As a sciatic sufferer, your caregivers instructions for easing your sciatic pain are vital. However, it is equally essential for you to be proactive in your own health treatment plan. There are many lifestyle choices that can have a positive impact on your sciatic nerve pain. Some of these include hydrotherapy, exercises, stretching, and diet. What we get out of our bodies is equivalent to what we put into our bodies. In the case of sciatic nerve treatment, it has been found that foods rich in potassium have been able to assist in warding off sciatic pain. However, it cannot be stressed enough that you do not want to overload your body with potassium as excessive potassium intake possesses health risks. Therefore, if you find the foods below are already in abundance in your everyday diet, you may want to consider doing some research on other types of foods to ease sciatic pain (such as anti-inflammatory foods or organic foods).
How potassium aids in sciatic nerve treatment:
When looking for an effective form of sciatic nerve pain treatment, increasing foods rich in potassium can be a very beneficial and simple change. Potassium regulates muscle contractions, by doing so it can ease the severe muscle pain associated with sciatica. In the case of sciatic nerve treatment, a person without a sufficient amount of potassium in their system has nothing to aid against the random and painful spasms associated with sciatica. It is recommended that adult men and women consume 4.7 grams of potassium a day. Pregnant women should also consume 4.7 grams a day, while breastfeeding women should consume 5.1 grams daily. As long as you monitor your potassium consumption, you should be able to incorporate this dietary change on your own. Please allow one to two weeks to notice a change. A good idea would be to keep a journal of how much potassium you have consumed and which food source you got it from, as well as how you are feeling. Please do not go over the daily recommended potassium doses without consulting your sciatic nerve pain treatment doctor for guidance. For your convenience, we have included the recommended food intake per meal to see results.
The following potassium rich foods have been found to be beneficial in sciatic nerve pain treatment:
- Apricots = dried, 10 halves
- Avocados = 1 ounce
- Bananas = 1 cup
- Beets = cooked, 1 cup
- Cantaloupe = 1 cup
- Honeydew Melons = 1 cup
- Kiwi = raw, 1 medium
- Lima Beans = 1 cup
- Nectarines = raw, 1
- Orange Juice = 1 cup
- Oranges = raw, 1
- Peanuts = (dry, roasted, unsalted), 1 ounce
- Pears = raw, 1
- Potatoes = baked, 1
- Tomato products
- Winter Squash = 1 cup
- Yogurt = plain, 1 cup
- Skim Milk = 8 ounce
Source by Sarah Neve