Welcome to Dishing of Nutrition's midweek segment called Ask a Nutritionist.

I'm Melanie Beasley, a registered and licensed dietitian at Nutritional Weight and Wellness,

and on today's show, I'll be diving

into a topic that affects so many of us, back pain. You know that nagging, uncomfortable, can't get

comfy, kind of pain. I've had it. Many people had it, but here's the good news. What you eat

might help relieve that pain,

or it could make it worse. Today, I'm sharing some practical tips on how to eat to manage back pain.

We'll talk about foods that help, foods that hurt, and a few powerhouse nutrients to focus on and answer the big question,

can changing your diet really help with back pain? And the answer is, yes, it can. Let's start

with the big question. Should you change your diet if you're dealing with back pain. The answer is a strong yes.

Think about it this way.

Back pain is often tied to inflammation and what you eat has a huge impact on that inflammation.

If your diet is heavy on sugars or processed foods, they can ramp up inflammation and settle right into

weak or sensitive areas like your back. By making a few intentional changes to what's on your

plate, you might find more relief than you thought possible. And the best part, it's all in your

control. One of my clients came to me with the desire

for weight loss, but as we worked together, she mentioned she's got back pain. And as she began to

implement the changes that I had given her, eating real food, removing some of those inflammatory

nutrients that she was eating, she noticed her back pain significantly improved. So not only did

she lose those pesky pounds, but she was in much less pain. What a huge win for her.

All right, let's get back into the foods to avoid if you

want to manage back pain through nutrition. Think of these as the pain culprits that could be

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