Table of Contents
Introduction
Sports scientists are known for disagreeing over almost everything. However, there’s one thing they promote unanimously. Almost all sports scientists of the modern era vouch for recovery nutrition.
Whether you’re recovering from a sports injury or looking to get the most out of your workout routine, eating right is a must. If you eat well, you will get almost all the nutrients required for recovery from your daily diet.
For any remaining nutrients, it may be a good idea to start taking high quality health supplements.
The section below lists six of the best recovery supplements; adding these supplements to your daily diet could significantly accelerate recovery.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
After a vigorous training (or workout) session, our muscles develop some level of inflammation.
Such inflammatory response, in fact, is good and is known to accelerate muscle building and/or recovery. However, it’s not good to have the inflammation for a prolonged period of time as that might hold up recovery.
Including food rich in omega-3 fatty acids prevents excess inflammation and thus ensures proper recovery. Examples of such food items rich in omega-3 fatty acids, include walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, algae, and, of course, fish (salmon, sardine, mackerel etc.).
Other than preventing excess inflammation, omega-3 fats have also been found to promote creation of lean muscle mass and reduce muscle loss (especially important for people trying to lose weight).
Vitamin C
This nutrient plays a major role in the process of collagen production. For those who don’t know, collagen is a kind of protein that works by maintaining the pliability of our tendons, skin, muscles, and bones.
If you don’t consume enough vitamin C, the tissue building process in your body will get impaired, which in turn would slow down recovery.
The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of the vitamin, on the other hand, speed up recovery by thwarting excessive inflammation.
The good news is that it’s very easy to get vitamin C from your diet. Some food items that are rich in this nutrient are green, leafy veggies, citrus fruits, yellow and red bell peppers, kiwi, tomatoes, papaya, mango, berries, broccoli, etc.
It must be noted here that some people still fail to consume food rich in vitamin C. For them, the easiest way of getting the vitamin is by taking a high quality supplement.
Zinc
Zinc is the key component of a large number of proteins and enzymes. These include proteins and enzymes required for tissue growth, repair and wound healing.
What’s more, a recent study conducted on the subject suggested that failure in consuming enough zinc-rich food can delay recovery.
This makes eating zinc-rich food items like shellfish, meat, pulses, nuts, whole grains, and seeds, extremely crucial for more effective and quicker recovery.
Opting for supplementation of zinc might seem to be an easier way of getting the nutrient in sufficient quantity. However, that should be done only after consulting an expert because consuming excess zinc might lead to copper deficiency.
Calcium and Vitamin D
Calcium, as we all know, is a vital component of our bones. In addition, the mineral also plays a crucial role in nerve signaling and muscle contraction.
This makes consuming enough calcium a must, irrespective of the fact of whether you are recovering from any injury or not. Also, remember that seamless recovery is impossible if you are not consuming enough calcium.
Common foods containing high a quantity of the mineral include sardines, leafy greens like spinach, dairy products, almonds, okra, broccoli, seaweed, etc.
It should also be noted that consuming enough vitamin D is equally important as it assists our body in absorbing the calcium obtained from the food we eat. Getting enough vitamin D is crucial even for recovering from certain surgeries, such as ACL surgery or anterior cruciate ligament surgery.
What’s slightly disappointing is that few food items contain enough vitamin D. However, the good news is that human body is capable of synthesizing vitamin D, if we get enough sun exposure.
If you are someone living in a climate with minimal sunlight or if you don’t have enough time to spend outdoors, opting for a quality vitamin D supplement should be the way to go for you.
Creatine
This substance exists naturally in fish, meat (particularly rabbit meat), and poultry. In addition, the human body has also been found to produce a gram of creatine per day.
Creatine helps our body in producing energy when performing high intensity exercises or lifting heavy weights. This particular benefit of creatine helped in making it a popular supplement among individuals looking to increase muscle strength and gain muscle mass.
The substance is also known to make post workout recovery absolutely seamless. In addition, it has been shown to speed up injury recovery. A study conducted recently revealed that supplementation of creatine increased muscle strength and muscle mass of an individual after two weeks of immobilization due to injury.
Another study discovered that individuals taking creatine supplements lost much less upper body muscles during a week of immobilization compared to individuals taking a placebo.
Participants of both these studies were given four dosages of creatine supplement per day, each containing five grams of the nutrient. What’s even more inspiring is that creatine hasn’t been found to cause any negative side effects!
Glucosamine
Glucosamine exists in our body naturally. It’s a substance found in our synovial fluid (the fluid present around our joints) and plays a crucial role in creation of cartilage, ligaments, and tendons.
While our body produces glucosamine naturally, it often needs an excess amount of the substance when recovering from an injury. As no food item contains a sufficient amount of glucosamine, the only way of getting the substance is through supplementation.
Glucosamine supplements, however, are made by processing one of these two common food items: corn or shellfish (either by fermenting corn or by extracting active ingredients of shellfish shells).
Studies conducted on the health benefits offered by glucosamine revealed that the substance is instrumental in protecting our joint from wear and tear. In addition, it has also been found to accelerate bone reformation in animals with fractured limbs.
Conclusion
Again, many health experts are major advocates of recovery nutrition. It doesn’t matter if you’re a professional athlete, someone who simply works out, or someone that possesses a sedentary lifestyle; our body’s recovery system is vital to our health.
A healthy diet is crucial to keep our entire body functioning at optimal levels. Few people, however, eat a perfect diet every single day.
If you have the humility to admit that you have an imperfect diet, especially if you’re physically active, then including one of the above supplements in your regiment may not be a bad idea!