. It’s been a while since I’ve felt the need to write a blog post, but the message I’m hoping to convey in this one is too long and complicated to simply say in a facebook post!
Over the last couple of years I have been suffering with lower back and hip pain which has prevented me from being able to perform at my best athletically and at times has impacted my daily life.
Being fit and active and eating a healthy balanced diet I felt that I was doing everything I could to help myself get better or at least improve. In recent months after a period of difficulty, I have also been working with a physio and having regular sports massage to alleviate the pain and loosen the tight muscles in this area.
After little improvement and a strange pattern of aches and pains in different places after these non-invasive treatments, I was referred for an MRI scan. To cut a long story short I have discovered that I have a degenerative disc disease which has left me with a lack of ‘shock absorption’ in the lower part of my lumbar spine and some bulging onto the nearby nerves. This condition will always be there and can flare up or worsen with the slightest awkward movement. They also discovered that I have inflammation of the tendons in my hips and signs of cartilage wear and tear.
Having had symptoms for so long the doctor discussed the possibility of a back operation that I could have. However, this would leave me out of action for a minimum of 3 months and I’m not prepared (at the moment) to choose this path due to my relatively new and exciting job as a personal trainer and the opportunity to conquer my unfinished Ironman business.
I had a detailed discussion with the consultant about management of the condition and he felt that low impact exercise, massage, stretching, yoga and Pilates are all important. This left me with some hope, but also a little bit demoralised because I am currently doing all of those things (not as often as I maybe could) and the condition is being managed but I’m not doing much running and haven’t swum or cycled for months.
With plenty to think about, I left the hospital and decided to research foods as medicine. I have done lots of reading this week about foods that have anti-inflammatory properties, which has resulted in the cupboard now being stocked with tins of pineapple, fish has been on the menu 4/5 times this week and I’m drinking more green tea.
As a family our philosophy towards food has been slowly changing anyway due to the fact that Chloe opted to become vegetarian last Christmas and we have become more aware of the impact of meat production on the planet. I would now say that up to half of our meals are now vegetarian.
Also, having been qualified as a PT for 18 months now, I have been researching additional qualifications to do. Nutrition has always been of interest to me and was a possibility for another course I could do that would arm me with more information to share with my clients. With foods as medicine and their nutritional value whirring round my head I remembered a Netflix documentary I was recommended by a friend called Forks over knives.
Over the last couple of years I have been suffering with lower back and hip pain which has prevented me from being able to perform at my best athletically and at times has impacted my daily life.
Being fit and active and eating a healthy balanced diet I felt that I was doing everything I could to help myself get better or at least improve. In recent months after a period of difficulty, I have also been working with a physio and having regular sports massage to alleviate the pain and loosen the tight muscles in this area.
After little improvement and a strange pattern of aches and pains in different places after these non-invasive treatments, I was referred for an MRI scan. To cut a long story short I have discovered that I have a degenerative disc disease which has left me with a lack of ‘shock absorption’ in the lower part of my lumbar spine and some bulging onto the nearby nerves. This condition will always be there and can flare up or worsen with the slightest awkward movement. They also discovered that I have inflammation of the tendons in my hips and signs of cartilage wear and tear.
Having had symptoms for so long the doctor discussed the possibility of a back operation that I could have. However, this would leave me out of action for a minimum of 3 months and I’m not prepared (at the moment) to choose this path due to my relatively new and exciting job as a personal trainer and the opportunity to conquer my unfinished Ironman business.
I had a detailed discussion with the consultant about management of the condition and he felt that low impact exercise, massage, stretching, yoga and Pilates are all important. This left me with some hope, but also a little bit demoralised because I am currently doing all of those things (not as often as I maybe could) and the condition is being managed but I’m not doing much running and haven’t swum or cycled for months.
With plenty to think about, I left the hospital and decided to research foods as medicine. I have done lots of reading this week about foods that have anti-inflammatory properties, which has resulted in the cupboard now being stocked with tins of pineapple, fish has been on the menu 4/5 times this week and I’m drinking more green tea.
As a family our philosophy towards food has been slowly changing anyway due to the fact that Chloe opted to become vegetarian last Christmas and we have become more aware of the impact of meat production on the planet. I would now say that up to half of our meals are now vegetarian.
Also, having been qualified as a PT for 18 months now, I have been researching additional qualifications to do. Nutrition has always been of interest to me and was a possibility for another course I could do that would arm me with more information to share with my clients. With foods as medicine and their nutritional value whirring round my head I remembered a Netflix documentary I was recommended by a friend called Forks over knives.
The programme follows the lives of two scientists, who are now in their seventies, that grew up on dairy farms and ended up, in a careers as physicians, carrying out and investigating the relationship between food and degenerative diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer and osteoporosis. Their findings resulted in them advocating and implementing a wholegrain plant-based diet as medicine instead of prescription drugs. The findings are absolutely incredible and too complicated to fully explain, but here are the most amazing revelations (in my opinion).
In countries where traditional wholegrain and plant-based diets are not influenced by western processed and fast foods, and the reliance on the food nutritional pyramid (The Eatwell plate in the UK), all of the illnesses listed were at a significantly lower level.
They case studied a number of people who currently had heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, were overweight or had cancer, and prescribed them a wholegrain plant-based diet, and in every case the diseases were either cured or reversed in some way.
Americans were asked what the main nutritional value of meat and dairy were. As you’d expect they responded Protein and Calcium-like we are taught at school. However, they then showed the results of a study that concluded that there were higher instances of osteoporosis where milk was readily available and actively given to children from a young age. I appreciate that there are other factors that can influence the studies but you really need to see the programme for yourself to make your own decisions.
There was also interesting information on the impact of cattle farming on our environment and some contentious information on the scientists and ‘experts’ who make nationwide nutritional decisions and their vested interest in certain companies and agricultural industries. Again, I’ll let you be the judge of that.
In summary, my so-called balanced diet and the fact that I have always claimed to be ‘lucky enough to have a high metabolism and eat what I like’, may in fact be doing me more harm than good. I would never so no to a slice of cake, a chocolate hob-nob or some Lindt (other brands are available) and I’m just as guilty as the next person of buying and eating processed foods!
There will always be counter-arguments and the opportunity to say ‘what if’ and find potential flaws in the programme, but the message to reduce/cut out refined sugar, trans fats and processed foods is already widely accepted. The argument about meat and dairy consumption will be harder to argue, but with the negative impact the farming of these products is having, there are other reasons to take action.
With my spine health deteriorating I will definitely be making some valuable changes to my outlook on foods and the role they are playing on my body. Don’t worry, I won’t expect any of my friends or clients to follow suit if they don’t feel comfortable, but I would like everyone to watch the documentary (if you can) and make your own decisions. The one thing I know for sure is that I’m not planning on doing the nutrition course until I’ve seen what impact, if any, the subtle diet changes I’m going to make will have on my body-which I’ll document in these blog posts!