocado and safflower oils are healthful options and may also help to lower cholesterol.

Dairy

Milk, yogurt, and cheese are rich in calcium and vitamin D. These nutrients increase bone strength, which may improve painful symptoms.

Dairy also contains proteins that can help to build muscle. People who are aiming to manage their weight can choose low-fat options.

Dark leafy greens

Dark leafy greens are rich in Vitamin D and stress-fighting phytochemicals and antioxidants. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption and can also boost the immune system, helping the body to fight off infection.

Dark leafy greens include:

Spinach
Kalr
Chard

Broccoli

Broccoli contains a compound called sulforaphane, which researchers believe could slow the progression of osteoarthritis.

This vegetable is also rich in vitamins K and C, as well as bone-strengthening calcium.

Green tea

Polyphenols are antioxidants that experts believe may be able to reduce inflammation and slow the rate of cartilage damage. Green tea contains high levels of polyphenols. Green tea is available for purchase online.

Garlic

Scientists believe that a compound called diallyl disulfide that occurs in garlic may work against the enzymes in the body that damage cartilage.

Nuts

Nuts are good for the heart and contain high levels of calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin E, and fiber. They also contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which boosts the immune system.

The President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition⁽¹⁰⁾ offers these guidelines to begin a healthy diet program. The My Plate⁽¹¹⁾ guide can help you build your own healthy meals online. Visualize your meals as a circular dinner plate. On half of that plate, fill it with colorful fruits and vegetables. On the other half of your plate, you can include whole grains and lean protein sources.

Whole grains like wild rice, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, bulgar, and rolled oats all preserve the full nutrients in the grains. Seafood, lean red meat and poultry, beans and legumes, eggs, and a limited quantity of seeds and nuts are all good choices for your protein needs.

Replace sugar-filled beverages with plain water or non-sweet beverages. Limit your intake of saturated fats, sugar, and refined carbohydrates. If you like to drink milk and consume dairy, switch to low-fat versions of your favorites.

Finally, keep a close watch on your sodium intake, especially in prepared foods. When you cook, using herbs, spices and citrus can all add tasty flavor.

Better Nutrition Equals Better Mobility

When you are nourishing and hydrating your body properly and fully, your muscles are free to do their job and your body and immune system can get back to doing the hard work of healing. It won’t happen overnight, but with a healthy diet, better mobility is sure to follow.

And remember for a healthy diet and to lose weight and gain better mobility and a healthier, better lifestyle reach out to us. We are here to help