By Ken Spores
If you are recovering from a hard workout, aid your tissue rebuilding with something filling, guilt-free and full of nutrients. As you know, intense workouts create micro-tears in our muscles and need time to recover and rebuild. Believe it or not this might be a great time for some comfort foods like tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Some comfort and nostalgic foods can rebuild sore and inflamed tissue. Let’s look at some foods you may already have at home and put them to work.
After a hard workout you should immediately eat a snack that will help replenish lost muscle energy. Go for that cup of coffee or tea, add a banana, couple handfuls of blueberries and some almonds or walnuts (all great anti-inflammatory foods). According to health.harvard.edu fruits and vegetables (and some beverages like coffee or tea) will reduce the risk of inflammation and are high in natural antioxidants and polyphenols. The NIH describes polyphenols as “naturally occurring compounds found largely in the fruits, vegetables, cereals and beverages” and studies strongly suggest “that long term consumption of diets rich in plant polyphenols offer protection against development of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis and neurodegenerative diseases.” So not only are these foods tasty and easy to consume, they provide tremendous health benefits.
After a short rest and rehydration, let’s think about that tomato soup. Tomatoes have high amounts of lycopene which is considered a powerful antioxidant. Heating tomatoes will help convert the lycopene in a form more easily digested. Tomatoes have other nutrients and vitamin C making them a good food choice for recovery. Adding some turmeric to tomato soup will add flavor and more antioxidants. Turmeric has long been known as a natural anti-inflammatory and gives curry it color and spicy flavor.
For the grilled cheese sandwich use 100% whole grain bread (better than wheat bread or multigrain) and use olive oil to ‘butter’ the skillet. The whole grain bread is a good source for fiber, nutrients and carbohydrates while olive oil has monounsaturated fats and may have several health benefits. Cheese is a good source of protein and contains several nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, zinc, vitamin A and vitamin B12.
Exercising can be both physically and mentally beneficial. The key to post workout is to replenish fluids, restore lost muscle energy and rebuild muscles. But it’s nice to know that there are tasty and comforting anti-inflammatory and nutrient rich foods that help rebuild tissue, decrease inflammation and even provide mental health benefits. Harvard Health mentions that “a healthy diet is beneficial not only for reducing the risk of chronic diseases, but also for improving mood and overall quality of life”.
# # #
Ken Spores is a Physical Therapist at Proaxis Physical Therapy in Carrboro, NC. His major focus is neck and back pain. He is a graduate from UNC with 15 years experience in PT. Prior to PT, he had 10 years experience as an Electrical Engineer. He is often found with a Fleet Feet running group helping runners and contemplating where he can get his next latte.
