Nutrition
Tips to help Post Injury, Post Event and Post Natal
I just wanted to share some simple advice about how our
diet and the getting the right nutrition is really important for the repair of our
soft tissues (muscles, connective tissue, ligaments and tendons)
To follow I cover advice for Post Injury, the immediate few days after a soft tissue injury (up
to 5 days) and then the Recovery phase,
both 5 days on from an injury and also the same advice is applicable to the post
event period after strenuous exercise (over an hour of exercise). Strenuous or
endurance exercise causes breakdown of body tissues (micro tears) and these
need to heal, so the muscle soreness which we often feel the day after strenuous
exercise is slight inflammation the start of the muscle healing process. Plus
the Immediate Post-Event.
By eating the right sort of foods we can aid the soft
tissue healing process. This is equally
important and relevant too for all women in the Post Natal healing period too.
Firstly, immediately Post Injury the body’ first response is inflammation and to help
manage this inflammation phase our diet should consist of known
anti-inflammatory foods. The following
suggested foods create a
higher anti-inflammatory response in the body but
importantly this doesn’t interfere with the repair process, but rather helps with
the laying down of new collagen (which is the first step of the repair process
for muscles and our bones)
So, a diet rich in mono saturated fats and Omega 3s is
recommended, up the intake of foods such as avocados,
olive oil, mixed nuts, fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel), flax seeds and
using flax oil.
In addition to consuming the right fats,
other natural foods well known for their anti-inflammatory properties and
include:
Turmeric, garlic,
blueberries, red wine (in small amounts), tea, pineapple
Moving on from the
immediate acute inflammation phase we head into Injury Recovery and also the same advice is relevant for Post Event Recovery and the Post Natal Recovery. Now our diet needs to focus on helping the
body’s soft tissue repair and formation, for Injury Recovery this can be a 1- 3
week period, Post Event (depending on the length and the endurance of the
activity) but at least 2 days and for Post Natal 6 weeks.
For theses stages
most important is that protein in take is upped. Protein is not used for energy
but it contains amino acids and they are the building blocks for body’s soft tissues
(bone).
Examples are lean
meats (chicken, turkey which are more easily digested), diary and eggs. A heavy focus on vegetables and foods
high in potassium such as leafy dark green vegetables, citrus fruits, bananas
and melons are good as they are great sources of proteins and carbohydrates and
lots of vitamins and minerals, but contain no fat. Protein should be included
in at least 2 of your 3 daily meals.
Carbohydrates are still key for our energy, but obviously
not as much as pre-event when we are building our energy stores. Still don’t starve yourself. Keep to minimally processed foods, whole grains and high in fiber foods are better,
such as sweet potatoes, wholegrain rice, beans, quinoa.
Regular food
intake is also key, eating every 3/4 hours, supplementing main meals with small
snacks.
The other important time to consider is the Immediate Post-Event Period, which
lasts for 30- 45 minutes following exercise.
Especially after strenuous exercise our body’s hormones are working hard
to increase muscle blood flow, restore glycogen stores (for energy) and start
the repair and new growth of tissues. In
this period our body needs a combination of carbohydrates and protein to
replenish glycogen and create a more favorable environment for
muscle repair and growth and hence help reduce muscle soreness. Suggested immediate post event snacks are:
Milk Shakes, Natural Smoothies with yoghurt, Lean Meat
Sandwich or Low Fat cheese (more easily digested), Granola and Yoghurt.
**Remember alongside food, we need
good fluid intake to support the healing process too. **
Queries, questions, comments? I can be found at
nicky@nickysportsmassage.co.uk