Exercise and staying active is definitely part of living a healthy lifestyle, but sometimes we overdo it and need time for recovering from sore or damaged muscles. Overdoing can also lead to oxidative stress when the body’s balance of oxidants and antioxidants gets out of whack. By eating the right foods though you can speed up your recovery time and get back to your active lifestyle.
Protein for Faster Healing
To stay healthy, muscles and tissues need lean protein and eating protein at every meal can help with injury repair. Our bodies need protein to build muscle, maintain muscle integrity and strength, balance fluids, support enzyme functions, aid with nerve and muscle contraction, and for healthy hair and skin. An added bonus of eating protein is you burn more calories digesting protein than other foods like carbs. Proteins fall into the categories of either complete proteins or incomplete proteins. The complete proteins have all the amino acids needed to build more proteins. Incomplete proteins only have some of these amino acids. Complete proteins usually are found in animal food sources, whereas plant sources usually fall into the incomplete category. Good lean sources of protein include chicken, turkey, salmon, tuna, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, tofu, nuts, beans and AFA bluegreen algae which has 75% usable high quality protein.
Antioxidant Power for Recovery
Stress on the body is one of the causes of an overproduction of free radicals in the body. Free radicals are molecules in cells that are weakened to the point that they lose an electron. They then go around taking electrons from other molecules and creating more free radicals. Free radical damage can cause oxidative stress in the body much like oxidation of iron causes rust. The result is damage to cells, enzymes, and DNA, which can cause pain, inflammation, chronic diseases and can slow down recovery time in healing. Antioxidants move through the body reducing free radicals and helping the body fight off damage they cause and the cellular oxidation that can occur. They also support the growth and health of your natural adult stem cells that give the body a way to repair damage since stem cells can become other types of cells and go where they are needed. Fruits and vegetables are good food sources for antioxidants and in general the brighter the color, the more antioxidants it contains. Eating a variety of fruits and veggies gives your body the vitamins and minerals needed to repair muscle damage from overdoing it without adding a lot of calories to your diet. Foods that score the highest in antioxidants according to the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) system the National Institute on Aging in the National Institutes of Health have developed include cocoa powder, acai, turmeric, black raspberries, pecans, chokeberry, ginger root, elderberries, blueberries, and cranberries. Other berries, green tea, tomatoes, leafy green veggies, papaya, and Bell pepper are some other foods high in antioxidants. After exercise, eating a protein and antioxidant snack can help speed up recovery time for any damage done to muscles and muscle cells. If your active lifestyle makes it hard for you to get all the antioxidants you need from foods, this wholefoods antioxidant and algae supplement might help you out. It has carnosine which is an antioxidant amino acid naturally present in the human body that may delay the natural aging of cells and extend the lifespan of adult stem cells and wild blueberry, green tea and AFA bluegreen alage.
Boost Immunity to Speed Healing Time
When injury occurs to tissues they are cut off from the oxygen and blood they need which results in killing off cells. The first step in the healing process is inflammation. The body sends its macrophages, leukocytes, phagocytes and other chemicals to the area that is injured to clean up the damaged or dead cells and replace them with new cells. Inflammation presents itself as pain, swelling and redness which although are uncomfortable, are necessary in the healing process. Damage from free radicals and stress of cellular oxidation can also lead to inflammation. Having a healthy immune system can help reduce the time you have to deal with the pain of inflammation. Eating foods rich in enzymes, such as bromelain, papain, protease, lipase, and serratiopeptidase can help boost immune system function, reduce inflammation, support healthy joints and fight off cellular oxidation. You can find all these plus AFA bluegreen algae in this enzyme algae supplement. Other foods that can help keep your immune system working well for you include yogurt with the probiotics that fight off bad bacteria that can cause aches and pains, antioxidant foods to reduce free radicals, alliums which are foods such as leeks, onions and garlic, and many varieties of mushrooms such as shiitake and reishi. Since you also need healthy joints to keep up an active lifestyle that includes exercise, this glucosamine and algae supplement may be one that you’ll find useful to keep going. Healthy joints naturally have glucosamine and chondroitin in the cartilage that exists between the joint bones. Eating vegetables rich in sulfur such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, onion, radishes, garlic and Brussels sprouts can help the body make glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin which can cut down on joint pain.
You can keep your active lifestyle going and keep up with your sports and exercise routines. Just give your body the nutrition it needs to repair the damage exercise and overdoing it can cause. If you do overdo or overtrain, give your body some time off to heal, but eating the right types of foods can help your recovery time and get you back up and moving faster.
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Sources:
http://running.competitor.com/2014/02/nutrition/eat-yourself-out-of-overtraining_50270/4
http://skinnyms.com/antioxidants-top-superfoods-for-workout-recovery/
http://exercisesforinjuries.com/7-superfoods-that-naturally-boost-your-immunity/
