Sugar causes inflamation.It also causes you to swell.But not the same reason as salt...Sugar causes insulin and that causes the body to hold water as well.. I suffered sciatica from 1998 until 2005..My answer came from a Edgar Casey reading.. he stated that most back surgeries were not needed and were caused by a clogged colon, and fecal matter clogging up around the sciatic nerve in the colon. So what I did was I started taking cascara Sagrada and dumping my colon and doing some liver purges, I started taking MSM for the sulfur that is in it, and I have been paying free ever since in 2005. Sulfur will help kill parasites as well. One thing I must mention is that, flower, cornmeal, rice, potatoes, all those carbs will cause inflammation as well because of the glyphosate that is in the food, that will cause more inflammation in the body than you can imagine, me and my girlfriend went on Dr Berg's keto program and she was already mentally planning for another hip surgery but after 2 weeks, all the information left her and my body, and now she is paying free and no surgery needed. Just don't let the naysayers stop you from listening to Dr Berg because of his religion because I do not follow his religion but I do follow his great advice, as I have been coaching for the last 20 plus years myself. I coached a doctor for the same reason, he did a liver Purge, and in 2 days he lost 19.6 lb. I told him that his back would get better and I have all the proof in the world and if anybody knows Dr Abbott in the Carolinas they can feel free to reach out, he is also a good homeopathic that seems to care. I hope this helps