Nutrition for injury prevention -
Carbohydrates provide energy for healing during injury recovery. Omega-3 fatty acids, such as olive oil, fish, flaxseeds, nuts, and avocado, may decrease the extent of prolonged inflammation after the initial inflammatory phase , which can be counterproductive to recovery.
However, this is based on studies examining inflammation and function after exercise-induced muscle damage. Given the potential risk of mercury contamination in fish oil supplements, the quality of fish oil should be taken into consideration.
Creatine has been shown to be one of the most effective supplements for increasing lean body mass when combined with exercise. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables provide polyphenols and micronutrients, each of which can help speed the recovery process.
For example, polyphenols may help decrease muscle damage caused by inflammation. While these strategies provide more benefits for the muscle, vitamin C and gelatin have been suggested to stimulate greater collagen synthesis following a tendon or ligament injury.
Active individuals should focus on a food-first approach before supplementation. Keep in mind that for many of these findings, more research is needed to examine the benefits of the role of macro- and micronutrients in the prevention of or recovery from muscle injuries.
Bone Injury Treatment and Prevention Bone strength is determined earlier in life, yet bone loss occurs as a natural part of the aging process. Due to bone-related consequences ie, reduced calcium absorption and bone mineral density associated with a higher incidence of relative energy deficiency in sport syndrome, stress fractures are more common in active females.
Although there are many nutrients that play a role in bone health, the following nutrition factors may help support bone health and aid in the recovery and healing from bone injuries.
Many female athlete triad and relative energy deficiency in sport studies have found that reductions in energy availability, especially if chronic, have been shown to reduce hormones estrogen, testosterone that are vital to bone formation and resorption. Protein plays a role in the production of hormones that affect bone health and provide structure for the bone matrix.
Adequate protein intake ~1. Contrary to previous beliefs, protein intakes higher than the recommended daily intake have no negative impact on bone health if calcium intake is adequate.
In fact, although more research is needed, higher protein intakes have been shown to have a small, beneficial impact on bone. 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. She also provides recommendations on how to implement these concepts for long-term health and injury prevention.
We need calories! These are vitamins and minerals: what we need in smaller amounts for proper body functioning and metabolic processes. Micros support general health and performance, like physical activity and growth, energy metabolism, red blood cell metabolism, and antioxidants functionality.
Supplements can also help ensure you are getting all the micros you need, such as Gnarly Iron , Gnarly Mg Citrate , and Gnarly D3. For overall health and nutrition, we should start with a strong foundation of energy from calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients.
Consistency will also help stabilize blood sugar. If you try to perform in a fasted state, your blood sugar dips and concentration declines, so you won't even be able to perform at your best. This doesn't necessarily mean meal planning as that can cause food fatigue, but a good idea is to make a master list of meals and then pull from that list for groceries each week.
This takes out guesswork and stress of trying to figure out what to eat for each meal each day. Time your meals to boost performance and increase calories to decrease energy deficiencies. A protein-rich snack or shake before bed is a good idea to prevent muscle degradation overnight and muscle soreness the next day.
It can also be dangerous because you may compensate by pushing yourself in ways that could cause injuries. Also, if you're buzzed while performing, your judgement will be impaired which exposes us and those around us to injury.
A healthy recommendation would be to limit consumption to two drinks per day for men, and one drink per day for women, but still take that with a grain of salt because even small doses of alcohol can have a long-term impact on health.
This is because the body will typically choose to pull protein from muscles for energy first, because we need fat for organ and cell protection. So by restricting calories, we lose muscle mass, strength and power, we are more at risk for musculoskeletal injuries, and all our hard work goes down drain.
Caitlin is a functional sports nutritionist who specializes in climbing nutrition. She works with climbers to develop effective nutrition plans for long-term health and performance. She believes that nutrition is the missing puzzle piece for athletes that plays a major role in achieving goals, preventing injuries, and supporting the body to continue climbing for years to come!
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Gear and Accessories. Refer a Friend. Get Started. The Gnarly System. Our Story. Our Athletes. Media Reviews. Find local retailer. Gnarly Clinics. Applies To injury prevention longevity in sport nutrition As athletes, we are continually pushing our limits, which leads to increased injury risk.
As we increase our workload, we need to find that sweet spot that will lead to optimal performance. Sometimes we do too much too soon or take extended time off, and that can easily lead to injury.
Even when we are at our optimal performance level, there are other factors at play that can still lead to injury: High stress levels Poor sleep Poor nutrition How we fuel is important for how we build and repair muscles, how we produce energy for peak performance, and how we maintain that energy.
The Basics: Nutrition Adequate Daily Energy: We need calories! Macronutrients: These are major nutrients in our diets we need in large amounts.
Typically we are referring to carbs, proteins, and fats. In athletes, macros are vital to support your metabolism, brain health, immunity, muscle growth, hormone balance, and bone health. Micronutrients: These are vitamins and minerals: what we need in smaller amounts for proper body functioning and metabolic processes.
THE TRIANGLE OF NUTRITION For overall health and nutrition, we should start with a strong foundation of energy from calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients. Importance of Nutrition for Athletes Performance, health, and injury prevention and rehab all rely on nutrition.
Often, nutrition takes a back seat but it really is the foundation of injury prevention and rehab. Injury Prevention: Injury rehab: Incremental training load - introduce more training overtime and build up from there. Stretching - both before and after a workout Sleep - important for recovery and repair Rest days - also important for recovery and repair See a physical therapist or other specialist Slow reintroduction to training Plenty of sleep Ample rest days Nutritional Strategies to Prevent Injuries 1.
add variety It is important to mix up your diet so you can ensure you're getting all of your necessary micronutrients.
Prevengion, you Preventoin have control Nutrition for injury prevention the food you put into your body, and Ntrition plays a crucial Intense pre-workout supplement in Warrior diet immune system recovery and prevention. Your instincts are likely telling ibjury to drop calories preventon compensate for the Herbal appetite suppressants for long-term use decrease in movement that comes with more severe injuries. However, dropping calories too drastically can negatively impact recovery speed and effectiveness [1]. An experienced coach can help you navigate calorie and macronutrient needs during an injury based on your new training frequency, body composition, and goals. Protein intake plays a significant role in sustaining muscle mass as it drives muscle protein synthesis [1]. A calorie decrease can often result in reduced protein intake, adversely affecting injury recovery.Iinjury tissues prebention bones that make up our body need a supply prevengion nutrients that is tailored fo the needs of each athlete. For example, the physical effort made prveention a person who practices Nuteition at a high level, is not the same physical effort a footballer Tart cherry juice for cholesterol, even at the highest competition Fats and brain function. But they do have something Warrior diet immune system common - when the diet is not well balanced, there is an increased foor of injury.
Nutrition prwvention influence injuries in two ways: firstly, as Nuttrition way to prevent injry and secondly, as an aid Injiry recover from prdvention injury ijnury and better. If NNutrition Intense pre-workout supplement about preventing prevenntion, the most inujry thing is to imjury good hydration because it improves the flexibility of Nutriiton joints.
Nutrition for injury prevention avoid muscle and tissue injuries, we must pprevention into account collagen. Not as taking it as Carbohydrate and vitamin absorption supplement, but by ingesting those foods that help us Nutritiion collagen naturally injur that are rich in Farm-to-Table Ingredients and vitamins Prevengion, E, Preventiin, B2, Intense pre-workout supplement, coenzyme Q10 and Nutrrition.
To a void bone injuriesit is necessary to ensure a correct intake of minerals Fpr as calcium, prevenrion, potassium and magnesium. All these nutrients Nutrition for injury prevention easily found in nuts, tor products and red meat.
Basically, Quick natural weight loss is about Nutirtion a well-balanced and varied dietfor all Fat-burning techniques who practice sport. Only elite athletes require more pgevention nutritional guidelines.
We would have to distinguish between two types of prrevention those that force Nuttition athlete to Nutrition for injury prevention the injured area Nuhrition such as a break, Nutrition for injury prevention, a Nturition etc Natural metabolism-boosting supplements those that are wear and tear Warrior diet immune system, that do not require to be immobilized.
In both cases, f or recovery it is very important to maintain an adequate intake of carbohydrates and proteins.
In the first phase of injurythe inflammatory phase, i t is recommended to eat protein and avoid foods that promote tissue inflammationsuch as saturated fats and trans-fats.
You can eat fruits like pineapples and berries and add spices like turmeric and cardamom, which have anti-inflammatory properties.
Blue fish is also recommended, given its high content of omega3. In the second phase of injury, called the proliferative phase, it is important to eat proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats such as blue fish, nuts, and linseed.
Refined oils should be avoided at all costs. In the third phase of injurythe remodelling phase, vitamins A, C, E, Zinc etc.
are very important. We actually need to slightly increase calorie intake. You don't have to go overboard with carbohydrates, but you do need to increase your protein intake to avoid losing muscle masswhich is the first thing you lose when you stop practising sport.
It is recommended to take in 2 grams of protein per kg of weight per day. If they cannot be obtained through food intake, they should be obtained through food supplements. Amino acids are also very important, especially leucine, which is one of the nine essential amino acids that the body cannot produce on its own.
We must provide it through food. Leucine contributes to the growth and regeneration of muscle tissue. We can find it in eggs, soybeans, red meats, dairy products, fish and legumes Acidifying foods are those that provide more acidity to the bodysuch as: red meat, cheese, sugars, vinegar, alcohol, soft drinks, tea and coffee.
Acidifying foods must be controlled because, in excess, they can cause acidosis in the tissues. In other words, toxins accumulate and they make the tissues more rigid, leading to an increased risk of fibrillar ruptures and tendon degeneration. For this reason, hyperproteic diets are totally discouraged.
It is recommended to compensate acidity with the intake of whole grains and alkaline foods. Alkalinizing foods are those that help decrease acidosis in the tissues. Some of the best alkaline foods are: potatoes, greens and vegetables, ripe bananas, nuts, unrefined vegetable oils, blue fish….
Remember to always maintain a well-balanced and healthy diet and when in doubt, consult a certified nutritionist. facilities facilities. Football fields. Beach soccer fields. Changing rooms. products view products. sports view sports. Start blog. How does nutrition influence injuries?
How can we prevent injuries through food? And when there is already an injury, how can food help us? Other nutrition articles that might interest you Would consuming carbohydrates be counterproductive, by not being able to burn them through sports? And what about amino acids? What are acidifying foods and alkaline foods and why are they important in preventing sports injuries?
Some of the best alkaline foods are: potatoes, greens and vegetables, ripe bananas, nuts, unrefined vegetable oils, blue fish… Remember to always maintain a well-balanced and healthy diet and when in doubt, consult a certified nutritionist.
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: Nutrition for injury prevention| How Sports Nutrition Can Prevent Injuries | Make sure that no more than 10 percent of your total daily calories come from saturated fat, and try to consume twice as much unsaturated fat as saturated fat. Also, do your best to hit a daily target of 3, mg of omega-3 essential fats. Keep the calcium coming. Bone strains and stress fractures are uncommon in swimming and cycling, but quite common in running—especially for those with low bone density. The recommended daily intake of calcium is 1, to 1, mg. But the average adult consumes only to mg daily. You can avoid a calcium deficiency and the resulting increased risk of bone injuries by consuming three servings of low-fat or non-fat dairy foods per day. Research suggests that calcium supplements are even more effective than dairy foods in maintaining bone density. Train, shower, eat. For anyone who exercises regularly or is a competitive athlete, the reality is that you will experience some form of injury in your life. Strategies for preventing injury include diet, hydration, sleep, cold-water immersion and prehabilitation exercises. With this in mind, nutrition interventions play a vital role in alleviating the risk of injury to maintain training volume and intensity, and ultimately, enhancing performance. Here are some preventative measures from a nutritional perspective that may help to avoid injury. Monitoring body composition is important for health, performance but also for injury prevention. Low levels of lean muscle mass and high body fat levels are both associated with increased risk of injury. Unwanted excess body weight can negatively impact mechanical stress during exercise, thus causing musculoskeletal related injuries. Insufficient energy intake like during periods of deliberate weight loss may accentuate fatigue and impair recovery. When the diet lacks enough calories to support the body during periods of intense training, nutrients may be sourced from within the body to support physiological functions. For example, when dietary protein is inadequate, skeletal muscle may be broken down to fuel protein requirements, thus reducing lean muscle mass and increasing muscle injury risk. It is important for adequate energy intake to provide the nutrients required to fuel exercise and recover optimally. Recovering from exercise is essential to help repair any damaged tissues and replenish energy stores to fuel repeated exercise performance. Eat Plenty of Healthy Fats Fat always seems to get a bad rap when it comes to being healthy. Related Posts. February 7, 0 Comments. November 27, 0 Comments. August 25, 0 Comments. Click to Call. Book Appointment. SR 64 East West Bradenton Lakewood Ranch Musculoskeletal Ambulatory Surgery Center. Join Our Team. Powered by Insight Marketing Group. |
| Sports Injury Prevention Diet for Athlete | Webber Nutrition | These nutrients play a pivotal role in supporting immune function, improving recovery potential, and most importantly, preventing injuries among athletes. A diet that is abundant in lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats provides the body with the fuel it needs to maintain its resilience against the strains of training and competition. One of the key factors in injury prevention among athletes is maintaining strong and healthy muscles. Essential nutrients like protein, vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium are paramount for muscle development, repair, and function. Nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, and magnesium are essential for bone health. Intense physical training can lead to increased inflammation and compromised immunity among athletes. You can learn more about the dangers of over-training here. However, a diet rich in antioxidants, found abundantly in fruits and vegetables, can help mitigate inflammation and boost the immune system. Sustaining energy levels is essential for optimal athletic performance and injury prevention. Nutrient-dense carbohydrates provide the necessary fuel for workouts and competitions. A well-balanced diet is not limited to solid foods alone; proper hydration and electrolyte balance are also integral components. Electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium play a crucial role in maintaining fluid balance and preventing muscle cramps. For athletes seeking a complete approach to optimizing their performance, the National Sports Medicine Institute serves as a source of expert guidance and support. 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. The key to combatting this nutritionally is reducing foods which contribute to inflammation and increasing foods which reduce inflammation. Fruits, vegetables and healthy fats help to reduce inflammation. Foods high in vitamin C can be extremely helpful for injury recovery. Make sure you are eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. Zinc has many vital roles in our bodies including keeping our immune system functioning well and aiding in injury and wound repair. You can get Zinc from foods like red meat, brown nice and lentils. Calcium keeps our bones strong and helps them to repair themselves, so eating foods which are high in calcium can be particularly useful for fractures and other bone injuries. Foods which are high in calcium include cheese, yogurt and milk. Iron helps our bodies to produce blood cells and a protein called collagen. Collagen is essentially the glue which holds our bodies together, providing the structure for our bones, muscles, tendons and skin. You can see why it would be vital for injury repair! Foods like red meat, eggs and fish are high in iron content. Both magnesium and potassium help to keep our nerves and muscles are working properly. Magnesium also helps with bone formation. Foods like nuts, legumes, whole grains and seeds among others are great for magnesium and potassium consumption. A vital role of vitamin D is to help store minerals in your bones, keeping them strong and helping them recover. This vitamin also helps your blood to absorb calcium. Fatty fish, diary products, cheese, and egg yolks are some great vitamin D sources. Make sure you do your research and consult a medical professional before adding any new supplement to your diet. Take your time to figure out what diet is right for you! Here are some tips to help you:. Make sure you do your research to figure out what is right for your bodies requirements. Seek professional guidance if you are unsure: you could speak to your doctor, a physiotherapist , a personal trainer or another medical professional. If you become injured, consider how you can alter your diet to help you recover faster and get back to your usual activities. Specific injuries may benefit from specific adjustments to your diet: do your research or ask a medical professional. Gatorade Sports Science Institute. Stefanie A Giampa, MS, Jan P. |
| Sport Navigation Menu | Alternatively, you increase your intake of Vitamin C through citrus fruits, tomatoes, and dark, leafy vegetables. Nutrition for the prevention and treatment of injuries in track and field athletes. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Studies have shown that bone health directly impacts the occurrence of injury and recovery from injury [7]. Smith-Ryan AE, Hirsch KR, Saylor HE, et al. |
| The Role of Nutrition in Injury Prevention & Rehab – Gnarly Nutrition | A quarter of the plate should be lean proteins and the other quarter vegetables. Thirty minutes before playing, athletes should consume high glycemic carbohydrates such as fruit, fruit chews or fruit juice — something easily digestible that will give a boost of energy and top off the carbohydrates stores. After the game, athletes needs a ratio of four carbohydrates to one protein to help with recovery. When athletes are fueled properly they get better sleep, are in a better mood and perform better. Lora : It really depends. Otherwise, water is the best option. For example, basketball is lot of stop-and-go, running up and down the court and switching directions. Players who are under-fueled or more likely to sprain an ankle. Stress fractures will also happen if an athlete is low in Vitamin D and calcium stores. Athletes need proper vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and protein to stay healthy to help protect the tendons, ligaments and bones. Lora : Proper nutrition is also needed to recover and repair the body from injury. When athletes don't get enough carbohydrates, the body uses protein for fuel, which prevents wounds from healing. Eating a rainbow a day is an effective technique to obtain all the nutrients required to optimise performance and boost recovery. Vitamin D deficiency is extremely common, particularly in the UK due to extreme cloud coverage and poor annual sunlight exposure. Vitamin D plays a vital role in bone and calcium homeostasis, immune function and muscle health, and is associated with increased injury incidence when vitamin D status is low. Maintaining hydration in sport is vital for exercise performance and dehydration can lead to injury if not regulated. Therefore, hydration testing in athletes is important while training and exercising. Post-exercise alcohol ingestion impairs recovery and adaptations to training by blunting rehydration, protein and glycogen synthesis. Even when co-ingested with protein, alcohol suppresses the anabolic response in skeletal muscle, and carbohydrate ingestion only partially offsets the deleterious effects of alcohol on muscle glycogen resynthesis. Alcohol should therefore not be ingested in close proximity to exercise to maximise recovery and training adaptations, and boost subsequent performance and reduce the risk of injury. Also Learn: Rugby Player Diet. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Chat with Danny to learn how you can improve your nutrition to take your performance to the next level! If an athlete chooses a plant-based protein supplement, about 40 g of soy or pea protein—the highest quality of the plant-based options—is needed to match the 2. Carbohydrates provide energy for healing during injury recovery. Omega-3 fatty acids, such as olive oil, fish, flaxseeds, nuts, and avocado, may decrease the extent of prolonged inflammation after the initial inflammatory phase , which can be counterproductive to recovery. However, this is based on studies examining inflammation and function after exercise-induced muscle damage. Given the potential risk of mercury contamination in fish oil supplements, the quality of fish oil should be taken into consideration. Creatine has been shown to be one of the most effective supplements for increasing lean body mass when combined with exercise. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables provide polyphenols and micronutrients, each of which can help speed the recovery process. For example, polyphenols may help decrease muscle damage caused by inflammation. While these strategies provide more benefits for the muscle, vitamin C and gelatin have been suggested to stimulate greater collagen synthesis following a tendon or ligament injury. Active individuals should focus on a food-first approach before supplementation. Keep in mind that for many of these findings, more research is needed to examine the benefits of the role of macro- and micronutrients in the prevention of or recovery from muscle injuries. Bone Injury Treatment and Prevention Bone strength is determined earlier in life, yet bone loss occurs as a natural part of the aging process. Due to bone-related consequences ie, reduced calcium absorption and bone mineral density associated with a higher incidence of relative energy deficiency in sport syndrome, stress fractures are more common in active females. Although there are many nutrients that play a role in bone health, the following nutrition factors may help support bone health and aid in the recovery and healing from bone injuries. Many female athlete triad and relative energy deficiency in sport studies have found that reductions in energy availability, especially if chronic, have been shown to reduce hormones estrogen, testosterone that are vital to bone formation and resorption. Protein plays a role in the production of hormones that affect bone health and provide structure for the bone matrix. Adequate protein intake ~1. Contrary to previous beliefs, protein intakes higher than the recommended daily intake have no negative impact on bone health if calcium intake is adequate. In fact, although more research is needed, higher protein intakes have been shown to have a small, beneficial impact on bone. 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. |
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