As we always say, you are what you eat. While we’ve talked about what to eat for foot pain before, we never specifically talked about diet for plantar fasciitis patients, even though it is one of the most common foot diseases people struggle with.
What Causes Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar Fascitis can be a result from wearing ill-fitting shoes, foot structure (for example, if you’re born with flat feet), walking on rough surfaces, or overwalking and overstanding. Therefore, servers, front desk receptionists, warehouse workers, and floor salespeople may be more likely to develop plantar fasciitis.
Most Common Plantar Fasciitis Symptoms
The most common symptom of plantar fascitis is heel pain. Many describe it as a stabbing pain which is the worst when you first wake up. The heel pain may also be triggered from standing up after sitting for too long, or when you walk around after standing still.
How to Treat Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar Fasciitis requires comprehensive treatment, often a combination of medication and physical therapy. Your doctor might refer you to a physical therapist or massage therapist if they believe you’ll benefit from these treatment methods.
For home treatment, adjusting your diet and having a foot massager for plantar fasciitis are both game changers.
Food That Reduce Plantar Fasciitis Pain
Simply put, food that help reduce plantar fasciitis pain are food high in magnesium, calcium, vitamin C and D. These include seafood, white meat, leafy green vegetables, and most fruit. While there is no food that will heal your Plantar Fasciitis, they can make your pain more manageable.
Below are a few specific foods you should add to your diet if you have plantar fasciitis.
Citrus
Oranges, lemons, grapefruits… Cirtuses are rich in Vitamin C and can help you relieve pain caused by plantar fasciitis. That’s because Vitamin C is an anti-inflammatory and one of the most accessible vitamins in daily life.
Chicken Feet
Eat feet if your feet hurt is not a superstition. Chicken feet are high in collagen, which can help relieve joint pain and prevent bone loss. Additionally, plantar fasciitis patients shouldn’t really ingest too much animal protein. Therefore, chicken feet is a great alternative way of getting the protein you need.
Spinach
Spinach is high in methylsulfonylmethane, fiber, and iron. It is also rich in Vitamin C. There is a reason why spinach is considered a superfood. In general, you should add it to your diet.
Food to Avoid if You Have Plantar Fasciitis
Believe it or not, some food can actually trigger plantar fasciitis episodes or make your pain worse. While you don’t have to compelte avoid the following foods, you should at least consume them with caution.
Prepared Foods
These foods tend to have a high content of sugar, trans-fat, and refined grains, if not a ton of other harmful chemicals. If you suffer from plantar fasciitis, you should stick with natural, unprocessed foods for the most part — and always read the labels before buying any packaged goods!
Red Meat
Red meat has far too much fat. Therefore, even though it’s a great protein source, plantar fasciitis patients should steer away from red meat as much as possible.
White Flour
Products made with white flour, whether it’s pasta, bread, tortillas, or cookies, are bad news for plantar fasciitis patients. Switch to things made with brown rice flower or arrowroot flour to avoid triggering more pain.
Nutritional Supplement for Plantar Fascitis
The most useful nutritional supplement for plantar fascitis treatment are
- Magnesium: also comes in liquid format, which you can add to your drinking water or any other beverages.
- Vitamin D: Take 2 150mg pills a day for a small dosage. We also recommend you to spend some time in the sun every day to get your natural Vitamin D recharge.
- Vitamin C: Take 2 150mg pills a day, or use the airbore Vitamin C packets or tablets you can get at pretty much any pharmacy.
- Calcium: We recommend a higher intake of calcium for women, especially those pregnant or breastfeeding, and elders.
These are all easily accessible from large retailers such as Walmart and Natural Grocers. There are also alternative comprehensive supplements nowadays that include all the nutritions you need to reduce plantar fasciitis pain.
