Nutrition And Injury Recovery: The Best Foods To Speed Up Healing Time

Getting injured is never fun for anyone. Injuries prevent individuals from being as physically active as they want to be. For instance, individuals may have to reduce the amount of exercise they do while they are injured. They may even have to stop exercising entirely!

Recovering from an injury is crucial. Many individuals turn to medicated ointments to help repair the tissue and lessen the pain of the injury. Pain medication for injuries is also quite common! Of course, the classic injury treatments include rest and elevation! Icing a sprain is popular too. Even dietary choices for injuries matter, though many individuals forget about them!

Turmeric

Turmeric is a powerful ingredient that helps individuals recover from injury and other issues. This is because it contains curcumin, which is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Curcumin has been studied extensively. These studies have indicated that curcumin is a promising way to treat conditions such as ligament injuries and muscle sprains. Some research also shows that curcumin is a natural antiviral and antibacterial, which means it offers additional protection and healing to the injury. The anti-inflammatory properties can help relieve pain because it reduces swelling in the surrounding tissues!

Get additional information on more foods that help with injury recovery now.

Garlic

Garlic contains allicin, which is a potent anti-inflammatory. Allicin may lower the healing time of an injury, as it increases white blood cell production and the activity of macrophage cells. Macrophage cells are intended to surround invaders that can result in infection and slow down injury recovery time. Increased activity means these cells can make sure that recovery is faster! Garlic is also able to stimulate an individual's immune system by boosting the function of compounds that contain sulfur. Evidence also indicates that garlic can increase circulation to the injured area. This results in the improved delivery of nutrients through the blood. An increase in nutrients and oxygen to the injury allows it to heal quite a bit more efficiently!

Continue reading to reveal more foods that assist in injury recovery now.

Ginger

Ginger is perhaps the most well-known healing food out there! It is a very old remedy due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Ginger is full of gingerol! Many experts believe this is the reason for ginger's ability to heal injuries and other ailments. Gingerol is the compound in ginger that gets rid of oxidative stress on injured tissues in the body. The result of reduced oxidative stress is faster recovery time. It also helps prevent further injury! Some research also shows that ginger helps the levels of glutathione in the individual's body. Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant. In fact, some experts even claim that it is the body's most important one! Glutathione is responsible for protecting the body from inflammation. It also helps with detoxification, the production of enzymes, as well as the regeneration of tissue! Thus, when ginger protects this antioxidant, it also helps hasten recovery time for injuries.

Discover additional foods for injuries now.

Berries

As many individuals know, berries are full of vitamin C and antioxidants. Due to this, they are incredibly at reducing injury recovery time! Vitamin C is a big help in the healing of bones. It also helps with collagen production! Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant as well, and helps increase tissue repair! Many berries are a healthy source of carbohydrates, which are necessary for healing injuries well! The body will use carbohydrates or energy, which means that it does not need to break down protein! This is vital because the body requires amino acids to regenerate tissue. Protein is how the body gets amino acids, so when an injury is present, the body needs to use as much as it can to heal the area!

Get the full details on more foods that can help reduce the time it takes to heal an injury now.

Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits contain a high amount of vitamin C, which individuals know is a critical part of recovery from an injury. It is because vitamin C is important in the production of new collagen! Vitamin C has long been studied as a healing ingredient and a powerful tool for recovering from an injury. It has always shown good results! Research shows that vitamin c can significantly help individuals manage physiological stress. Thus, high doses of vitamin C during the period of recovery from an injury is often recommended! Additionally, evidence shows that individuals with injuries are more at risk of a vitamin C deficiency because of blood loss. Thus, replacing it is crucial!

Reveal some additional healthy foods for injury recovery now!

Dark, Leafy Greens

Eating dark, leafy greens is incredibly beneficial to the body. These greens, of course, include collard greens, kale, and spinach. Dark and leafy greens contain high amounts of calcium, iron, vitamin C, potassium, and beta-carotene! These vitamins and minerals help the body keep up the nutrients required to heal injuries in a short time frame. For instance, beta-carotene turns into vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A helps with the production of new collagen! Vitamin C also helps with producing collagen. Magnesium keeps the muscles relaxed and boosts blood flow! Iron is necessary for the body to produce hemoglobin in the blood. Hemoglobin helps transport nutrients and oxygen throughout the body, particularly to any area that is injured. Thus, iron is essential for healing injuries!

Keep reading to learn more about the best foods for healing injuries now.

Eggs

Eggs are quire powerful when it comes to tissue recovery and injuries. They have several incredible nutrients that help with this! Egg whites contain amino acids, which help rebuild tissue. Additionally, the yolks in eggs have high amounts of zinc. Zinc is beneficial as it helps with the division of cells and mucous membrane maintenance! The body needs to create new tissue to heal from an injury, which is why individuals need zinc and amino acids in their diet! It is also important to note that another role zinc has in the body is maintaining immune system function. A healthy immune system can prevent infections, which are a common result of physical injuries!

Uncover more information on healthy foods to help with injury recovery now.

Anti-Inflammatory Fats

Individuals who are injured should ensure that they get a high amount of anti-inflammatory fats in their diet. This is because research indicates that these fats are fantastic at accelerating the healing rate for many injuries. The fats that help with injury recovery are omega-3 fatty acids. One such omega-3 fatty acid, EPA, improves the cell regeneration rate, which lessens the time it takes for injured ligaments to heal! Omega-3 fatty acids also reduce inflammation in the body, specifically in the injured tissue, which lets the body heal itself the way it usually would. Individuals who want to include these anti-inflammatory fats in their diet need to consume oily fish, chia seeds, a variety of nuts, and flaxseed!

Learn more about foods for injury recovery now.

Chicken

Lean protein is necessary for healing injured muscles. One of the healthiest sources of lean protein is chicken! The reason that lean protein is so helpful is that when an injury occurs, the body enters a state of muscle breakdown. This is the automatic metabolic response to a physical injury! Individuals need to stop the tissue breakdown by ensuring they are eating enough protein. Even when individuals are not dealing with an injury, they need protein to maintain their muscles! This act makes it even more important for individuals to eat lean protein when they are injured. Chicken contains a high amount of zinc in addition to lean protein, which makes it an even better food for dealing with an injury!

Get familiar with another food for healing an injury now.

Red Meat

Red meat is great for healing injuries because it contains high amounts of vitamin A, protein, iron, and zinc! As mentioned, protein helps repair and maintain new tissue. Iron gets oxygen and other vital nutrients to the injured area through the blood! Red meat contains pure vitamin A, which means that the body does not have to convert it from beta-carotene. It is more readily available! In fact, it is actually one of the only sources of pure vitamin A! Vitamin A helps the body form new collagen and zinc takes away inflammation from injured tissue. Grass-fed beef liver provides individuals with the most concentrated source of the nutrients. Other nutrients that grass-fed beef contains include vitamin B12, copper, chromium, vitamin D, vitamin K, and even vitamin E! All of these are incredibly beneficial for the body and injury recovery.