2513: Eating To Recover by Eric Leija on The Pivotal Role of Nutrition in the Healing Process

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Health Daily, Episode 2513, Eating to Recovery by Eric Lea of EricLea.com

[00:00:08] And I'm Dr. Neal, your host and narrator.

[00:00:30] But for now, let's get right to it and start optimizing your life.

[00:00:38] Eating to Recovery by Eric Lea of EricLea.com

[00:00:43] Pushing yourself is great, but have you ever pushed yourself too hard?

[00:00:48] Well, welcome to the squad! I think we can all agree that if we've been in the training game for a bit of time,

[00:00:54] it's likely that we've pushed ourselves a bit too hard trying to reach a goal.

[00:00:59] And the end result of that, extra soreness or a pulled muscle at the least,

[00:01:04] burnout and an injury at the worst.

[00:01:07] Whatever the case may be, recovery is essential.

[00:01:10] And what is essential to recovery aside from rest?

[00:01:14] Nutrition Eating for Recovery

[00:01:17] Obviously, rest is Operation No. 1 when you're recovering from overtraining, burn out,

[00:01:23] or an injury. However, another key to the recovery equation is the foods you're consuming.

[00:01:30] Whole natural foods contain the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other compounds that build and repair our bodies.

[00:01:38] And if we don't get enough of them, well our bodies don't have what they need to repair and grow effectively.

[00:01:44] Now, you may be thinking, sweet, I'll up my protein intake.

[00:01:49] And while that can be effective, and you should be getting plenty of high quality natural protein,

[00:01:54] it's not the entire story.

[00:01:57] 1. Add Quality Carbs

[00:02:00] This goes double if you're experiencing burnout like fatigue, chronic injuries, chronic stress, anxiety, sleeplessness, heart palpitations,

[00:02:10] and have been going low carb for a while.

[00:02:13] Our bodies were designed to run on a range of whole foods with varying levels of nutrients at varying times

[00:02:20] and foods that contain carbohydrates are included.

[00:02:24] To clarify, this doesn't mean that going low carb is bad.

[00:02:28] On the contrary, it can be effective for fat loss and some other conditions.

[00:02:32] However, just because something works as a solution to a problem, doesn't mean we have to continue to use the solution after the problem has resolved.

[00:02:41] For instance, would you continue to take a medication for health issue once the issue was cleared?

[00:02:47] Our ancestors would likely have eaten a varied diet, experiencing periods of low carb eating when they were lacking starches and higher carb eating when they had starches or fruit available.

[00:02:58] Our bodies naturally prefer glucose as a source of fuel, which is why I would always recommend a cyclical approach to low carb if you wanted to try it.

[00:03:08] In terms of recovery, adding quality clean carbs like those from sweet potato, butternut squash, parsnips, cassava, berries and even quinoa can help reduce stress hormones which play a role in inflammation.

[00:03:23] Whole food carbs also contain various minerals that help ease your nervous system, further reducing inflammation and assist in repair.

[00:03:32] Remember, you don't have to go crazy. Simply add a serving or two of the clean carbs like those mentioned before to one or two of your meals.

[00:03:41] 2. This type of fat. Omega-3s are game changers when it comes to reducing inflammation.

[00:03:47] Plus, studies have also shown that consuming enough omega-3s can help prevent an ease muscle soreness which is what we definitely want right now.

[00:03:57] Consuming omega-3s from fish gives you a one-two punch for recovery. You get a high dose of omega-3 fatty acids while also getting a clean dose of amino acids that facilitate muscle repair.

[00:04:10] Be sure to get into serving a wild caught fatty fish three times per week, think wild salmon, sardines, macrol and so on.

[00:04:19] 3. Antioxidants.

[00:04:22] Any type of damage to your body, self-imposed through training, inflammation or otherwise produces free radicals which can cause further damage even to our DNA.

[00:04:33] Consuming foods high in antioxidants reduces the amount of these free radicals so that you can repair more efficiently and with less collateral damage.

[00:04:42] Foods like organic berries like blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, oranges, sweet potato, leafy greens like spinach and kale, tomatoes and even egg yolks are rich in a spectrum of antioxidants that specialize in repair.

[00:04:59] Try to get in several servings of them per day. 4. Magnesium.

[00:05:05] Magnesium is a critical mineral that plays a role in an extraordinary number of processes in your body.

[00:05:11] For the sake of recovery, we'll stick to the fact that magnesium heavily participates in the process of energy metabolism and assists the maintenance of normal muscle contraction and relaxation.

[00:05:23] If we don't get enough of it, studies show that it can impair performance and result in muscle cramps.

[00:05:29] Magnesium can be found in leafy greens, potatoes, nuts and seeds and even in high amounts in dark chocolate.

[00:05:37] Go extra dark to avoid the excess sugar.

[00:05:40] You could also soak in Epsom salts several times per week to help absorb magnesium through the skin.

[00:05:47] 5. Grass-fed meats.

[00:05:50] Of course, we couldn't leave protein out of this list.

[00:05:53] High quality proteins from grass-fed meats contain all of the essential amino acids your body needs to repair your musculoskeletal system.

[00:06:02] Meat that has been grass-fed is also higher in omega-3s when compared to their grained fed counterparts, so you'll also be getting a higher dose of omega-6.

[00:06:12] Try to consume a serving with each meal, even slightly upping your intake not excessively but perhaps by a few ounces for recovery.

[00:06:21] What about other supplements?

[00:06:23] My advice is to always stick to whole foods and natural herbs before relying too heavily on supplements.

[00:06:30] But sometimes, we could use a little extra help in meeting our foundational nutrient requirements and some individuals who are training much more intensely than others, say at an athlete's level, could also use a boost.

[00:06:43] For recovery, it would help to focus on additional branch chain amino acids which are also found in animal proteins.

[00:06:50] And glutamine, which can help assist in muscle repair.

[00:06:55] Making sure your mineral base is covered is a good idea as well.

[00:06:59] Increase your fruit and veggie intake to do this naturally or consider a multivitamin mineral supplement.

[00:07:05] You could also look into anti-inflammatory herbs and foods like ginger and turmeric, which can help reduce excess inflammation.

[00:07:14] The bottom line.

[00:07:16] Food provides the building blocks our bodies need to repair from injuries, soreness and overtraining.

[00:07:23] 2. Increase your intake of clean carbs slightly during recovery to ease stress and refuel glycogen stores.

[00:07:31] 3. Make sure to get plenty of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids from fish.

[00:07:39] 4. Increase your magnesium intake.

[00:07:42] 5. Eat plenty of grass-fed protein.

[00:07:49] You just listen to the post titled Eating to recover by Eric Leia of EricLeia.com and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:07:58] Dr. Neal here for my commentary.

[00:08:01] I really appreciate it today's author, Eric's approach to nutrition for recovery.

[00:08:06] His tips are spot on and supported by actual research studies.

[00:08:10] The only additional tip I would add would be sure to drink plenty of water.

[00:08:16] This becomes particularly important after one of those really challenging workouts.

[00:08:20] You know, the one where you're so tired you can barely walk back to your car or make it up the stairs.

[00:08:26] We need to be sure to drink plenty of water after these types of workouts especially to protect the health of our kidneys.

[00:08:34] Now, you might be wondering how much water do I need to drink exactly then?

[00:08:39] Well, the best way to know is to weigh yourself before you exercise then immediately after.

[00:08:46] What you'll find is that you probably lost a little bit of weight during your workout.

[00:08:51] Now, don't get too excited. This is not fat weight that's lost its water weight.

[00:08:56] So, the advice goes something like this.

[00:08:59] For each pound you lost during your workout drink 20 fluid ounces of water.

[00:09:06] So, let's say you weighed yourself before your workout and you weighed 150 pounds.

[00:09:11] Then after your workout you weighed yourself again and found you now weigh 149 pounds.

[00:09:18] You lost one pound of water weight during your workout.

[00:09:22] So, to protect the health of your kidneys aim to drink 20 fluid ounces of water for every pound lost.

[00:09:30] Since one pound was lost aim to consume 20 fluid ounces of water which is about 2.5 cups after your workout.

[00:09:38] Alright, that'll do it for another edition of Optimal Health Daily.

[00:09:42] Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for sharing this show with someone and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your Optimal Life awaits.