Nutrition for cervical osteochondrosis during exacerbation. Diet principles and weekly menu

Problems with the musculoskeletal system are a real problem for many people, especially in old age. It is very important not to miss the disease early stage. Diet for osteochondrosis of the cervical, lumbar or thoracic spine is an important point complex treatment, capable of slowing down the progressive disease at all stages of its development.

What is osteochondrosis

Osteochondrosis is a degenerative lesion of joints, cartilage, and intervertebral discs in the spine. The disease is diagnosed in every third person after 60 years of age. People with overweight who lead a sedentary lifestyle or have suffered back injuries. Without treatment, osteochondrosis brings complications in the form of vegetative-vascular dystonia, pneumonia, vascular strangulation, neuralgia and other diseases internal organs.

If the source of inflammation is in the cervical region, then the brain suffers from lack of oxygen. When osteochondrosis is located in thoracic area spine problems with the heart and lungs are often observed. Disease of the spine in the lumbar region brings with it disturbances in the functioning of the pelvic organs, including genitourinary system. The main symptoms of osteochondrosis are curvature of the spine, pain, and dizziness.

Nutrition for osteochondrosis

Diet for osteochondrosis is an important point in the treatment of the disease. A person’s health directly depends on what he eats, so this point cannot be taken lightly during therapy. Nutrition for osteochondrosis of the spine of all parts must be properly selected. The patient will have to give up many of his favorite foods and get used to new ones. The main thing is regularity and persistence; after a few weeks, the new menu will become a habit.

Products for osteochondrosis

A doctor or nutritionist can create a menu correctly. Nutrition for osteochondrosis in women is no different from the male diet, except for the portion size. Important rule: the diet for such patients should be saturated plant foods and proteins, but carbohydrates and fats should be treated very carefully. Improvement in well-being depends on this. Particular attention in case of osteochondrosis different departments should be given to products containing chitin: crayfish, crabs, shrimp. They promote recovery cartilage tissue.

Allowed

People on a diet for osteochondrosis are advised to maximally include foods that allow them to keep their body in shape. To do this, pay attention to the following list of food products for creating a diet:

Vegetables. These are potatoes, carrots, onions, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage. You can use them not only to prepare salads and stews, but also to make freshly squeezed juices.
Fruits. Fresh apples, pears, peaches, plums, watermelons, melons, bananas, kiwis, oranges - this is a treasure trove important vitamins and microelements. Prepare juices, compotes, and fruit salads from them.
Lean meat. Protein is the basis of the diet. This product group includes chicken fillet, rabbit, beef, liver.
Marine. Shrimp and other crustaceans should be on the table every day when treating osteochondrosis. Don't forget about low-fat fish when planning your diet.
Legumes. Vegetable protein, which is easily digested by the body, will complement the lack of this valuable ingredient in the treatment of osteochondrosis.
Cereals. Rice and buckwheat are valuable sources of protein and fiber in the diet. Many cereals are based on these cereals. therapeutic diets and menu.
Dairy products. Cottage cheese, rich in calcium and magnesium, should be consumed every day. Useful for dietary nutrition also kefir, fermented baked milk, low-fat milk, butter and hard cheese moderate amount.
Nuts, dried fruits, eggs. Don’t forget about these products that are essential for the body.

What not to eat

There are a number of food products that are undesirable on the menu for spinal osteochondrosis, and there are those that are contraindicated for consumption. The table below shows conditionally and strictly prohibited foods by group for creating a diet:

Product group	Note
Unwanted
Drinks: strong coffee, tea. Fried foods. Sweets.	If you drink a lot of coffee or tea, then their amount should be reduced to two cups a day, and it is better to replace it with the Chicory drink and herbal decoctions. Try to eat fried foods for osteochondrosis as rarely as possible. If sweets are part of your menu, then choose natural ones low-fat dishes with minimal flour content: juice jelly, milk soufflé, kozinaki, fruit and nut sorbet, fruit ice cream.
Prohibited
Drinks: alcohol. Salty marinated dishes. Smoked meats. Sweets.	Alcoholic drinks are strictly contraindicated. They negatively affect all internal organs. Salt contributes to the development of osteochondrosis, but there is no need to strictly adhere to a salt-free diet. Smoked sausages, fish and meat are very fatty foods, which are prepared in most cases with harmful liquid smoke, so it is better not to consume them. The prohibited group includes cakes with large amounts of confectionery fat and sugar, and pastries.

Diet menu for osteochondrosis

A complete diet should consist of at least 4-5 meals, i.e. present fractional meals. Total amount drunk clean water– 1 liter, not including tea and other liquids. If the patient is overweight or obese, you need to create a menu for weight loss. At the same time, you need to move more, do exercises, walk more fresh air.

Cervical spine

Dystrophic lesion cervical region can be cured with a simple but healthy diet. Nutrition for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine should be based on lean fish, meat, vegetables, and fruits. Here is an example of such a menu:

Breakfast: oatmeal with fruit, tea.
Second breakfast: cottage cheese with dried fruits.
Lunch: borscht without broth or vegetable soup, boiled piece of rabbit meat and salad fresh vegetables.
Afternoon snack: freshly squeezed juice from seasonal fruits, biscuits.
Dinner: rice with seafood, fruit jelly.

Lumbar

If the source of inflammation is located in the belt area, then here you need to adhere to low calorie diet to relieve stress on the body. Nutrition for osteochondrosis lumbar region the spine should be like this:

Breakfast: cottage cheese with tea.
Second breakfast: fruit, such as apples or bananas.
Lunch: seafood soup, vegetable salad, boiled egg, juice.
Afternoon snack: a glass of low-fat kefir and some dried fruits.
Dinner: buckwheat with steamed chicken cutlet, sliced vegetables.

Thoracic spine

When the middle part of the ridge is damaged, the heart suffers, so it is necessary to include dried apricots and prunes in the diet. Proper nutrition for osteochondrosis thoracic menu includes:

Breakfast: boiled rice with dried fruits, coffee drink.
Second breakfast: cottage cheese, apple or orange.
Dinner: pea soup, steamed piece of veal, vegetable salad, juice.
Afternoon snack: several boiled shrimps, dried fruit juice.
Dinner: rice with vegetables and a piece of baked fish.

Rice diet

The basis of good nutrition for osteochondrosis is vegetable protein which should be consumed every day. There is a lot of it in ordinary rice cereal, a frequent guest on the dinner table. However, in order for rice to retain all its beneficial properties, it must be cooked correctly:

Pour one glass of rice clean water, wait until it boils.
After five minutes, drain the water and add new water.
Repeat steps 1-2 four more times.
The rice is ready. You can use it in your diet every day.

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Osteochondrosis is a disorder dystrophic nature, occurring in articular cartilage.

In most cases, the intervertebral joints of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine are affected.

Proper nutrition with osteochondrosis - one of the conditions for successful treatment diseases.

Regardless of which part of the spine bothers you - cervical, thoracic or lumbar, normalization of nutrition - important factor V integrated approach to treatment.

Main principles of the diet the ones you need to adhere to are:

predominance of plant-based products in the menu
low calorie food
consumption of vitamins and minerals
balanced nutrition (the use of mono-diets - rice, kefir, apple and others, which exclude the full intake of all nutrients into the body is not permissible)

Before getting started with the actual therapeutic nutrition, it is necessary to pay attention to such an important point as reducing body weight in patients with osteochondrosis (for those, of course, who have excess weight).

The fact is that every additional kilogram is an excessive load on our spine, and in particular on the intervertebral discs.

Obesity is one of the indirect causes of the disease, and eliminating excess weight is important for both prevention and treatment of the disease.

Products for diet therapy for osteochondrosis

Nutrition for this disease requires serious adjustments to the diet of consumed foods.

What to exclude?

The first thing a patient with osteochondrosis needs to do is to exclude from the diet foods that are too spicy, too salty and too seasoned. Also, do not abuse coffee, strong tea and alcohol.

In general, spicy, fatty foods and refined carbohydrates are harmful to healthy people, so excluding them from the menu can also be used as a preventative measure against osteochondrosis in middle-aged and older people who are at risk for this disease.

These dishes negatively affect the metabolic processes occurring in the body, disrupt the balance of microelements, reduce microcirculation in cells (including cartilage tissue) and affect body weight - for the worse, of course.
Inappropriate completely exclude table salt from the diet, as was recommended for osteochondrosis in the last century. Latest medical research show that no salt deposits main reason osteochondrosis.

It is not salt that is to blame for the disease, but a person’s sedentary lifestyle, his inattention to own body, lack of necessary physical activity on the back muscles and spine.

Even if salts are deposited in the intervertebral tissue, these are completely different salts, and their excess percentage in the body is determined by a doctor using a urine test.

Natural chondroprotectors

Care should be taken to ensure that the body receives substances involved in the synthesis of cartilage tissue. Such substances are called (protecting cartilage).

These substances can be consumed in the form of medications, which are prescribed at the discretion of your doctor.

But they are also contained in mucopolysaccharides found in foods such as aspic or jellied fish. In addition, jellied meat also contains collagen and protein, which are also extremely beneficial for connective tissue.

Another product that can provide the body with natural chondroprotectors is jelly (gelatin). This dessert is a great substitute for flour or chocolate products.

Plant food

Plant foods should make up the predominant part of the diet. Fruits and vegetables, in addition to containing vitamins and microelements, help fight overweight. In addition, they have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the digestive organs.

Seafood

Sea products can supply the body required quantity nutrients - polyunsaturated fats and vitamins, very useful for osteochondrosis.

Seafood also contains mucopolysaccharides, which were already mentioned above.

Vitamins and minerals

Basically, vitamins and minerals are found in fair amounts in vegetables, fruits and seafood. But it wouldn’t hurt to take a month-long course of medicinal fortification of the body. This will improve metabolic processes in tissues and organ systems.

Separate mention should be made of such an important nutritional element for osteochondrosis as calcium. This element must be introduced into the body regularly to prevent further degenerative changes in bone tissue.

Cheeses, cottage cheese and other fermented milk products, as well as nuts and lettuce are rich in calcium. However, for calcium to be absorbed, you need the presence of vitamin D, which is found in eggs, butter and sea fish.

Vitamin D synthesis is also promoted by exposure to the sun. Just remember the danger of direct and excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation on the skin - do not overuse sunbathing. Read more about calcium supplements.

Another element that helps calcium participate in the restoration of bone tissue is magnesium. Without the participation of magnesium, calcium will simply be “washed out” from the body, not having time to fulfill its mission.

Magnesium is found in sunflower seeds, nuts and vegetables.

Nutritional balance

This is one of main conditions therapeutic effect from any diets. Nutrition should be as varied as possible and ensure that the body receives all the substances it needs - proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Other things that should be changed percentage each other these three groups organic compounds.

With osteochondrosis, it is necessary to reduce the amount of fats and refined (in other words, harmful, high carbohydrates) glycemic index) carbohydrates, but protein found in healthy types of foods ( dietary meat, legumes and nuts) should be supplied in sufficient quantities.

Fractional meals

Fractional nutrition, which is recommended by some sources for osteochondrosis, in itself will not improve or worsen the condition. Rather, it will be beneficial gastrointestinal tract than cartilage and connective tissue of the spine.

Therefore, if you have healthy stomach or liver, you should not change your usual eating routine. Another thing is that large and rare meals themselves have an impact on the body. unnecessary load.

Eating a lot is harmful for a healthy person. Overeating is in any case worse than undereating.

Drinking regime

There is another established social stereotype, according to which osteochondrosis is a consequence of “drying out” of the intervertebral discs. On the one hand, this is true. However, this “drying out” occurs not because the person drinks little, but because the vertebrae doesn't arrive sufficient quantity blood.

So excessive consumption water is unlikely to help improve the situation with osteochondrosis. Another thing is that some people even consume too little liquid. Therefore, including healthy juices, fruit drinks, compotes and clean water in your diet will not harm your overall well-being, but rather, on the contrary, will bring certain benefits.

A complex approach

Don't forget that changing your diet alone is not enough.

With osteochondrosis, it is necessary to adjust not only food intake, but also the entire Lifestyle. Therapy for osteochondrosis, in addition to medication, also includes special exercise, walks in the fresh air, massage and manual procedures.

Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is intervertebral disc disease, the reasons for which are lack of physical activity (long stay in a “sitting” position, for example, at work in the office), improper load on the spine, hereditary predisposition, physical damage to the musculoskeletal system. Osteochondrosis causes pain in the neck, arms, head, dizziness, tinnitus, problems with vision and hearing. A diet for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine can alleviate the patient’s condition, which must be observed at all times.

Proper nutrition is part treatment course, performing preventive and health-improving functions.

Benefits of diet

One of the main useful properties dietary nutrition for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is considered ability to slow down further deformation human skeleton. The diet allows people who are overweight to lose weight.

Extra pounds increase pressure on musculoskeletal system, due to which the disease progresses. A balanced diet provides the body with all the necessary substances.

Ask your question to a neurologist for free

Irina Martynova. Graduated from Voronezh State University medical University them. N.N. Burdenko. Clinical resident and neurologist of the Moscow Polyclinic.

A diet for osteochondrosis is part of the treatment course, and therefore requires additional preventive procedures.

A balanced diet allows you to enhance the effect of preventive physical education and physiotherapy, but is not a complete replacement for them.

Thus, with osteochondrosis, it is worth constantly following a diet.

Diet helps improve a person’s overall well-being and delays further development disease, but requires additional treatment procedures.

Basic rules for eating

Eating with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine requires compliance with the following rules:

if the patient is overweight, he needs a low-calorie diet;
It is advisable to eat your last meal three hours before going to bed; you need to eat food every four hours during the day;
limit sugar intake;
Requires intake of vitamins and microelements, drinking regimen.

Thus, the diet for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine has no contraindications, coincides with the requirements for a full meal when maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Permitted and prohibited products

Authorized Products:

fresh vegetables and fruits;
dairy products;
boiled chicken, beef;
rye (bran) bread, crackers;
eggs, nuts, eggplants, cereals (protein);
pumpkin, liver (vitamin A);
tangerines, oranges, pears and apples (vitamin C);
almonds, rose hips (calcium);
potatoes, banana, walnuts(manganese).

Prohibited Products: salt, smoked meats, spicy, fatty and fried foods, marinades, sweets, baked goods, coffee, alcohol.

Maintaining a drinking regime necessary for human health, especially those suffering from osteochondrosis. On average, you need to drink 1.5 - 2 liters of fluid per day.

Its quantity directly depends on a person’s type of activity, his weight, and the time of year.

Additional substances necessary for the human body

Main share healthy eating with osteochondrosis occupy fresh vegetables and fruits. They are rich complex carbohydrates, have in stock simple carbohydrates which are required for good brain performance have many necessary vitamins and microelements.

Meals at cervical osteochondrosis requires the supply of proteins. The patient requires beef, chicken, fish, eggs, dairy products, mushrooms, cereals, eggplants.

Most patients are confident that the basis of the diet should include the consumption of proteoglycans, which are found in jellied meat and jellied dishes. However, their benefits have not been scientifically proven. There is no clear answer to the question of whether they are useful for the human body with osteochondrosis.

The patient needs the following microelements: iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc.

IN winter period You can take multivitamins purchased at the pharmacy.

Example menu

First day:

1st breakfast: cottage cheese, fruit, tea;
snack: apple, pear, banana;
lunch: vegetable soup, Rye bread, chicken cutlet;
afternoon snack: kefir, crackers, fresh fruit;
dinner: a piece of fish, rice porrige, vegetable salad, tea.

Second day:

1st breakfast: soft-boiled egg, wheat porridge;
snack: pear, orange, carrot, juice;
lunch: pea soup, rye bread, boiled chicken breast;
afternoon snack: juice, fruit;
dinner: boiled mushrooms (or baked beef), potatoes, vegetable salad.

The third day:

1st breakfast: tea, cheesecakes;
snack: nuts, dried fruits;
lunch: bean soup, rye bread, boiled meat, vegetable salad, compote;
afternoon snack: fermented baked milk, cake;
dinner: boiled chicken, buckwheat porridge, vegetable salad, tea.

Fourth day:

1st breakfast: oatmeal, bread, butter, cheese, tea;
snack: kefir, cracker;
lunch: vegetable soup, rice porridge with boiled chicken, cranberry juice;
afternoon snack: apple, yogurt, cracker;
dinner: vegetable casserole, fermented baked milk or tea.

Thus, the menu for osteochondrosis contains only healthy products.

Diet selection

There are various diets for people suffering from osteochondrosis, but the most popular are considered salt-free and rice.

The peculiarity of the first type of nutrition is to limit the consumption of foods containing salt (smoked meats, spicy food, various snacks, etc.). It is prohibited to consume sweets, sugary drinks, and coffee. This diet helps you lose excess weight.

The rice diet is considered more effective.

Its essence is to eat for breakfast boiled rice (serving – two tablespoons of cereal). In this case, the rice is processed in a special way: Rice sits in cold water for 6 days; the water in the jar with rice must be changed every day.

After eating boiled rice, you should not eat or drink anything for 4 hours. This diet should be followed for at least 42 days; during the day you can eat normally, but not overeat. Both women and men can follow the rice diet. It helps remove from the body extra salt, lose weight, promotes general cleansing of the body. It is the rice diet that experts recommend for osteochondrosis.

According to statistics, many people suffering from osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, subject to proper diet nutrition felt better.

Patients noted that the rice diet helped cope with headaches and dizziness, pain in the neck and arms, improve overall well-being.

FAQ

What effect does alcohol have on the body of a person suffering from osteochondrosis?

Alcohol consumption with osteochondrosis negatively affects well-being.

Drugs prescribed to relieve headaches, improve blood flow to the brain, lower blood pressure, etc., when mixed with alcoholic beverages, can lead to toxic poisoning and call the strongest side effects.

Cervical osteochondrosis and alcohol intensify headaches, blood pressure rises (which is dangerous in this type of disease), and all the symptoms of the disease appear to a greater extent. Alcohol provokes overeating, drinking junk food(salty and spicy snacks, smoked foods), which leads to poor circulation and excess weight gain.

Thus, drinking alcohol is harmful to the health of a person suffering from osteochondrosis.

Conclusion

Thus, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is serious illness, requiring constant adherence to a diet.

Proper nutrition is part of the treatment course, which cannot completely replace preventive procedures (special gymnastics, physiotherapy, etc.), however, provides positive influence on general state body. There are several types different diets, however, the most popular is the rice diet, based on complex cleansing body. Drinking alcohol with osteochondrosis is contraindicated.

It opens the list of what you can’t eat if you have osteochondrosis, as it retains fluid in the tissues and joints of the body.

A person who does not watch his diet eats 15-20 grams of salt per day.

Salt consumption for osteochondrosis should be reduced to 5 grams per day.

The areas of the spine affected by osteochondrosis are edematous, salty food will increase the volume and area of edema, which will increase pain.
The liver, kidneys and heart have to work “extremely” to remove excess fluid. Constant overstrain of these organs provokes the development of hypertension or, at a minimum, surges blood pressure, which causes severe headaches. Headaches accompanying cervical osteochondrosis will only intensify.

To avoid excessive salt consumption, avoid: sausages, canned food, homemade pickles, hot sauces, seasonings, smoked meats.

Coffee

No matter how much advertising convinces us that we need a cup of coffee in the morning, remember that coffee is very harmful product, which negatively affects kidney function and of cardio-vascular system body!

Consider all discussions about how many cups and what kind of coffee (instant or natural) you can drink per day as a continuation of intrusive advertising.

Coffee disrupts proper metabolism in the body.
It blocks the absorption of microelements - magnesium, sodium, calcium, which are vital for the heart and bone tissue.

Deterioration in the quality of bone tissue will complicate the treatment of osteochondrosis and increase the frequency and severity of its relapses.

It is not for nothing that the owners of coffee plantations in Brazil drink coffee from a symbolic cup 1 (one) time a year at the harvest festival!

Sugar and sweets

The absorption of quickly digestible carbohydrates contained in sugary foods leads to an increase in blood sugar levels and a response of a large dose of insulin to lower it.

For such a powerful reaction, the body needs energy and it takes it from collagen compounds. The destruction of collagen fibers will complicate the course of osteochondrosis and cause the need for additional collagen replenishment.

If you have osteochondrosis, especially during periods of exacerbation, you should not eat: sweet cakes, chocolate, candies, or drink carbonated drinks with dyes.

Bakery products made from white flour

These are another suppliers of quickly digestible carbohydrates.

To understand their harm, let’s consider the stages of their absorption along with the consequences:

intake of “fast” carbohydrates;
a sharp increase in blood sugar;
insulin release;
feeling of “wild” hunger;
absorption of food in large quantities;
excellent absorption of excess calories and fats under the influence of insulin;
gaining excess weight.

Every extra kilos falls on the spine, increasing the constant load on it. Weight gain is especially undesirable with lumbar osteochondrosis. Moreover, it is impossible to cure lumbar osteochondrosis without getting rid of extra pounds!

To avoid gaining excess weight, from confectionery, white buns and bread should be avoided.

Partially cooked foods are harmful due to transgenic fats, preservatives, large quantities spices and salt.

All these substances disrupt metabolism, hematopoiesis and blood supply to body tissues.

Insufficient blood supply to the muscles, cartilage and bones of the spine leads to complications of osteochondrosis, destruction of cartilage, increased swelling and pain.

If you have osteochondrosis, you should not eat: dumplings, frozen cutlets, pancakes and other semi-finished meat and fish products.

A proper diet for osteochondrosis not only helps to slow down the progression dangerous illness, but also significantly improve the quality of human life. It is no secret that the pathological processes occurring during illness: damage to the intervertebral discs, vertebral bodies, their articular surfaces and fixing apparatus (ligaments) - are dystrophic-degenerative changes in the main column of the musculoskeletal system, which negatively affect the functioning of all internal organs. This leads to pain of various nature: head and heart, dorsal, lumbar, cervical.

Suffering intensifies when physical activity, sneezing or coughing, lifting heavy objects or making sudden movements. Destructive changes provoke muscle atrophy, aching or numbness in the limbs, impaired sensation in the back. Unfortunately, completely healed this disease modern medicine cannot, but a well-designed diet for osteochondrosis, along with a whole therapeutic complex, where doctors include exercise therapy procedures, massage, and medication, can significantly improve the condition of a sick person, alleviate suffering and maintain his activity.

Benefits for osteochondrosis

At an appointment with the attending neurologist, patients usually receive a memo that outlines the basic principles of organizing the diet and the rules for its correction. Subject to availability concomitant diseases the doctor can give additional recommendations on nutrition. How does diet affect the body during osteochondrosis? It helps to normalize metabolic processes in the body, prevent the deposition of salts in the spine, restore damaged cartilage tissue, strengthen the ligaments of the intervertebral discs, reduce excess weight, which increases the load on the spine. musculoskeletal system and provoking further development of the disease. Very often, in patients suffering from osteochondrosis, doctors diagnose obesity, which worsens the person’s condition and stimulates the degenerative process in the spine. A low-calorie diet, which is recommended as part of the main diet for this disease, allows you to reduce the patient’s weight and ease the load on thinned cartilage tissue destroyed by the disease.

General principles of nutrition for osteochondrosis

In accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (No. 330), in case of spinal pathologies, neurologists recommend patients the main dietary option, and in case of concomitant obesity, they supplement it with a low-calorie diet.

Basic Spine is a physiologically complete diet, which includes an optimal amount of proteins and fats, but a significantly reduced amount of carbohydrates (due to quickly digestible) and table salt. From daily requirement Human nutrients include: proteins, the mass of which should be about 90 g (of which 50 g of protein is of animal origin); fats - 80 g (including vegetable fats - 30 g); carbohydrates - 330 g, of which simple ones should have a volume of no more than 40 g. Average daily calorie content The diet of a patient suffering from osteochondrosis does not exceed 2150-2400 kcal.

Diet

Most nutritionists are confident that split meals for a patient with overweight body, when he takes food at least five or six times a day, is the most favorable schedule. In patients with normal weight body, the number of meals can reach four or five times a day.

Proper diet for osteochondrosis with frequent intake food allows you to eliminate excess load on the gastrointestinal tract, and, accordingly, improve the absorption process useful substances. In addition, such a routine for obesity will be a good prevention of overeating and fat deposition in the body. The final evening meal should be light and taken no later than 3 hours before bedtime.

Methods of cooking and drinking regime

Almost all types of culinary processing can be used when feeding people suffering from osteochondrosis, with the exception of frying: boiling and baking (without crust), steaming and poaching in its own juice or a small amount of water. Among the recommended methods: meat and fish are first boiled or simmered a little, and only then fried a little.

When baking fruit, the fruit is wrapped in foil and then placed in the oven or steamed. Last method It is especially welcomed by doctors, as it allows for minimal processing of products, preserving most of the nutrients in them. Treatment of osteochondrosis, a diet in which is replete with micro- and macroelements involved in the metabolism of osteocytes (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and manganese), is much easier, exacerbations in this case occur much less frequently, prolonging periods of remission. To prevent dehydration, it is also necessary to include the consumption of one and a half to two liters of clean water per day, in addition to first courses and drinks. This prevents the cartilage tissue of the intervertebral discs from drying out and its further destruction.

Authorized Products

IN good nutrition with osteochondrosis, all necessary proteins, fats, carbohydrates and minerals must be present. Diets excluding meat dishes are strictly prohibited for such patients. But this product - the most important supplier of proteins - must be natural and low-fat. The diet for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine and other vertebral areas should include: beef and veal, turkey, rabbit and chicken. Eggs and fish should also be included weekly diet so that the body can receive natural calcium to strengthen the skeleton.

Fish and other seafood are cooked in their own juice or with a small addition of vegetable oil. Eggs are consumed only boiled or steamed diet omelette. If the gastrointestinal tract tolerates dairy products well, then they must be included in the diet. Fermented milk drinks and cottage cheese can replace natural milk in case of intolerance or become another healthy component diets. Cheeses - great source calcium for patients with osteochondrosis, but for overweight people it is necessary to choose lower-calorie varieties of this product.

Also, if there is a disease of the spine, it is necessary to regulate daily norm salt - no more than 3-4 g, sugar (which is better replaced with honey) - no more than 35 g. Do not forget about the “hidden” reserve of these flavoring substances in products. Also welcome in the diet for osteochondrosis are: grain porridge and rye bread, a maximum of nature’s gifts (vegetables and fruits), buckwheat, vegetable oil, poultry liver and greens (the only exception is sorrel).

Undesirable and prohibited products

Coffee is considered one of the most insidious drinks for people suffering from spinal disease. It flushes out the calcium and other trace elements it needs from the body. In this case, juices or weak tea can serve as a substitute. If it’s difficult to give up your favorite energy drink, then eliminate caffeine and use chicory instead.

It is advisable to avoid baking and sweets - they are high in calories and difficult for the stomach to digest. These products do not supply the body with useful energy, but provoke the formation of a fat layer.

Sweet grape varieties, sorrel (due to acidity), strong drinks (tea and coffee), as well as sweet soda, spices (pepper, horseradish, mustard and others), spicy dishes, products with food E-supplements, which have an adverse effect on the digestive and musculoskeletal system, are undesirable components of the daily diet.

In addition to cakes, pastries, ice cream and marmalade, the diet for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine and its other parts should not contain: rich broths and soups made from them; margarine, as well as fats (cooking, lamb and beef); dried fish and marinades; canned meat and fish; sausages; homemade and store-bought pickles, smoked meats and lard.

Features of the diet for people suffering from cervical or lumbar osteochondrosis

What should a person diagnosed with cervical osteochondrosis eat? The diet of such patients should be based on vegetarian soups without fat, eggs, fish, seafood, lean meats, vegetables, fruits, unsweetened juices. “Treats” for intervertebral discs and vertebrae are: pears and apples, strawberries, raspberries, earthen pear(Jerusalem artichoke), lentils, pumpkin, lettuce, hazelnuts and soy yoghurts.

The diet of patients with osteochondrosis complicated by arthrosis requires an increased amount of protein in food, but prohibits whole milk, which can be replaced fermented milk products. There are also specific dietary requirements for patients diagnosed with lumbar osteochondrosis" The diet for people with affected vertebrae in this area may include any low-calorie foods for weight loss to ease the load on the diseased organ.

During exacerbation

During deterioration of health due to osteochondrosis, it is necessary to limit the consumption of broths, eggs and meat, exclude any fatty foods, and not eat alcoholic drinks, coffee or tea. To everyone who hasn't gotten rid of nicotine addiction, you need to do this for effective treatment illness.

During this period, patients are additionally prescribed multivitamins and magnesium and B vitamins are recommended: fish and seafood, cabbage, legumes, nuts, bread coarse, cottage cheese, yogurt, new milk(not boiled).

About pseudo-diets...

In case of osteochondrosis, it is unacceptable to use various mono-diets that exclude the full provision of the body with nutrients, microelements and vitamins. Rice, kefir, apple and other nutritional systems with a depleted diet slow down the process of rehabilitation of destroyed cartilage tissue and increase the negative side effects of drug therapy, reduce the metabolic rate, causing further weight gain.

Experts are skeptical about the rice diet with consumption raw product within one and a half months. The purpose of such a diet is to remove toxins, as its authors claim. However, within 45 days, any exacerbation goes away on its own, without any treatment. And the myth about the removal of toxins has long been debunked by professionals, since the constant renewal of the epithelium in the intestines does not allow “toxins” to attach to its walls. In addition, for people with gastrointestinal problems, eating raw rice can cause an exacerbation of digestive-related diseases.

A salt-free diet may be useful for an overweight patient suffering from osteochondrosis. It is known that 1 g of salt can retain about 100 ml of moisture in the body, so avoiding flavoring agent may help reduce weight and stress on the spine. Besides, salt-free diet with cervical osteochondrosis helps reduce the number of attacks of hypertension and reduce headache. But people who claim that giving up salt has a positive effect on the development of osteochondrosis of the sacrolumbar spine are mistaken, preventing the deposition of salts in the damaged area. This erroneous opinion does not stand up to the criticism of professionals. All dystrophic changes and degenerative processes are associated exclusively with constant tension and overload in the joint area, and destruction impairs blood supply, which leads to deficiency nutrients in cartilage tissue and vertebrae. Thus, table salt has no effect on the condition of the joints and spine themselves. However, even a temporary refusal of salt helps restore taste buds, which can cause addiction to under-salted food. And this leads to favorable changes in the body as a whole.

Increased calcium intake also does not relieve osteochondrosis, because it does not affect the dangerous changes in the intervertebral discs that occur as a result of severe overloads. The diet of people with spinal pathology should be complete and balanced.