Sciatica is used to describe any pain that starts in the lower back and radiates down the leg. This pain is caused by an irritation, inflammation, pinching or compression of a nerve in the lower back. If you have Sciatica, you may experience mild to severe pain anywhere along the path of the sciatic nerve – that is, anywhere from the lower back, through the hips, buttocks and / or down your legs. It can also cause muscle weakness in your leg and foot, and a tingling pins-and-needles sensation in your leg, foot and toes or / and numbness in your leg. Here is a Sciatica Diet Plan Indian (Indian diet plan for Sciatica/ Lower Back pain.
Sciatica can come on suddenly or gradually, depending on the cause. The most common cause is a herniated or slipped disk that causes pressure on the nerve root. Most people with sciatica get better on their own with time and self-care treatments.
The goal of treatment is to decrease the pain and increase mobility. Depending on the cause, many cases of sciatica go away over time with some simple self-care treatments.
However, if simple self-care treatments do not relieve your pain, you will need to visit a specialist/doctor.
If you have experienced sciatica symptoms, you will also be aware of how painful it can be. An important part of treatment which is often ignored is what you eat when you have sciatica.
So, can your diet affect your sciatica symptoms and pain? Can what you eat have an effect on your symptoms, can few small changes could bring benefits? YES!!
A healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables is something we should all be looking out for. But what is good for sciatica in particular? There is a lot of inflammation around the sciatic nerve so a diet that reduces the levels of excessive inflammation in your body will help.
Here is a list of foods that should be AVOIDED, owing to the inflammation, and a general care for those who are diabetic and /or overweight and suffering with the sciatica pain.
Simple sugars, including table sugar, sugary drinks, sweets, indulgent desserts, as well as hidden sugars like in table sauces, and syrups are definitely foods that need to be avoided when you have sciatica. Sugar significantly increases inflammation throughout the body when consumed in moderate to high amounts and may also lead to type-2 diabetes when consumed too much over a very long time.
Vegetable oils, palm oils, sunflower oil are often used in cooking and in ready to eat foods and can lead to worsening inflammation within the body. Check nutrition labels and ingredients when buying foods to know the kind of fat / oil used in the product.
Saturated fats are known to increase inflammation, therefore fried food, high-fat dairy products, fatty red meats are best avoided.
Pizzas, burgers, breads and buns, noodles, Chinese sauces, etc. are a no-no due to their high fat and sugar content and pro-inflammatory properties. Processed foods contain chemicals that can make inflammation worse. Inflammation will worsen the irritation around the affected nerve, making your sciatica worse.
Diet coke and other sugary aerated drinks are foods to be avoided when you have sciatica due to the artificial sweeteners – aspartame and many others present in it to add to the sweetness.
The sweeteners that are present in most of these
drinks have negative effects on inflammatory processes within the body. There is also some research to show that these sweeteners actually increase sugar craving therefore increasing your tendency to eat more food, contributing to being overweight and therefore increasing the chances of getting Type 2 diabetes.According to a research study, levels of inflammatory marker CRP is shown to increase and be high in people who consume alcohol. Therefore, alcohol is best avoided to reduce inflammation and the sciatica nerve pain.
A general rule for a sciatica diet would be to add foods that have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties. Both of these actions help to reduce the symptoms associated with sciatica by reducing the inflammatory chemicals around the irritated nerve root.
A sciatica diet plan Indian, is a diet rich in vitamins and minerals, like Vitamin B, magnesium, omega 3 fatty acids and fibre. B vitamins are important for nerve health, and if your diet is deficient in them you may have to struggle to heal the nerve damage. Eating foods rich in magnesium will not only help in controlling muscle spasms, boost good muscle function but they can also improve the symptoms of sciatica. An Indian diet plan for Sciatica should be rich in fibre, complex carbohydrates and low fat would help with easing the sciatica symptoms along with excess weight gain and diabetes.
Below is a sample of sciatica diet plan Indian :
| Meal time | Menu | Approx. calories | 
| Early morning | 1 cup green tea+ 1 tsp pumpkin seeds + 1 tsp flaxseeds | 20 | 
| Breakfast | 2 idlis with 2 tbsp chutney/ 2 uthappa/ 1 cup poha / 1 slice bread with 1 egg | 170 – 200 | 
| Mid-morning | Fruit – 1 apple/ 2-3 slices pineapple/ 5-6 strawberries/ 10 cherries/ 2 slices watermelon + 5 almonds + 2 walnut halves | 120 | 
| Lunch | Salad + green leafy vegetable/ vegs +1 jowar roti + I cup pulse or dal/ fish curry + ½ cup rice | 450 | 
| Tea time | Ginger Tea + sprout chaat /handful nuts and seeds/ handful homemade popcorn | 170 | 
| Dinner | Broccoli / vegetable soup + oats upma / 2 moong dal chila/ dalia khichadi | 350 | 
| Bedtime | 1 cup Haldi milk (cow) | 120 | 
This sample diet can be altered as per your routine. Cooking foods in virgin coconut oil, mustard oil or any virgin oil will be beneficial.
Although what you eat goes a long way to controlling your weight, your diet also affects other bodily processes like energy levels, inflammation, mood and sleep.
Since inflammation is a necessary part of the healing process, we know that controlling chronic, ongoing inflammation is one of the most important factors to recovery from sciatica and the pain caused due to it. Anti inflammatory diet plans are hence very important to bring down such pains.
Make changes to your diet.Add anti-inflammatory foods and minimize the foods that promote inflammation. Such foods not only leads to sciatica but also other harmful processes in the body. Replace these foods with healthier alternatives. It will help to bring your symptoms under control. Hope this Sciatica Diet Plan Indian (Indian diet plan for Sciatica/ Lower Back pain helps you in finding better health and fitness.
This post was Last Updated on January 5, 2022
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