If you or someone you know has serious lower back pain you may benefit from my experiences over the last 8 months. More and more studies are showing that long term inflammation may be the background cause of most of our major diseases and problems, my current experience has made me a believer.
This spring/summer I spent 5 months in the field holding a heavy camera in very difficult positions for long periods trying to photo tiny insects. My lower back took the toll and I developed chronic lower back pain. I tried everything I could find on the web from wearing a brace, to bed rest, to hot and/or cold packs, to focused exercises but nothing helped; my pain refused to heal and actually got worse. What's going on, I'm very healthy, BMI of 22, I eat a very strong and balanced vegan diet, exercise daily, and am generally fit and in good shape. I was stumped and decided to see a doctor.
Over the next 2 months I went to 4 different doctors, had X-rays, MRI's, was prescribed all sort of meds (some had such horrid side effects that I refused to take them), but never got any answers that made sense or helped the problem to heal. My pain remained chronic and got worse, I could hardly do anything but sit or lay down. Picking up just 5 pounds would cause sharp pain. The ONLY thing that helped was large doses anti-inflammatory drugs, mainly Ibuprofen, which can cause serious liver damage and I totally reject as a long term answer.
Next I decided to go see an orthopedic surgeon; he took one look at my X-ray and said I had DISH syndrome. He said it was a common syndrome that occurs in 15 to 25% of all species of mammal as they age (it's even found on skeletons of dinosaurs ). From a lifetime of use the ligaments that attach the muscles to the lower spine can become calcified and often become INFLAMED which causes the chronic pain. The surgeon said he also had the syndrome and had to take Ibuprofen several times a day to continue his practice and recommended I do the same.
Common sense told me there had to be a better way. Having studied nutrition for the last 2 years I knew most all conditions, syndromes, and diseases could be either prevented, reversed and eliminated, or at least diminished and controlled if you eat the correct balance of properly prepared whole plant foods. I'd eliminated my type 2 diabetes, stage 2 heart disease, arthritis, high blood PSI, and other problems by becoming a strict vegan 2 years ago so I knew the power of whole foods.
The DISH syndrome occurs naturally and can't be reversed, but the inflammation that causes the associated pain might be able to be eliminated by eating highly anti-inflammatory foods? Maybe I wasn't eating the proper balance of anti-inflammatory versus inflammatory foods?
It was worth a try so Kim and I did the research, developed a long list of best anti-inflammatory foods, and started working them into my diet. After about 6 days the chronic pain I'd had for the previous 8 months was all but gone, down about 95%! I can do most all the things I'd been unable to do and feel great! It was a remarkable turnaround.
The most important anti-inflammatory foods that I started including in my daily diet were large red onions, loads of roasted garlic and garlic powder, fresh ginger, cooked spinach, kale, and collards, cooked carrots, and baked sweet potato.
We buy bags of peeled garlic cloves at Costco, then roast them by pouring into a pan lined with enough parchment paper to hold the garlic in a single layer and still be able to seal the parchment paper over the top by folding the edges together. Roast in a 350 degree F oven until golden and soft, about 30-45 minutes, then store in a sealed container (we use mason jars) in the refrigerator, keeps for 2 weeks. Add to savory dishes and dressings.
Here's a table of anti-inflammatory foods, the higher the number, the more anti-inflammatory the food.
| Chili pepper, jalapeno, raw | 1/4 cup | 825 |
| Garlic Powder | 1/2 Tsp | 468 |
| Ginger root, raw | 1 Tbsp | 387 |
| Onions, raw | 1/2 cup | 292 |
| Ginger, ground | 1/2 Tsp | 248 |
| Spinach, cooked | 1/2 cup | 224 |
| Garlic, raw | 1 Tbsp | 215 |
| Kale, raw | 1 cup | 213 |
| Sweet potato, baked | 1/2 cup | 189 |
| Mustard greens, cooked | 1/2 cup | 172 |
| Pumpkin, canned | 1/2 cup | 168 |
| Collards, cooked | 1/2 cup | 159 |
| Beet greens, cooked | 1/2 cup | 136 |
| Carrots, cooked | 1/2 cup | 130 |
| Kale, cooked | 1/2 cup | 112 |
| Carrots, raw | 1/2 cup | 98 |
| Squash, butternut, baked | 1/2 cup | 91 |
| Carrots, canned | 1/2 cup | 79 |
| Spinach raw | 1 cup | 74 |
| Lettuce, romaine | 1 cup | 69 |
| Broccoli, cooked | 1/2 cup | 60 |
| Avocado, fresh | 1/2 cup | 57 |
| Pecans, raw | 1/4 cup | 46 |
| Brussels sprouts, cooked | 1/2 cup | 40 |
| Asparagus, cooked | 1/2 cup | 38 |
| Asparagus, canned | 1/2 cup | 34 |
| Edamame, frozen | 1/2 cup | 32 |
| Broccoli, raw | 1/2 cup | 26 |
| Flaxseed, ground | 1/4 cup | 26 |
| Cabbage, green, cooked | 1/2 cup | 23 |
| Asparagus, raw | 1 cup | 21 |
| Cashews, raw | 1/4 cup | 20 |
| Parsley, fresh | 1 Tbsp | 20 |
| Kiwi, fresh | 1/2 cup | 17 |
| Lemon juice, fresh | 1/2 cup | 17 |
| Pistachios, dry-roasted | 1/4 cup | 16 |
| Strawberries, fresh | 1/2 cup | 14 |
| Cabbage, red, raw | 1/2 cup | 12 |
| Chia seeds | 1 ounce | 10 |
| Peanut butter, smooth | 2 Tbsp | 10 |
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