A Natural Guide to Footcare
You can’t overestimate the value of your feet. We use them for walking, running, dancing, jumping, and for about a thousand other reasons that you probably don’t even realize. With nearly 26 bones and 33 joints, keeping your feet healthy can sometimes be difficult, but it is essential to your body’s overall health.
Unhealthy feet are often a clear indicator of larger, underlying health problems like diabetes, lung disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. It’s important not to neglect your feet, a crime which many of us are guilty of. Even so there are some great products you can use and simple things you can do to improve your foot health. Here is a natural guide to foot care.
Maintain Your Health
Arthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and skin disorders have been shown to contribute to unhealthy feet and visa-versa, meaning that unhealthy feet can sometimes indicate cardiovascular disease and skin disorders. So it’s important to monitor your health regularly with the help of a healthcare professional.
Keep Your Feet Warm & Dry
Hydrate your feet with a calming foot cream and keep them warm and dry with socks that carry sweat and moisture away from your body.
Keep Your Feet Clean
This does not mean simply letting the shower water run down your legs and onto your feet. You actually need to get in there with a foot brush and give your feet a nice scrub.
Keep Your Nails Trimmed
Unless you’re a bald eagle looking to catch some salmon with your talons this goes somewhat without saying. One thing however that is worth mentioning is that it is important to cut your toenails straight across. Not like around the toe or following in the shape of the toe, just straight across. Otherwise your prone to getting ingrown toes.
Manage Your Weight
If you’re carrying extra weight around, your feet and your joints will obviously feel it. There are many reasons to try and avoid getting overweight, let this just be yet another. One of the tell-tale signs that your weight is becoming a serious problem is having constantly cold feet. This is usually a sign that your feet are poorly circulated. Now there are other possible causes of constantly cold feet, such as sitting in an awkward position that cuts off your feet’s circulation for an extended period. But if cold feet are something that you’re noticing on a regular basis than it may be time to see a physician.
Find A Strong (Foot) Support System
By the age of 50 the average American walks 75,000 miles, that is a lot. So it’s critical to make sure that you’re using the proper footwear. According to U.S. Health Works your shoes should:
- Be comfortable and conform to the shape of your foot.
- Provide sufficient foot-arch and heel support.
- Support the proper distribution of weight in your foot. That means not too much weight on your toes and not too much strain on your heels.
- They should be able to protect your feet from the obvious potential injuries of things like nails, burn, and more.
If you’d like to improve your overall health while also saving some money on footcare products check out our offerings at The Natural.