Steven Rigler

Some diets can contribute to lower back pain, so it is important to understand how your food choices may affect your comfort. Fried foods, trans-fat foods, refined flour, processed meats, and most grain-fed meats can cause the immune system to work without turning off, which can harm the body. These foods often promote contraction of various muscles, including those in the lower back. Perpetual contraction of muscles without relaxation may trigger chronic, low-grade inflammation that results in irritation of the lower back muscles and spasms.

Additionally, excessive caffeine, alcohol, and sugar can increase levels of cortisol, a hormone, contributing to back pain. According to an article published by PainMedicineGroup.com, to minimize back pain caused by diet, doctors recommend diversifying food choices daily and eliminating inflammatory foods from the diet for at least three weeks to allow the body to detoxify. Further, incorporating anti-inflammatory foods, such as omega-3-rich foods and colorful fruits and vegetables, may help alleviate lower back pain and promote overall well-being.

When the body identifies a foreign object, such as a virus or chemical, it activates the immune system to fight it. This condition triggers a state of inflammation. Although inflammation is not bad, doctors have linked chronic, low-level inflammation to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s. Hence, lowering chronic inflammation is central to healthy living.

Diet plays a vital role in inflammation. Inflammatory foods promote inflammation, and it’s best to avoid them. They include processed foods such as candy, soft drinks, French fries, and margarine. Dehydrated soups, canned sauces, microwaveable dinners, and refined carbohydrates such as pastries and white bread are other inflammatory foods. Such foods often have little nutritional value and are high in sugar, artificial sweeteners, salts, and saturated fats. All these contribute to inflammation.

Anti-inflammatory foods reduce inflammation in the body. They include whole, unprocessed foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds. White meats such as fish and poultry are also anti-inflammatory, and brightly-colored vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, and squash are examples. For fats, unsaturated plant fats like olive oil and canola oil are anti-inflammatory.

Newcomers to woodworking often receive advice that is quite self-evident (such as keeping your workspace clean) or advice that even non-woodworkers have likely heard before (such as measuring twice before you cut a board). However, the tips below go beyond the ordinary to save beginning woodworkers considerable time and hassle.

For example, you can significantly improve your final woodworking results if you educate yourself on the characteristics of different types of wood to select the best type for the job at hand. In addition to selecting wood from the right tree species, you will want to consider factors such as the duration and intensity of the wood drying process. Wood that is not fully dry is likely to warp over time.

Other tips for beginning woodworkers include sanding boards before assembly to ensure easy and even coverage. You will also want to cut off any edges on boards cut at the factory. Although these edges might seem square, they often are not. Finally, you will want to pay attention to the width (or the “kerf”) of any blade you pick. If you don’t subtract this width from your measurements, you might cut boards that are slightly shorter than intended.

Electronics Aficionados are looking forward to the latest Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which will take place from January 9 to January 12, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Its sponsoring organization, the Consumer Technology Association, bills CES as the “premier event for the entire technology ecosystem.”

Gathering some of the most influential professionals in the sector, CES showcases new and disruptive technology in areas that range from artificial intelligence to the Internet of Things (IoT). While at CES, these professionals can interact with potential business partners and motivated consumers.

CES certainly ranks among the world’s largest and most influential trade shows. In fact, the independent event industry authority Trade Show Executive Gold 100 named CES the largest trade show of 2022 and listed CES as one of four finalists for the “most innovative show” award in 2023.

CES 2023 attracted more than 117,000 attendees from 150 different countries and regions. It also drew over 4800 media professionals who produced over 221,000 news stories on CES.