Avoiding Injuries & Optimizing Recovery
Got Milk? Yeah, I make sure to drink some milk with my oreo cooki… I mean for my bones to be healthy and strong.
Anyone heard of a runner friend obtaining an injury? Some of the most common injuries affecting runners are stress fractures and stress reactions. We do not want to sacrifice our season for an injury like that! One piece of a balanced nutrition plan that can lower the risk of these types of injuries is calcium & vitamin D from foods like low fat milk, yogurt, cheese, milk alternatives, and calcium fortified juices.
As an athlete, you’re constantly putting stress on your muscles and bones, but this is actually a good benefit in the long run as weight bearing movements improve bone density.
Another important factor in bone health is consuming enough calcium and vitamin D. Calcium to fortify bone and Vitamin D to increase calcium absorption and transportation throughout the body. The nutrition recommendation for most people would be 3 servings of dairy (or other calcium/vitamin D source) per day. Practically speaking, that could be some almond milk in your breakfast smoothie or oatmeal bowl, a slice of cheese on your sandwich at lunch, and a post-workout glass of low fat chocolate milk in the afternoon.
One of the best foods you could have following a really hard workout is a glass of low-fat milk. Milk contains a good balance of protein and carbohydrates that can be absorbed quickly in liquid form to help promote muscle gain. It also has the perfect balance of electrolytes that are naturally found in the body (it even has a better electrolyte balance than your typical sports drink!)
So for the next time your team performs hill sprints and conditioning, pack low fat chocolate milk for a post recovery, because you’re gonna need it!
If you are a serious athlete who needs help recovering from an injury through nutrition strategies, or an athlete looking for an edge over their competition through faster recoveries and fitness gains, please reach out so that I can talk with you about a personalized nutrition plan. If you would like my recipe for a healthy post- workout PB Cheesecake bite, click the link: https://www.nuleaf.pro/pb-cheesecake
