Recovering from a serious injury can be a long, gradual process. To rebuild itself, your body will need to be given respite β which means limiting the amount of exercise you partake in. Whatβs more, it will need the right raw materials β which means paying attention to your diet. Longevity Live Paid Content.Β
How your body reacts to an injury
One of the earliest responses to an injury is inflammation. This is a process triggered by special inflammatory cells and cytokines, which help to bring in more inflammatory cells. This puts a strain on your immune system, which relies on nutrition to sustain the process. If you donβt have access to the right nutrients, then the immune response wonβt be as severe β which means decelerated healing.
Make sure you’ve included not only the time you spend recovering if you’re making a personal injury claim, but also the amountΒ you spend on the correct foods. Some nutrient types will have a more significant impact on this than others.
Vitamin DΒ
This is a vitamin that you can generate yourself if youβre exposed to the right levels of sunshine. This is only possible at certain times of year in the UK, which is why getting it through diet will be more important. The amount of melanin in your skin will affect the amount of sunlight you absorb β which means that darker-skinned people might have greater reason to supplement.
Before doing so, youβll want to consult a nutritionist or dietician. Egg yolks and oily fish are a potent source of vitamin D β or mushrooms if youβre a vegan.
Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids help your body deal with inflammation and its negative side effects. Theyβre to be found in oily fish, seeds, nuts, and avocados, as well as cruciferous vegetables.Β
The other essential fatty acid is Omega-6. If youβre following a typical Western diet, then you wonβt need to worry about getting enough of this one β in fact, you might get too much of it.Β
Itβs also worth reducing your consumption of red meat and dairy during your recovery. Both are known to be rich sources of arachidonic acid, which can drive inflammation.
Protein
As just about every sports enthusiast knows, you need protein for your body to recover from injury. It will help to repair damaged tissue. Ideally, youβll want to look for “complete” proteins, which contain all nine types of dietary amino acids. In practice, eating a varied selection of proteins will help you to cover every base β and often without resorting to animal products.
Watch the wheat
Gluten tends to provide difficult-to-digest proteins, while lectins can drive inflammation. If youβd like an alternative, then go for anything thatβs marked as gluten-free.Β
What anti-inflammatories can I add?
There are several foods with natural anti-inflammatory properties. Theyβre worth considering since theyβre easy to incorporate into your diet.Β
If youβre cooking grains or soups, for example, you might toss in a dash of turmeric. Fresh coconut also tends to help, as does ginger. If you want the maximum health benefit, then try unpeeled ginger. If youβre chopping it fine enough, chances are you wonβt notice the difference.
Recovering from an injury can require patience. Follow your doctorβs orders, and donβt try any experimental diet youβve read about on the internet without due caution. Itβs better to be patient than to try to rush your recovery and suffer a setback.