Here is where foods come in
We know that it is possible to reverse artery blockages and improve blood flow in the vast majority of cases. But this line of research opened up another fascinating possibility. It makes sense that we could use foods to keep our arteries open and that this might help prevent the degeneration of disks and vertebrae. It also helps prevent weight problems, arthritis, and osteoporosis, as we will see below; all of which are linked to back problems.
Of course, an optimal diet does more than help keep arteries open. A study of 645 women living in Hawaii, whose average age was seventy-four, showed that Japanese-Americans have only half the risk of back pain of Caucasian women. Those who retain some of the traditional Japanese diet have a menu that is much lower in fat and cholesterol than the typical American diet, because the Japanese diet is much richer in grains (particularly rice), vegetables, and bean products, and much lower in animal products. A difference in menu partly explains why elderly Japanese-American women have less risk of back pain than their Caucasian counterparts. If reduced blood flow has caused a buildup of waste products in the tissues, irritating nerve endings and causing pain, then opening these arteries again through diet and lifestyle changes may actually alleviate pain. So far, researchers have not looked to see whether the same thing happens in the arteries to the back, but there is every reason to believe it does.
Dr. Dean Ornish and other researchers have demonstrated this reversal process in the heart, and it has also been shown in the arteries to the legs. These steps are covered in detail in this part, on chest pain. This calls for the same steps that prevent artery blockages in the heart: a low-fat, zero-cholesterol diet, regular physical activity, avoiding tobacco, and keeping stress in bounds. If back pain is the result of clogged lumbar arteries, then preventing these blockages should be a priority. Impotence is simply a sign that the arterial system is accumulating blockages. A man who develops impotence in midlife, which is a sign of disrupted blood flow; has a one in four risk of a heart attack or stroke within two years. A person with blocked arteries in the heart is likely to have them in the arteries to the legs, too. Artery blockages in one part of the body often indicate the same problem elsewhere. Healthful foods and other lifestyle factors can prevent artery blockages from forming, and this is as true in the abdominal aorta as it is in the arteries to the heart. Artery blockages are not inevitable. Smoking and stress, of course, contribute to clogged arteries, and chest and leg pains are signs that the blockages have already formed. They are more likely to smoke, to be under stress, and to have other signs of poor circulation, such as pains in the chest and calves.
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