What To Eat After ACL Surgery For a Faster Recovery

What To Eat After ACL Surgery For a Faster Recovery
What To Eat After ACL Surgery For a Faster Recovery It amazes me at how many athletes don’t take their diet seriously. High school athletes are young and full of energy with the ability to heal faster. College athletes are the same way and in most cases are not provided allowance for food. Now, for professional athletes, it baffles me to read about an athlete that doesn’t have the proper nutrition… But hey, if an athlete’s made it this far in their career, then the old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies. However, let’s say it(ACL) finally broke. Does that mean now the athlete would have to fix it? Of course, and one of the methods would be to fix their diet after ACL surgery. Aside from the obvious physical therapy, the key objective when it comes to nutrition after ACL surgery is reducing inflammation of your injured knee as well as boosting your immune system. Before delving into the list of foods to eat after ACL surgery, I would like to make a clear statement: Try to stick with an organic diet as opposed to processed foods and GMO’s( Genetically Modified Organism’s). Now, although these don’t create a noticeably negative affect on your body immediately, they’re detrimental to your health. These processed foods contain ingredients for a longer shelf life which hurt our bodies. GMO’s have no benefits to your health. According to the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM), they urge doctors to prescribe non-GMO diets for all patients. They cite animal studies showing organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, accelerated aging, and infertility. That’s just the beginning, which i’ll cover this topic in a separate post. When it comes to your diet and nutrition, eating organic is your greatest bet for optimal healing and recovery after ACL surgery, which do not contain these horrible ingredients. Try to stay away from red meats as well unless they’re grass fed as commercial meats tend be injected with steroids to increase size of the meat. From an organic perspective, let’s take a look at why you should choose these nutrients that help to heal your wounds after surgery, which will simultaneously speed the recovery time of your injured knee. What To Eat After ACL Surgery: Vitamin E – Helps minimize oxidative stress and inflammation of your knee after surgery which helps for greater strength gains of the muscles around your knee. What to Eat – Tofu, Spinach, Almonds, roasted sun flower seeds, avocados, fish ( rainbow trout), olive oils, broccoli. C – When you consume both vitamin E and C, they work together as a team almost immediately to help minimize the inflammation and increase strength in your knee following ACL surgery. According to the Linus Pauling Institute( Micronutrient Research for Optimum Health), greater gains in leg strength after surgery were associated with higher plasma vitamin C levels…suggesting that vitamin C aids muscle strength recovery from ACL surgery. What To Eat After ACL Surgery – Fruits, vegetables – broccoli, bell peppers, cauliflower, and berries. Vitamin A– Speeds the product of collagen, which is a vital protein in your ACL, meniscus and other ligaments and tendons. What To Eat After ACL Surgery – Sweet potato, carrots, kale, squash, romaine lettuce, prunes, dried apricots, Cantaloupe melon, sweet red peppers, blue fin tuna, mango. Zinc– Helps maintain a strong immune system. What To Eat After ACL Surgery- Seafood (oysters), spinach, chia seeds, flaxseed, nuts ( almonds, pecans), chicken. Flavonoids – Help to reduce swelling by protecting cells from oxygen damage, blood vessels from rupture or leakage, and enhancing the power of your vitamin C. What To Eat After ACL Surgery- Apples,blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, black beans. Fiber – Helps your body the important nutrients previously mentioned by allowing fluid motion through your digestive tract in order to optimize the benefits you will gain from said nutrients. What To Eat After ACL Surgery- Caulifower, broccoli, cabbage, berries (raspberries), leafy greens (romaine lettuc, spinach), celery, squash, kidney beans, white mushrooms, oranges. As you can see, there’s a range of foods you can eat that will provide you with these key ingredients to set yourself up for success and to get ahead of your competition. These ingredients include vitamin E, C, E, zinc, flavonoids, and fiber. Each of these player a key role in speeding your healing by reducing inflammation and increasing strength. And isn’t your goal to come back with a vengeance to do serious work in your sport to prove those that doubted you..? Sources: What Foods/Nutrients Help Speed in The Healing Process (Such as After ACL Surgery) Original article and pictures take http://sportskneetherapy.com/what-to-eat-after-acl-surgery-for-a-faster-recovery/ site