HOW TO RECOVER EFFECTIVELY
Rob Robinson recently dislocated his shoulder and wants to tailor his nutrition for effective recovery before upping his race distance. Renee McGregor has some words of wisdom…
When we start taking a sport seriously, even with the best preparation, it’s inevitable that at some point we’ll be inflicted by an injury. While this is frustrating, it can provide you with useful information, giving you time to consider whether there was anything you could have done – increasing rest, improving nutrition or looking at technique, for example – to prevent the injury in the first place.
While there’s no direct link between nutrition and injury, tailoring your nutrition to your training will ensure that your muscles always have sufficient energy to both meet the demands of your training and recover effectively. In turn, this will prevent the likelihood of an injury. In Rob’s case, as he already has an injury, we’re looking at what he can do to help him heal more quickly and also prevent any weight gain while his activity is reduced.
With injuries like a dislocated shoulder, there’s bound to be quite a bit of discomfort and inflammation, but increasing your intake of essential fatty acids and vitamin E can be useful to help reduce this. Good choices include avocadoes, oily fish, nuts and seeds. In particular, walnuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids and Brazil nuts are high in the powerful anti-oxidant selenium. Rapeseed, olive, walnut and sesame oils are also all great for cooking and dressings.
Additionally, boosting your intake of vitamins and minerals is important for providing your body with nutrients that the body can use to heal your injury. And it goes without saying that you should always aim to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables of all colours.
For advice on how to prevent weight gain during periods of low activity, see below.