What to Eat When Your Muscles Hurt
Muscles ache. They get sore, crampy and strained. We expect the pain after a rigorous workout, but it can surprise us at times, when stooping to scan for snacks in the refrigerator, for example!
Some ways are better than others when it comes to providing relief. A good place to start is by evaluating how you nourish those hard-working muscles.
Here are 7 items to serve your aching muscles:
1. Go Green
If you’re like me, you’re getting a bit tired of this ‘go green’ bandwagon everyone’s on. But I’d be wrong to say it doesn’t have it’s perks. Exercise creates a more acidic environment in the body, but green veggies are a helpful counterweight, raising the body’s healthier alkalinity levels. Alkaline foods can buffer the acid effect of intense exercise, helping the body push harder and recover more quickly.
2. Turmeric Rules
This Asian spice is packed with antioxidants and contains curcumin, a sore muscle’s best friend. Although inflammation is necessary for muscle recovery, the hot spell can sometimes last longer than necessary. Curcumin can help shorten the spell.
3. Carbs Aid Recovery
I love to run, which means I love carbs. “Bring on the whole wheat (fill in the blank here)!” So this is good news to runners and exercise-enthusiasts: Most non-animal-derived foods contain carbs, but potatoes, rice and oats are specifically helpful in muscle recovery because they deliver insulin – a muscle building hormone – to the body. Quick-acting, easy to digest starches are great to increase insulin levels. Yay!
4. Get Fruity
Muscles looooove fruit juice but watch it – some are loaded with added sugar, artificial colors and fake flavoring. Drink kjuice that’s rich in antioxidants and opt for all-natural. What to look for? Blueberry, pomegranate and grape juices are worthwhile. Grape juice, with its superior source of natural sugar as compared to most other juices (if only wine counted!), will act particularly quickly to help restore a muscle’s fuel source.
5. Good Fat
There IS such a thing! Coconut oil contains fats that help muscles recover quickly and effectively because they convert to energy rather than to body fat. Even better, the fats are absorbed directly into the bloodstream and can be used quickly…where other fats have to be routed through the lymphatic system (am I getting too technical yet?).
6. Have Caffeine with Your Carbs
I enjoy a cup of coffee much more these days knowing that drinking caffeine in addition to a heavy dose of carbs (healthy carbs, people! Drop the pizza!) replenishes 66 percent more glycogen than ingesting carbs alone. Why? Glycogen fuels our muscles, but it becomes depleted during intense exercise. When glycogen is gone, muscles break down faster, leading to increased muscle soreness. Bring on the skinny latte!
7. Tropical Taste
Wanna know something that only really-strange-health-fanatics-like-myself-like-to-know? Humor me at least! Pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain, which acts as an anti-inflammaroty on an empty stomach. It is very useful in breaking up muscle and connective tissue adhesions, and is even used by holistic practicioners as an aid in issues involving tendonitis. What that means to me = Pineapple is yummy AND good for you, eat lots!!!
