Should you Eat Eggs?

Whole eggs, especially the yolk (not just egg whites) are an incredibly good source of usable protein and the healthiest essential fats. Egg yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, choline and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg.


Whole eggs, especially the yolk (not just egg whites) are an incredibly good source of usable protein and the healthiest essential fats.

While egg whites are one of the highest quality sources of protein available, the egg yolks are actually the healthiest part of the egg!
That’s where most of the vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants (such as lutein) are found. Egg yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, choline and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg.
In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the essential fatty acids like omega 3 fats.
And, the protein of whole eggs is more bio-available than egg whites alone due to a more balanced amino acid profile that the yolks help to build. Just make sure to choose free range, organic or pastured eggs instead of the ‘factory-farmed’ grocery store eggs.

There is a huge difference!

Similar to grass-fed beef, and wild caught fish, the nutrient balance of healthy omega 3 fatty acids and the less healthy omega 6 fatty acids is controlled by the diet of the chickens. So free range, organic eggs are by far the healthiest choice for good fats and high levels of nutrition.  ‘Pastured’ eggs, which means the chickens were allowed to roam freely outdoors and eat bugs and grubs and worms are the healthiest of all eggs. Check your local farmers’ market or health food store for this kind of egg.

Of course we all know that eggs contain a powerful amount of protein and essential fats, but new research has found that they also contain antioxidant properties that are known to prevent cardiovascular disease as well as cancer and other diseases.

When eggs are fried or boiled, the antioxidant properties were cut in half. The loss of  antioxidants was the worse when heated in a microwave, which destroys many of the nutrients in any given food! So healthy, clean raw eggs contain the most nutrients.

Eggs are so versatile.

You can add them to so many things, like smoothies, or sauces; eat them alone, or make high protein meals by just scrambling eggs with a bit of grass fed dairy butter, and your favorite veggies.

Season with salt and pepper and add extra antioxidants and nutrition by sprinkling in some turmeric, curry, hot peppers, garlic, cilantro, etc. Top with raw dairy grass fed cheese or fresh salsa, and viola, you have the perfect, filling, high protein, and fat burning meal!

Read more about healthy fat burning foods in The Fat Burning Kitchen Ebook,

cat How to Enjoy Holiday Treats and NOT Feel Guilty, or Gain Weight

 

DSC 6815 How to Enjoy Holiday Treats and NOT Feel Guilty, or Gain WeightCatherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.   

                        Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

          Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.


Which is Best: Cows’ Milk, Soy Milk, Almond Milk, Or…?

 

 

“What’s the Best Kind of Milk to Drink?”

I hear this question often, and I know there are a lot of choices out there as far as milk and milk alternatives go, so I thought I would share what my good friend, fitness and nutrition expert, Mike Geary says about this topic. Mike, as you may know co-authored, The Fat Burning Kitchen and is also the author of the best selling ebookThe Truth About Abs”, so I trust his opinion.

Here’s what Mike has to say about milk:

If you have already read The Fat Burning Kitchen, you may already know that drinking regular, conventional pasteurized milk is not the healthiest choice.

We're talking about regular milk (no matter whether it's skim, 2%, or whole) that you get at the grocery store — which is almost ALL from factory farms where the cows are kept in horrendous conditions, poor health, and fed an unnatural diet that makes them sick.

Even if you find milk that is "organic" at your grocery store, it still has the problem that the homogenization process renders the fat molecules unhealthy within your body, and pasteurization that destroys the beneficial enzymes that help the proper digestion of milk proteins and lactose. Pasteurization also radically alters the milk protein molecule, causing allergic reactions in some who may be sensitive to dairy.

Raw, whole milk from grass-fed cows raised in a healthy manner, fed the correct foods, and treated right, is the ONLY healthy source dairy milk. 

And despite the propaganda against it, raw milk is NOT dangerous… not when it comes from a clean grass-fed farm operation certified to produce raw milk with healthy cows.

I'm living proof of that fact… I've been drinking hundreds and hundreds of gallons of raw whole milk for about 8 years now, and never once have gotten sick from it.  Nor have any of the families and friends I know who have been drinking it for years.  Certainly, if raw milk was "dangerous", we'd all be dead by now or at least have been sick multiple times by now.  But the answer to that is, no-not even once!

But for many people, drinking raw milk may not be an option, because they simply can't find a farm in their area that supplies raw milk.  You can search for raw milk near you by going to www.realmilk.com to see if any farms deliver in your area.

For those with dairy allergies or lactose intolerance, raw milk is tolerated much better, but some may still be allergic or lactose intolerant to dairy.

What are the alternatives?

How about soymilk?

Soymilk was the big thing a few years ago, but it's really not the healthy choice it once seemed. It's really just junk! Read this about soy and you may be shocked.

What about Rice Milk?

No!  Way too much sugar and total carbs and almost ZERO protein. It’s not too different from sugar water. If you want to shoot your blood sugar through the roof, rice milk will do the job, and will pack on the blubber just as fast.

What about almond milk?

Actually, I don't have a problem with almond milk as long as it's not heavily sweetened with added sugars or artificial sweeteners.  I've seen almond milk brands that have unsweetened versions and only has 1 gram of sugar per 8oz, just like the coconut milk.  These unsweetened almond milks are actually pretty tasty… I think a bit better tasting than the coconut milk drinks in my opinion.

The only problem with almond milk is that it is very low in protein similar to the coconut milk drink. 

Here's one of the best options I've found…

It's a new "Coconut Milk Beverage" that I've seen recently in the grocery stores here in the US. It seems to differ from the "coconut milk" that you see in cans simply that it's diluted down with water more than canned coconut milk, which usually has more of a thick coconut cream consistency. 

Side note:  try the thick creamy canned coconut milk (organic of course) in your coffee for a healthy creamer alternative… delicious!

As you may already know, coconut fat is one of the healthiest fats you can consume… Yes, it's saturated fat, but research has proven that it is a very healthy form of saturated fat, and is made up of mostly medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are burned quickly as energy–not stored—and lauric acid, which supports a strong immune system.

If you want more info about why saturated fat is actually healthy, here are 2 articles to check out:

Why saturated fat is not so bad after all

The truth about saturated fat (written by a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry)

Back to the healthy milk alternatives…

The flavored "coconut milk beverages" do have some added sugar, but still only have 9 grams of carbs per 8 oz, which is less sugar than a glass of cows’ milk.

There is also an unsweetened version, which only has 1 gram of carbs.

The only problem is that this "coconut milk beverage" only has 1 gram of protein too.  This is one place where this milk is lacking, nutritionally.

So here's the solution… get a good quality vanilla whey protein, preferably grass-fed whey protein (sweetened with stevia instead of typical artificial sweeteners) and mix 3-4 scoops of whey protein into an entire half gallon carton of "coconut milk beverage"… possibly in a blender and then transfer to a new pitcher or container of some sort.

Now you have a milk alternative that's high in healthy fats (fat burning MCTs in this case) and also quality protein, with only 1 gram of sugar per 8 oz serving!

I still won't give up my raw whole cows milk for this (since I do have access to a good raw milk farm)… but this coconut milk mixture would be one of the only options that I would actually drink if I couldn't get my good raw milk.

And one of the newest alternative milk beverages out there now, is hemp milk. So is hemp milk ok? Hemp milk contains healthy fats omega 3 and 6, is low carb and comes sweetened or unsweetened.

Adding the whey protein to hemp milk or almond milk would make a great mixture too and make it more balanced as a good healthy milk alternative as well.

 

If you liked Mike’s information, click below to see more great nutrition and fat burning information from him:

 5 Foods That Fight Abdominal Fat

 

Till next time,

Stay healthy lean and energetic 🙂

 

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled "The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation" that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.   

Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

Enhance Your Athletic Performance


It’s hard to read sports news anymore without hearing about someone getting caught for illegal use of performance enhancing drugs.

Even though most of us are not competing with such high stakes, virtually everyone is looking to enhance their athletic performance and there are ways to do that without cheating and resorting to illicit medications.

If you continually fuel your body with the best nutrition, you will definitely see noticeable improvements in speed, endurance, and recovery, as you train. On the other hand, fueling with junk will promote injuries, strains, sprains, early fatigue, bonking and burnout.

It really can make a huge difference.

Young or old, all athletes need the lots of nutrition to push their bodies to the limit, and an athlete needs more nutrition-packed foods than the average person.

While there are literally thousands of supplements marketed towards athletes and improved performance, I wanted to over the purely natural ones you can get just from a healthy diet alone.

We all know you need a good mix of carbs, proteins, and healthy fats in the right proportions, but the actual food source of each of these is extremely important as well.

All protein is not alike, nor are all carbs, or all fats.

Carbs and fat store energy for muscles. These two nutrients are converted to energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which fuels muscles. These two macronutrients are converted to usable energy differently.

Carbohydrate is converted into blood glucose and is the first fuel burned during high intensity activities. The best carbohydrates are actually organic fruits and vegetables, which supply longer lasting energy than grain or sugar based energy sources–without causing the blood sugar spikes and resulting nosedive.

Grain and sugary forms of fuel are quickly converted into glucose in the body and after blood sugar spikes, insulin is released and the result is even lower blood sugar. In an athletic competition, this can become a bonk, as your body burns through the glucose and then searches for another fuel source. Bicycling magazine has a great article on this subject here. It seems that low glycemic foods eaten prior to a race result in far greater returns that high glycemic foods like sugar and grains. So an apple is far better than a cookie or a bagel.

Fat is actually a better source of slower burning energy for the athlete.

Healthy fats supply almost 20 times the ATP in the muscles as carbohydrates, and blood sugar levels remain stable, so no bonk. Good sources of healthy fats are the anti-inflammatory omega 3 fats, virgin coconut oil (a medium chain triglyceride, which is immediately used for energy), virgin olive oil (high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients) grass fed butter (packed with vitamin A, D, and K2–a difficult to find but essential vitamin) and nuts (rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and omega 3 fats).

Switching from a sugar burning diet, to a fat burning diet for energy and athletic performance may require a breaking-in period, as your body will search for the most easily accessible form of energy.

If it is used to getting glucose in the form of sweet and starchy snacks, then you will need to slowly wean yourself off of these, instead of just going cold turkey and expecting great results.

Muscles must have good quality protein to function well, repair, recover and regain their strength–especially after a hard workout.

Protein provides the building blocks for your muscles, and after a hard workout muscles  are depleted, often with microtears, and need protein in order to rebuild. It’s best to eat protein within a half hour after working out, and some studies have shown that protein during and after a workout is best for maximum muscle recovery.

Many athletes are turning to grass fed beef as one of their primary protein sources, which has a much higher ratio of the energy boosting omega 3 fats to omega 6 fats; is full of muscle-building and fat-burning Conjugated Linoleic Acid, is more easily digestible, and avoids the antibiotics and hormones of regular conventionally raised meat.

Recently, CNBC ran a story on grass fed meat and athletes. Dr. Keith Pyne, a peak performance specialist who works with elite athletes, is a fan of grass-fed beef:

“Especially in the last five years, athletes have begun to understand that their diet and what they put in their bodies can have a [huge] effect on their performance,” said Pyne of SportsLab NYC. “Understanding the [omega 3:6] fat ratios in what they are eating and lowering their glycemic index is now on their mind.”

The Essential Fatty Acids of omega 3 and 6 also play an important role in the functioning of the human body.

While vegetable based omega-6 fats promote inflammation, the omega 3 fatty acids work to reduce inflammation, strengthen the immune system, and aid in muscle recovery and energy.

Since the days of the cavemen, we have evolved on a diet with a ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 of about 1:1. Huge changes in dietary habits over the last few centuries has changed this ratio to something closer to 20:1 which causes trouble in many ways, especially for an athlete.

Meat raised by conventional means on grain products contains large amounts of omega 6 fats, as opposed to grass fed and free range animals with healthier omega 3 fats. Research has shown that the correct balance of Essential Fatty Acids not only improves stamina and endurance; inflammation and muscle soreness after exercise, but also uses the amino acids from protein better to build and maintain muscle mass.

Athlete or not, everyone can benefit from the right balance of EFA’s , which in today’s world means more omega 3’s and less omega 6’s.

Whey is also a popular protein for sports drinks, energy bars and as an additive for smoothies and shakes. Cold processed whey protein powder is an excellent source of protein, even surpassing whole eggs, soy, meat, and other dairy sources with its excellent bioavailability and its ability to deposit nitrogen in the muscles.

Whey from a grass fed source is the absolute highest quality form of whey you can get, full of large amounts of Conjugated Linoleic Acid and omega 3 fatty acids, and none of the residual pesticides and hormones.

Whey is the only protein source that contains immunoglobulins, which are essential in maintaining immune system function. Whey protein builds up cellular glutathione levels. Glutathione has been called the ‘master antioxidant’, and regulates the actions of other antioxidants such as vitamin C, and vitamin E within the body.

No other antioxidant is as important to overall health as glutathione.

Be sure the whey source you use is cold processed as heat processing denatures the fragile protein molecules in the whey and renders them virtually useless. Unfortunately, most protein powders and protein additives use heat processing.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is another important fatty acid that enhances athletic performance. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) works not only as a powerful anti-oxidant, but also fights cancer and strengthens the immune system.

While CLA is known as a fat burner, the other key benefit of this important fat is that it triggers an increase in muscle mass and strength. CLA comes from diet, mostly from beef and dairy fats such as grass-fed beef, butter, cheese, and raw whole milk.

Cows raised on grass have about 5 times as much CLA as conventional meat and dairy cows.

While some health food stores will sell CLA supplements, most nutrition scientists agree that naturally occurring CLA from food is utilized better in the body.

Another supplement, creatine, is extremely popular with athletes and body builders. It is found naturally in the skeletal muscle, and is essential for the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the cellular fuel that is burned by muscles.

Creatine is actually a natural ingredient of red meat.

Creatine is manufactured in the body from the amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine.

The primary energy-producing molecule for bursts of vigorous muscle contraction is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, lasts in the muscles for about 10 or so seconds, after which time your body must produce more to keep your muslces going. Your ability to supply more ATP to the muscles and make more ATP depends on creatine.

Large reserves of creatine help with endurance, buffer lactic acid, and aid in muscle fatigue. Creatine enhances the ability of the muscle to maintain high power output during brief periods of intense exercise, as in a sprint or interval training. Creatine also revives tired muscles, allowing them to work harder for longer time periods. So for short hard efforts, creatine is a valuable nutrient to add to the athlete’s diet. Creatine supplements are available, but can cause a few negative side effects, including severe stomach cramps and digestive issues.

Vegetables and fruit serve a dual purpose in an athlete’s diet, and as a healthy slow-burning complex carbohydrate, they are excellent. Yes, vegetables are carbs.

Veggies and fruit also contain loads of powerful phytochemicals and antioxidants, which serve to power your performance with tons of energy, supply crucial vitamins and minerals, but also help to minimize inflammation, reduce injury, protect the immune system, and guard cellular health.

Recent studies have shown another valuable nutrient in many vegetables, most notably the oft-misunderstood beet. It has been found that certain vegetables including beets contain nitrate, which is converted in the body to nitric oxide.

Dietary nitrate reduces oxygen needs during exercise and so, boosts athletic performance.

Drinking 500 ml of beet juice 2.5 hours before a cycling time trial improved 4 km TT time by 2.8% and 10-mile TT time by 2.7% compared to the placebo group. Not impressed?

How about this: the 4K time trial with beet juice, was 6.26 minutes vs. 6.45 minutes without, and the 16K was 26.9 min. with the beet juice, vs. 27.7 minutes. That’s almost a minute!  A minute is a lot in a TT.

Look at it this way: we cyclists pay a couple thousand dollars for lightweight aero wheels. As shown on the Zipp wheels data, for a 1080 front and a sub9 disc wheel (total cost about $3200) you can expect to save 108 seconds, over a 40K race. That’s equivalent to 43 seconds over a 16K race, while the beet juice saved people 48 seconds over a 16K race. $3200 for wheels, or down some beet juice at 6-8$ a bottle.

Hmm…I’m trying beet juice.

The effects of nitric oxide have been known for years.

Some of these effects scientists are not quite clear on, such as increasing mitochondrial action in the cells. We do know, however, that nitric oxide causes vasodilation , or dilating blood vessels. Researchers think that this is how it helps get oxygen to the working muscles more efficiently.

Another nutrient that vasodilates is magnesium.

Magnesium as you may or may not know is responsible for over 300 cellular functions and is extremely important to the athlete. Athletes lose more Mg than sedentary folks from working out hard and from sweating. Magnesium helps muscular strength and energy, as well as helping the heart pump slower and more smoothly; it relaxes the airways and dilates the blood vessels; all of which help to aid in athletic performance.

Cherry juice is another one of those magic elixirs for athletes. Tart cherry juice can actually help prevent inflammation, muscle soreness, and promote deep, restful sleep. Read the whole article on cherry's benefits.

There are a zillion other nutrients that aid in athletic performance and recovery, but these are some of the most significant.

Bottom line is this: avoid the processed, sugary junk which clogs up the system and slows you down, eat tons of healthy veggies and fruits, eat good amounts of high quality protein and healthy fats and you will find that your workouts will pay off in a big way!

Till next time, stay healthy, lean and energetic!

P.S. Look for my new Superfoods recipe book coming soon!!

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist.

In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled "The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation" that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.
 
Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.
Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:
Dr. Al Sears MD, Health Confidential Newsletter, Jan 22, 2009, Iss. 35
Hajoway, Mike, “What CLA can do for you”, Bodybuilding.com, 2011.

Fritsche S, Rumsey TS, Yurawecz MP, Ku Y, Fritsche J. Influence of growth promoting implants on fatty acid composition including conjugated linoleic acid isomers in beef fat. Eur. Food Res. Technol. 212:621-629 (2001).

Lowery LM, Appicelli PA, Lemon PWR. Conjugated linoleic acid enhances muscle size and strength gains in novice bodybuilders. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1998;30:S182 [abstract].

Thom E, Wadstein J, Gudmundsen O. Conjugated linoleic acid reduces body fat in healthy exercising humans. J Int Med Res 2001;29:392-6.

 

Heal and Prevent Sports Injuries

Jim rugby

Injuries, both minor and major, are one of the hardest and most frustrating thing an athlete has to deal with.

Injuries usually seem like they occur  just as you are beginning to ramp up your training for big events. And now that the weather is warming up, amateur and professional athletes are starting to pick up their training for another competitive season in their favorite sport.

Injuries can often be your body’s way of telling you are pushing it too hard, too quickly, or overtraining, and not getting enough rest and recovery in between demanding workouts.

Is there any way to prevent injuries?

Of course–you probably already know some of the things you can include in your training to prevent injury, like rest days, warming up slowly, easing into your training, and stretching.

But, did you know, your diet will also make a HUGE difference in whether you get injured and how quickly you recover?

Think of it this way: your body is a machine. Just as you work out hard to become stronger, feeding and fueling your body well will help to strengthen and maintain the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bone in the best and strongest condition possible.

In contrast, a diet high in refined sugars, starches, and poor quality protein will result in weaker muscles, increased inflammation and a higher likelihood of injury.

So, what’s the best diet for a serious athlete or weekend warrior?

First of all, high quality protein is absolutely essential. Good protein sources are VITAL to grow and repair muscle, strengthen bones and tendons, and allow for proper function of cells.

Most training protocols tell you to eat protein right after exercise in order to help rebuild muscles; however, the best time of all may be shortly before a workout as well. It’s been found, that to limit the loss of muscle fiber associated with overuse injuries, eating protein shortly before exercising, and then immediately afterwards is best.

An active teen or adult needs to have at least 1.0 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of body weight a day.

To figure this out, one pound of body weight is roughly equivalent to about .45 kilograms. So dividing your weight in half will give you a rough estimate of your weight in kilograms.

For example, an 150 lb male would weight about 70 kilograms and will need 70-100 GRAMS of protein a day, which comes out to about 30 grams per meal, or a decent sized serving of meat, chicken, fish or eggs at every meal.

The very best, most usable protein is grass fed meat, with 5 times the muscle-building Conjugated Linoleic Acid as regular grain fed meat, healthy omega 3 fats, and important muscle-building minerals–zinc and iron.

Other great sources of protein are wild caught fatty fish, free-range poultry, and organic eggs. All of these are higher in the healthy omega 3 fats, and lower in omega 6 (inflammatory) fats, as well as being free of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones.

Many athletes rely heavily on protein bars, shakes and powders, which is a big mistake.

The protein in these processed foods is very poor. This protein usually comes from heat-processed whey or soy protein isolate. Both of these protein sources are denatured, weak versions of protein and virtually unusable by the body.

Whey protein can be an excellent protein source, but it must be cool-processed (which keeps the protein intact) and should be from grass fed dairy cows as well, for the maximum amount of CLA and healthy fats.

Healthy fats are absolutely necessary.

Fats also help to lubricate the body, muscles, tendons, ligaments, organs and skin, and increase feelings of vitality and energy.

Athletes who switch to a higher fat diet see the results with more energy, less injuries and better recovery times. Be sure to include these fats:

•    Omega 3 fats–Provide plenty of fuel for energy, and anti-inflammatory properties to heal and protect the damage that hard training wreaks on the body. Omega 3 fats are found primarily in wild caught fatty fish, grass fed meat, organic eggs and grass fed butter. Walnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and flax seeds also contain healthy doses of omega 3 fats.

•    Conjugated Linoleic Acid–Helps to provide the fuel the body needs to power through a demanding practice. CLA builds muscle, burns fat, raises the metabolism, and helps prevent cancer, heart disease and high cholesterol.

•    Saturated fats and cholesterol--The good saturated fats (like the kind that come from grass fed meat, organic egg yolks, and butter) actually help to strengthen and repair muscle fibers, strengthen the immune system, aid in the proper functioning of the heart, lungs and brain, and boost metabolism. So don’t shy away from these important fats. However, you do want to avoid the grain fed versions of this fat as it is high in inflammatory omega 6 fats.

•    Monosaturated fats like coconut, nuts and olive oil are extremely effective at reducing inflammation and increasing energy, so be sure to include these healthy fats as well. Coconut oil is quickly and easily metabolized for energy as well as being an excellent healing agent, so be sure to include this in your diet.

Antioxidants are extremely important to athletes as well. Intense exercise creates tons of free radicals which can lead to damage and breakdown of tissue–including muscle–within the body.

Be sure to include LOTS of brightly colored fresh, organic vegetables and fruit to supply the body with the necessary antioxidants. The brighter and more colorful, the more antioxidants! Raw organic veggies and fruit contain the highest amounts of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals; they also contain massive amounts of enzymes because they are raw.

Enzymes are proven healers of damaged tissue.

To prevent and heal injuries try to eat at least 50% or more of these raw.

Vitamin C is one of the most powerful antioxidants and is also very important for the repair of the collagen, connective tissue, and cartilage; it is helpful add extra to your diet when injured.

Aim for five or more sources of foods that are high in vitamin C such as red peppers, papaya, cantaloupe, kale, oranges and broccoli.

And don’t forget about Vitamin A for its rebuilding properties.

Higher amounts of vitamin A also aid in repairing micro-tears that occur after a hard workout, so it is a valuable addition for any runner, cyclist or weight lifter. Best food sources of vitamin A are: grass-fed dairy products such as raw cheese, grass-fed butter, and grass-fed (commercially raised beef liver contains lots of toxins) liver; bright orange or red vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, mangoes, papaya, winter squash, red peppers, apricots and spinach.

Digestive enzymes also aid in the recovery process.

Look for ones that contain plenty of bromelain and protease, and take with meals. Bromelain is an enzyme found in pineapple, and is effective as an anti-inflammatory. Protease is an enzyme that digests  proteins and will travel to the injured sites to dissolve the byproducts of the injury. Other enzymes have similar healing effects.

One of the most important building and repairing nutrients for injuries is zinc.

Zinc works alongside protein and other nutrients in the body synergistically. Zinc is also an immune enhancer which is powerful in the whole healing process. To ensure you are getting enough, include grass-fed beef, liver, oysters and other shellfish, seeds, nuts, chicken and egg yolks in your diet.

So now you know what foods to be sure to include in  your diet, but there are definitely some foods that must be avoided as well.

These foods not only fatigue the body, run down the immune system, and interfere with the processing of important nutrients, but they also contribute to inflammation in the body.

A tough and demanding training plan adds enough inflammation, so why add to that burden?

Inflammatory foods include the obvious junk foods–cookies, candy, excess alcohol, processed foods, and artificial foods with chemicals and preservatives.

Sneaky food additives (even in so-called health foods)  such as transfats, omega 6 oils such as corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, grains of all kinds including wheat, rice, oats, corn, and soy ( a legume) and sugars are also highly inflammatory as well.

Many athletes are switching to a gluten free training diet, even if they do not have gluten issues.

Gluten is a protein in wheat, rye and barley. It has been found that gluten is an inflammatory agent in many people (even those who seemingly do not have issues with gluten sensitivity) to some degree.

Athletes who have adopted a gluten free training diet report that they feel more energetic, less sluggish, lose a little weight, sleep better, have better digestion and generally feel better overall.

Sugar in all forms is highly inflammatory and actually stimulates an inflammatory response, so avoid it at all costs.

Pasteurized, processed dairy foods,  (as opposed to raw dairy) also tend to add to inflammation.

Dairy contains a lot of histamines, which will add to the inflammation already present in the body.

And last of all, be sure to be getting enough water.

Water helps to carry away toxins and keep your metabolism and healing processes working efficiently. There is no excuse not to stay well hydrated as the benefits are really endless.

You will feel better, have better energy and heal quicker!

Eat well, work hard and you will most definitely reap the benefits of a stronger, faster body!

 

Till next time, stay healthy, lean and active!

 

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

               Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

       Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.


 

 

References:

Michelle Schoffro Cook, DNM, DAc, CNC, CITP, The 12 Step Program to Healing Sport Injuries http://hubpages.com/profile/Shannon+Clark Horwitz,

Dr. Steven, Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Inflammation, Prevent Sports Injuries, Jan 21, 2011. http://preventsportsinjuries.blogspot.com