NATIONAL I LOVE MY FEET DAY

“You have brains in your head, and feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose!” Dr. Suess

Your feet are amazing. They truly are. Unfortunately, they don’t always get the attention and respect they deserve. Most of us don’t spend much time thinking about those odd looking, flippy-floppy things that carry us through life.

But we should.

I must admit, I have a love/hate relationship with feet. In all honesty, I think feet are weird. They look funny. Some of them smell funky. They are almost always dirty. Feet are also fascinating and undervalued and deserve so much more care than we give to them.

So, in honor of National I Love My Feet Day, I’m talking about feet. Bear with me here, this is pretty important stuff. We need our feet to last us an entire lifetime and let’s face it, life would come to a standstill without them. See what I did there? A standstill? You know, because we need feet to stand . . . maybe it was funnier in my head.

First a Few Fun Facts About Feet

Did you know each human foot is made up of 19 muscles, 26 bones, 33 joints,107 ligaments, and contains 250,000 sweat glands? That’s a lot of pieces and parts in one relatively tiny package!

On average, a person takes 7,500 steps per day, if you kept that level of activity, which is moderate, for 75 years you will have taken over 200,000,000 steps in your lifetime.

One foot is usually a bit bigger than the other. Women suffer from more foot issues than men, high heels anyone? Wearing a 2½-inch high heel can increase the load on your forefoot by 75%. 1/4 of the bones in your body are located in your feet. Toenails grow faster when the heat is high. The bones in your feet don’t completely harden until 21 years of age. Your feet have more sensory nerve endings per square centimeter than any other part of your body.

Like I said, your feet are amazing and strong and in order to keep them that way, you need to pamper them every now and then. Your feet should be a high priority on your self-care checklist. Your feet do more than move you, they are often the first indicators of what could become major medical issues, and when your feet aren’t happy, the rest of your body isn’t happy either.

Aside from daily care and the occasional take your toes to the spa day, you need to pay attention to what those tootsies are telling you. Don’t ignore foot pain or other injuries. Your feet take a lot of abuse, a normal day of regular activity puts tons of force on them. The shoes you choose to wear can be harmful. The germs and dirt and sweat they accumulate can lead to illness and infection.

This isn’t the time to tiptoe around, foot care is serious.

Since your feet are the furthest away from your heart, they are susceptible to damage due to certain heart conditions. That heart of yours is pumping blood to your feet through arteries, and if those arteries become clogged or diseased, that blood supply is being limited, and the oxygen-rich blood your feet need to keep-on-keepin-on isn’t getting where it needs to go.

Your feet are often a good indicator of your overall health. Diabetes, nerve disorders, circulatory issues, and arthritis symptoms are often noticed in the feet first.

Foot care is especially important for the estimated 24 million Americans with Diabetes. Somewhere between 60-70% of diabetics will develop nerve damage, which can lead to lower limb amputation. Extra care is critical for diabetics when they suffer any wounds to lower extremities. Something as simple as a scratch or an ingrown toenail can lead to serious complications.

If you have diabetes, you need to be examining your feet every day for injuries you may not even be aware are there. Check for redness, swelling – any signs there may be an infection present.

Read more about diabetic foot care here:

National Diabetes Education Program PDF Pamphlet

Everyday Health – Tips for good diabetes foot care

Love DIY? Check out these homemade foot scrubs! My favorite recipe from this fantastic list uses brown sugar (exfoliates), coconut oil (moisturizes), and peppermint oil (freshens and cools).

Readers Digest – 8 homemade foot scrub recipes

If you’d like to see even more tips and tricks for healthy, happy feet, click on the links below. Take some time and research foot care, find out how to baby those wonderful feet of yours . . .

6 tips for foot and nail care – Web MD

8 ways to treat your feet right – Healthy Women

10 Things podiatrist wish everyone knew about their feet – Prevention

Now that you know how vital proper foot care and health really is, celebrate National I Love My Feet Day by treating yourself to a nice pedicure or mix up a batch of a soothing foot rub and give those marvelous metatarsals of yours a rest . . .