Is that beer belly giving you back pain? The truth may surprise you

If you’re like most of us, you probably have a little extra padding around your waist that you’ve wanted to get rid of for a while. But did you know that extra weight could actually be causing your back pain and sciatica?

In fact, when most people go to the doctor for back pain, the first thing they are told is to lose some weight.

The extra weight can put extra pressure and stress on your back and spine. This will cause your posture to change for the worse and the weight to be unevenly distributed across your spine.

This causes the discs in your back to bulge, which puts pressure on the spinal nerves.

Alternatively, the added weight can also make your muscles strain to support you. Ultimately, this will result in muscle imbalances, which will again unbalance the way stress and pressure move through your body.

So you probably know you need to lose some weight, whether it’s because of back pain or other reasons, but what can you do about it? Especially when you suffer from sciatica and the basic exercises seem almost impossible?

Well, the easiest thing is to adjust your diet. Drinking more water is a very easy thing to do and can help with weight loss and back pain at the same time.

Water will help your liver work better. Your liver works to burn extra body fat, but when you’re dehydrated, it actually switches to help with kidney function. By drinking your eight glasses per day, you can help improve liver function.

Not only that, but drinking plenty of water will help you feel full longer. When your stomach is full of water, you won’t have those hunger pangs that lead many of us to eat those foods we know we should avoid.

From the point of view of back pain, water is the main component of the intervertebral discs. Without proper hydration, these discs cannot stay filled with fluid and help cushion the vertebrae properly. By drinking your water you can ensure that your discs are healthy and have all the fluid they need.

Another important dietary consideration is that many foods that cause weight gain and obesity are also linked to inflammation. Inflammation around the soft tissues of the back and the nerves can contribute to back pain or sciatica.

These foods that cause inflammation include foods that are high in saturated fat and trans fat, as well as foods that are high on the glycemic index. Common examples of these foods are cakes, pastries, fried foods, red meat, and other things we commonly associate with fast foods.

You’ll also want to try to eat more foods that fight inflammation. These foods are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin D and antioxidants. You can find them in foods like salmon, berries, organic eggs, and other fruits. Many of these foods will not only help relieve inflammation and reduce back pain, but will also aid in weight loss.