Sport Injury? Don’t Panic!

Did you know that eating eggs for breakfast can help you to recover from a sprained ankle? It is not just about ice, heat rub and rest. The food we eat can help recovering from a sports injury.  

Repairing soft tissues

Soft tissue injuries such as sprained ankles, torn tendons and ligaments could be helped by increasing protein intake. Protein helps to repair tissues and muscles and to support new cell growth. Many athletes consume diets high in protein to boost growth and repair after exercise. People will injuries should do the same. The amount of protein depends on the size and extent of the damage. Make sure that you are having good quality protein such a lean meat, fish, eggs, beans, pulses, nuts and seeds.

Supporting bones

Vitamin D and calcium can help with bone damage such as a fracture and can boost bone strength. Calcium is essential for bone health and vitamin D is needed to help the body to absorb this. You should be eating three servings of calcium a day to include milk, yogurt, cheese and green leafy veg. For that vitamin D boost make sure you are getting plenty of exposure to sunlight and eating plenty of oily fish, eggs and fortified margarine.

Stress fractures

Not eating enough of the good fats could result in poor tissue maintenance, muscle damage and poor bone matrix mineralisation. The consequence of this is an increased risk of stress fractures. Studies with female runners have shown that those commonly injured had significantly lower levels of fat compared to runners with the least injuries. Include avocados, nuts, olive oil and sunflower oil in your diet and avoid saturated fat such as red meat, processed foods such as ready meals, cakes and biscuits.

Joints

A joint injury or arthritic conditions could be treated by taking a glucosamine sulphate supplement. This compound is essential in the formation of the connective tissues around the joins, cartilage, tendons and ligaments. Taking this supplement as part of your recovery regime could help reduce joint pain and maintain flexibility.

Reducing inflammation

Inflammation may easily be reduced with a diet containing anti-inflammatory nutrients. Fruit and vegetables, olive oil, nuts and seeds and oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel are packed of anti-inflammatory compounds as well as antioxidants which help to protect against cell damage. Sugar, refined carbs and foods containing trans fats should be minimised as these can actually increase inflammation.

Don’t let that injury stop you. Eating right will have you back in your running trainers in no time!