Therefore, inadequate calcium intake can impair bone healing. Furthermore, one study found that consuming a calcium-rich meal or supplement ~1, to 1, mg before exercise can offset sweat calcium losses in endurance athletes.

Calcium-rich foods include milk, fortified orange juice, kale, tofu, yogurt, and sardines. Athletes can boost calcium intake by consuming milk dairy or soy and yogurt. It has been suggested that active individuals who are vitamin D deficient are at greater risk of bone fracture.

Depending on vitamin D levels, supplementation may be needed especially during the winter months to ensure levels are adequate. Of course, sunlight is the best source of vitamin D, but dietary sources include fatty fish, sun-exposed mushrooms, sardines, and milk.

In addition, magnesium and vitamin K play an important role in bone health. Vitamin K deficiency has been associated with increased fracture risk; magnesium deficiency may contribute to poor bone health. If intakes are below the dietary reference intake, supplementation may be needed.

Considering that reversing low bone mineral density later in life is difficult, good nutrition habits that promote bone health and support the demands of sport should be emphasized during adolescence. Finally, more research is needed to examine the long-term effects of dietary patterns on bone health in athletes.

Final Thoughts Nutrition can play a vital role in the injury recovery and repair processes. Before taking a supplement, active individuals with an injury should consult with a sports dietitian to determine whether the supplement is safe, effective, and necessary.

TEAM USA nutrition provides nutrition fact sheets for active individuals with a soft tissue or bone injury. As a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics, she has consulted with elite and collegiate athletes as well as with active individuals. She has authored research articles for scientific journals and presented at regional and national conferences.

Her current research interests include vitamin D and energy availability in athletes with spinal cord injury. In her spare time, she enjoys running and spending time with her three active boys. References 1. Harlan LC, Harlan WR, Parsons PE.

The economic impact of injuries: a major source of medical costs. Am J Public Health. Smith-Ryan AE, Hirsch KR, Saylor HE, et al. Nutritional considerations and strategies to facilitate injury recovery and rehabilitation.

J Athletic Training. Close G, Sale C, Baar K, et al. Nutrition for the prevention and treatment of injuries in track and field athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. Team USA website. Accessed January 10, Johnston APW, Burke DG, MacNeil LG, Candow DG.

Effect of creatine supplementation during cast-induced immobilization on the preservation of muscle mass, strength, and endurance.

J Strength Cond Res. Holick MF, Binkley NC, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, et al. Evaluation, treatment, and prevention of vitamin D deficiency: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline.

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Owens DJ, Allison R, Close GL. Vitamin D and the athlete: current perspectives and new challenges. Sports Med. Mountjoy M, Sundgot-Borgen J, Burke L, et al.

The IOC consensus statement: beyond the female athlete triad—relative energy deficiency in sport RED-S. Br J Sports Med. Sale C, Elliott-Sale KJ. Nutrition and athlete bone health. Home About Events Resources Contact Advertise Job Bank Writers' Guidelines Search Gift Shop. Haakonssen EC, Ross ML, Knight EJ, et al.

The effects of a calcium-rich pre-exercise meal on biomarkers of calcium homeostasis in competitive female cyclists: a randomised crossover trial. My left leg is still smaller than my right… Anyway, I digress. So you have to be willing to experiment. According to recent research , a deficiency of protein can impair all sorts of healing processes and affect the immune system, making it harder to fight off infection.

You can consider the general guidelines for a healthy diet:. Then I recommend going back and reading points 1 to 6 above and if you are still wondering about your food and nutrition for injury recovery and whether you could be helping your healing along, ask for help or look for credible resources.

You should be given information about the people in your local area that you can talk to. Of course, your doctor will be able to refer you to an accredited dietitian. MyPlate from US government recommends a mix of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy for healthy eating.

The research that is going on into which foods and nutrients can be better for our health is truly exciting! An example is the exploration of whether or not consuming gelatin with vitamin C can speed up tendon and ligament repair as it helps increase the production of collagen, the main protein found in tendons and ligaments very early-stage research.

Another area is all about our gut bacteria, which is called the microbiome. This is the community of different strains of bacteria, some good, some bad. The key food the good bacteria need is resistant starch as found in lentils, peas and beans, cooked and cooled potato, cold pasta salad, firm bananas, and certain wholegrain products.

Note that fibre is good to have more of think fruit, vegetables, bran but not all fibres are the same; resistant starch is a fermentable fibre. Watch the video to learn more:. This starvation process leads to the bacteria stopping its nourishment of the intestinal wall.

Then toxins, bacteria and undigested food particles have a greater chance of crossing over into the blood stream. Why am I telling you about the emerging knowledge about gut bacteria and our general health? A recent study found that traumatic injury had a sudden and significant impact on gut bacteria.

The researchers involved think that health professionals should be aware of this, particularly where injuries are severe. The gut bacteria of people who had suffered a traumatic injury started to change within 24 hours. By 72 hours, three types of bacteria were depleted in the traumatic injury group, relative to the non-injury group, and the levels of two other types of bacteria had risen.

The implications of these changing microbiota are not yet known but the researchers believe that the findings so far point to the possibility that intestinal bacterial composition could in some way be critical to patient outcomes after a traumatic injury. Recent research in the US has uncovered that stem cells in our body respond to injury and activate various processes to assist healing.

Stem cells exist in different parts of our body, for example in bone marrow, and can repair tissue damage. There are a number of triggers in our blood chemicals to activate these stem cells and researchers found that enzyme called Hepatocyte Growth Factor Activator is particularly important.

They are now exploring whether certain treatments could be given to improve healing after surgery or prior to injury for example, if injury likely in a combat situation.

Thus, we can help unlock better nutrition for injury recovery. They may or may not be true. But you can find out more about the facts behind nutrition for injury recovery. In Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America, Canada and many other developed countries, health claims about food either on the products themselves or in advertising must be based on evidence and a particular approach, called systematic reviews.

These reviews are where all the credible research is analysed by a global independent network of researchers, professionals, patients, carers, and people interested in health and summarised into a report. There is a list of pre-approved food-health relationships in the Schedule 4 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code for general level health claims and 13 pre-approved for high level health claims, based on a series of commissioned reviews.

These are worth checking if you hear of someone telling you that X mineral will solve all your injury problems. In the case of protein, which I and the dietitians have talked about a bit in this article, there are a number of health claims that are permitted by these government standards.

These are that protein:. It records a standard assessment of nutrients in 5, foods. Exploring these resources can help you uncover more tips to eating and improving your nutrition for injury recovery.

Which foods you eat is important. Not just to your nutrition for injury recovery and physical healing but also your mental coping. Bouncing back from injury can be a tough job. There can be a lot going on physically, psychologically and practically.

How you feed yourself is another thing to manage. If you take away one piece of advice from this article let it be this: Take it easy.

Eat a variety of foods without putting undue pressure on yourself and emphasise the fun in the food experience. Note that the images used in this article were sourced from Envato Elements under license and are not to be published elsewhere.

Injured, overwhelmed or just want to have the best recovery possible? Get our free tips and updates to thrive after injury. I will never give away, trade or sell your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time. How to Heal with Food: Nutrition for Injury Recovery by Claire Recover from Injury Feb 14, Feature article.

Food and nutrition for injury recovery and wellbeing Food is crucial to our health and wellbeing and to injury recovery. Healing processes Healing is a busy time for your body.

Six simple food and nutrition approaches for your injury recovery 1. Be kind to yourself This is number one for a reason! Self-compassion is critical at this time. This is not the time for putting militant dietary rules on yourself.

As a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics, she has consulted with elite and collegiate athletes as well as with active individuals. She has authored research articles for scientific journals and presented at regional and national conferences.

Her current research interests include vitamin D and energy availability in athletes with spinal cord injury. In her spare time, she enjoys running and spending time with her three active boys. References 1. Harlan LC, Harlan WR, Parsons PE.

The economic impact of injuries: a major source of medical costs. Am J Public Health. Smith-Ryan AE, Hirsch KR, Saylor HE, et al. Nutritional considerations and strategies to facilitate injury recovery and rehabilitation. J Athletic Training. Close G, Sale C, Baar K, et al.

Nutrition for the prevention and treatment of injuries in track and field athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. Team USA website. Accessed January 10, Johnston APW, Burke DG, MacNeil LG, Candow DG. Effect of creatine supplementation during cast-induced immobilization on the preservation of muscle mass, strength, and endurance.

J Strength Cond Res. Holick MF, Binkley NC, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, et al. Evaluation, treatment, and prevention of vitamin D deficiency: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline.

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Owens DJ, Allison R, Close GL. Vitamin D and the athlete: current perspectives and new challenges. Sports Med. Mountjoy M, Sundgot-Borgen J, Burke L, et al. The IOC consensus statement: beyond the female athlete triad—relative energy deficiency in sport RED-S. Br J Sports Med.

Sale C, Elliott-Sale KJ. Nutrition and athlete bone health. Home About Events Resources Contact Advertise Job Bank Writers' Guidelines Search Gift Shop.

Haakonssen EC, Ross ML, Knight EJ, et al. While the required number of hours of sleep depends somewhat on the individual, experts recommend getting at least eight hours of sleep each night. Written by: Tessa Cashman, ATC, athletic trainer for The Center Foundation and Bend Senior High School in Bend, Oregon.

Learn more about Tessa HERE. The Center Foundation places dedicated athletic trainers in local high schools to provide sports medicine services to young athletes at no charge to the students or their families. Learn more about our work HERE. Skip to content.

Donate Now OK to PLay Sports Concussion Support Newsletter Signup. Proteins Protein helps with muscle growth and prevents muscle breakdown. Fats Studies have shown that healthy fats like those found in nuts, salmon, and avocados, help reduce inflammation in the body.

Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are the primary source of fuel for the body, and they are essential to giving the body the energy it needs to heal.

Rest However, in addition to diet, plenty of sleep is vital to healing. Meet the Team — Ross Dexter. Eating Disorders in Female Athletes.

Home Concussion Information About Leadership Meet Our Team. Campaign for Caldera Join Our Team Programs Partners Board Portal. News Blog Contact Terms of Use Concussion Conference. Proper nutrition can help you control pain, rebuild injured tissue, minimise muscle loss, maintain energy, and prevent weight gain.

Protein Foods that are high in protein are important for repairing and building muscles. They are also important for boosting immunity and burning fat. Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are needed for energy.

They are fast-acting and are turned into energy immediately. The foods, vitamins, and minerals you need to add to your diet will depend on your exact needs. Before adding any supplements, it is important you speak with a dietitian to get specific dietary advice.

The diet choices you make can positively or negatively affect injury prevention and rehabilitation. Why are anti inflammatory foods so important? Because chronic pain is often caused by inflammation.

Your diet can play a major factor in fighting this inflammation. Adding anti-inflammatory foods to your diet can help deal with chronic pain. When you add foods that reduce inflammation, you can reduce your pain and make it more manageable.

You will not have to continually reach for anti-inflammatory medication. Foods can be your most powerful tool for fighting inflammation and pain.

But you should not just add as many foods as you can to your diet. Instead, you need to choose the right foods. Choosing the wrong foods can make your pain worse and accelerate the disease.

Along with lowering inflammation and helping with pain management, your diet can affect your emotional and physical health.