The Importance of Eating Well When You are Injured

When you are injured, your body has higher energy and nutrient demands because your body is working overtime to repair and rebuild the injured tissues and cells. As such, it is very important to increase your intake of certain nutrients and foods that provide energy so that you can reduce recovery time and promote healthy tissue regeneration.

Our physiotherapists, chiropractors and registered massage therapists strive to get patients moving, increase their range of motion and make their patients stronger but these therapies will be most effective in combination with the right diet.

Many people think they should consume less calories when they are injured because they are unable to exercise and do not want to gain weight. This is the worst thing you can do. Although you may not want to eat when you are out of commission, your body actually requires more calories when you are recovering from an injury than when you were training.

Protein is broken down by our bodies into amino acids and these are vital for many different cellular processes that are occurring when your body is trying to repair injured tissue. Try to get your protein from whole foods such as eggs, chicken and beef.

Your body also needs minerals such as zinc and iron for healing in addition to vitamins including vitamin A and vitamin C. It is always better to get your minerals and vitamins from wholesome foods instead of supplements. Try to eat a variety of colorful vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, carrots, kale, oranges and berries as well as yogurt and milk. Also be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day so that your body can stay hydrated.

Lastly, stay away from foods that can increase inflammation. Foods high in sugars, deep-fried foods, alcohol, caffeine and acidic foods have all been implicated in increasing inflammatory mediators in our blood. Stay tuned to our blog as we will be writing an article about foods that affect inflammation in the coming weeks…

Taking care of your body from the inside out is the best approach for a speedy recovery!