You may not believe me, and I certainly don’t blame you, but your diet can not only affect your weight – it can also affect the way that your feet feel.

Believe it or not foot pain can be the result of diet lacking in nutrients. One problem linked to nutrition that can affect your feet is inflammation.

Many common foods in our diet can encourage inflammation. Foods high in sugar, saturated fat and trans fat are known to cause inflammation in the feet. Diets that are high in sugar can cause inflammation in your feet. The inflammation could also be due to allergies to food such as wheat.

Cutting out refined and junk food and adding fruit, vegetables and fresh produce to your diet can not only improve your health but also reduce your foot pain.

Your feet can also be affected by a condition called Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). The most common symptom of PAD is a painful muscle cramping in the hips, thighs or calves when walking, climbing stairs or exercising. Many people dismiss leg pain as a normal sign of aging. You may think it’s arthritis, sciatica or just “stiffness” from getting older. For an accurate diagnosis, consider the source of your pain. PAD leg pain occurs in the muscles, not the joints. You may also find that foot and toe wounds are slow to heal. Any of these symptoms should be checked out by your GP. Many PAD patients have elevated cholesterol levels. A diet low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol can help lower blood cholesterol levels, but medication may be necessary to maintain the proper cholesterol levels. Again, here is an example of how nutrients in your diet can affect your feet.

Diabetes can also affect your foot health but again changing the way that you eat can help. Foot ulcers affect as many as 1 out of 10 diabetes sufferers, during the entirety of their diabetes. Even small ulcers on the foot can represent a serious risk: they may heal extremely slowly and need rigorous treatment to cure. Ulcers can develop into serious lower body infections, with the possibility of amputation at an advanced stage. Your diet along with medication can control diabetes. Generally, patients with diabetes should monitor their carbohydrate intake as carbohydrates become sugar in the body. Foods high in saturated fat and trans fat should be significantly reduced.

Changes to your diet and healthier eating may mean that you see some change in your foot pain which could be due to your weight loss. If you are overweight you can put excess pressure onto your feet and ankles. Having too much weight on your feet could be the cause of your plantar fasciitis or tendon inflammation. Changing your diet can help you to lose weight and also make you feel great in yourself. Our diet can certainly have a massive impact on our overall health and wellbeing.