Nutrition Facts for Optimal Recovery

Nutrition Facts for Optimal Recovery

FROM THE TRIPHASIC RECOVERY MANUAL

  • Multiple variables can influence recovery, such as nutrition, sleep, and travel
    Nutrition promotes muscle regeneration, glycogen restoration, reduces fatigue, and supports physical and immune health
  • Nutritional aspects of recovery have primarily focused on the macronutrients, carbohydrates, and protein, as well as fluids.
    Vigorous travel schedules can involve inconsistent sleep schedules, time zone changes, and changes in altitude

Protein

    • The multifactorial role for protein in recovery includes facilitating muscle repair, muscle remodeling, and immune function
    • Muscle Protein Synthesis
    • Leucine-rich rapidly digested sources, such as whey protein, have been shown to elicit a greater stimulation of MPS during recovery compared with slowly digested proteins of lower leucine composition, such as soy, micellar casein, and wheat
    • Optimal short-term dose
      • 0.25 g/kg body mass, except after whole body training when a greater dose (0.4 g/kg body mass) may be needed
      • There is evidence that this optimal protein dose should be distributed evenly (3.g., four to five times) throughout the day
      • Importance of dietary protein in promoting recovery of team sport athletes may extend beyond facilitating the repair and remodeling of skeletal muscle proteins
      • Preliminary evidence that increasing dietary protein intake enhances immune surveillance during intensified training in trained cyclists

Carbohydrates

    • The advice for team sport athletes engaged in periods of intensified training is to consume a high-carbohydrate diet (5-7 g/kg/day), including in the hours following exercise
    • Support of daily fueling demands
    • Mitigation of energy deficit, fatigue, and associated injuries
    • Maintenance of immune function
    • Prevention of overtraining
    • Restore depleted muscle and liver glycogen stores as quickly as possible
    • Practical recovery-focused carbohydrate recommendations for team sport athletes
    • Intake
      • 1.0-1.2 g/kg/h within the first hour of exercise cessation
      • Continuation of a carbohydrate intake of 1.0-1.2 g/kg/h for 4-6h, or until regular meals resume
      • Flexible, periodized, and personalized approach to carbohydrate availability during the post-exercise period is essential to ensure short-term recovery is optimized and longer-term adaptation enhanced

Fluids

    • Commencing exercise in a hypo-hydrated state can impair performance, especially when training or competing in the heat
    • The presence of sodium (~20 to 50 mmol/L) enhances palatability and stimulates physiological thirst
    • Sodium significantly improves post-exercise rehydration through its impact on fluid retention
    • The increase in plasma sodium concentration and osmolality with sodium ingestion stimulates renal water reabsorption and promotes plasma volume restoration
    • Carbohydrate solutions ranging from 6 to 12% have been shown to promote greater fluid retention compared with electrolyte-matched placebos
    • To achieve rapid and complete rehydration, expert panels recommend athletes drink 1.0-1.5 L of a sodium-containing (20-50 mmol/L) fluid for each kilogram of body mass lost

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

    • Dietary and supplemental sources of n-3 PUFA include cold water fatty fish such as tuna and salmon, fish oils, and krill oil.
    • The most bioactive of the n-3 PUFA are EPA and DHA
      • Recovery
        • Promotes muscle remodeling, muscle repair, and immune surveillance
        • 8 weeks of fish oil-derived n-3 PUFA (1.86 g of EPA and 1.50 g of DHA) supplementation increased MPS
        • Experimental studies in cell culture reveal that EPA, rather than DHA, is the active ingredient stimulating MPS, these proof-of-principle studies suggest a role for EPA-rich n-3 PUFA in facilitating muscle remodeling
        • The anti-inflammatory properties of n-3 PUFA are proposed to ameliorate feelings of muscle soreness and impairments in muscle function associated with eccentric exercise
        • The n-3 PUFA also exhibit immunomodulatory properties
        • Neutrophil proliferation
        • Monocyte phagocytosis

Vitamin D

    • Classified as a steroid hormone
    • Because of athlete compliance, a common practice is to megadose weekly with high-dose vitamin D supplements
    • Recent research suggests this is a practice that should be considered with caution and may be ineffective
    • Lower body exercise
      • Pre-exercise vitamin D status of recreationally active individuals was significantly correlated with immediate and longer term (48 and 72 h) muscle weakness following intense exercise in an exercised leg vs. control leg
      • Muscle weakness (measured as peak isometric force or peak torque)
    • Reflective of both degeneration and regeneration, remains suppressed until repair is complete and is a function outcome for the athlete
    • Ring et al did not find an association between baseline vitamin D status and muscle pain or peak isometric force following eccentric exercise of the elbow flexors up to 4 days post-insult
    • More work is necessary to clarify the benefit of vitamin D for athletic muscle recovery, including the interaction of protein intake.
    • Available decisions suggest vitamin D may play a role in the muscle repair and recovery process

Antioxidants

    • Exogenous
    • Endogenous
      • Both endogenous and exogenous antioxidants work in synergy to protect the body from damage caused by free radicals and maintain redox balance
        Important to note that excessive amounts of free radicals or antioxidants can be problematic owing to the disruption of redox balance
      • Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important signaling molecules for adaptations to occur in the skeletal muscle, while low levels of ROS are needed to support muscular force production
      • Large amounts of antioxidants may impair recovery by blunting the regenerative process that ROS support
      • Research regarding the effects of antioxidants on training adaptations and recovery has produced mixed results
      • Baseline antioxidant status
      • Antioxidants delivered
      • Exercise training protocols
      • Dosing strategies
        • Although not conclusive, situations where antioxidant supplementation may be advantageous are during times when recovery is paramount
        • Multiple training bouts
        • Competitions in a short period of time
        • Training/competing at altitude
        • Focusing on a well-balanced diet including fruits and vegetables to obtain antioxidants may be a more appropriate alternative to supplementing with individual antioxidants

Creatine

    • Creatine monohydrate supplementation (20 g/day for 5 days)
    • Increased muscle creatine by ~20%
    • Improves performance of exercises that rely heavily on creatine and phosphorylcreatine to resynthesize adenosine triphosphate
    • Potential role for creatine as a post-exercise recovery aid
    • Enhanced fuel replacement, increased post-exercise MPS, enhanced growth factor expression, and/or reduced exercise-induced muscle damage and inflammation
    • Supplementation draws water into the muscle cell
    • Hyper-hydration
    • Inhibits protein breakdown and RNA degradation, and stimulates glycogen, protein, DNA, and RNA synthesis
    • Sports performance enhancer
    • Increase fat-free mass, strength, and fatigue resistance
    • Intracellular environment that encourages better recovery
    • Between short-term bouts of exercise and during long-term training

Curcumin

    • Component of the spice turmeric and is often used to reduce inflammation
    • 5 g/day of curcumin reduced DOMS 24 and 48 h after high-intensity muscle-damaging exercise
    • Endurance exercise trials have not produced significant reductions in DOMS or inflammatory markers
    • Supplementation with curcumin may be beneficial for athletes participating in high-intensity exercise with a significant eccentric load

Bromelain

    • Proteolytic enzyme found in both the stem and fruit of pineapple
    • Studied as a treatment for a number of inflammatory conditions in humans
    • May be a benefit when used in combination with other protease inhibitors
    • More research is needed to understand the potential effects of proteases on
    • DOMS in athletes as well as the underlying physiological mechanisms

Gelatin/Collagen and Vitamin C

    • The idea of supplementing with gelatin/collagen and vitamin C is that it will provide the amino acid building blocks as well as the essential co-factor to promote great collagen synthesis
    • Gelatin is produced by partial hydrolysis of the collagen extracted from the skin, bones, and connective tissues of animals
    • Hydrolyzed collagen is further broken down so that it is soluble in water and no longer forms a gel
    • Gelatin can improve the collagen synthesis response to loading
    • Longer term supplementation with collagen hydrolysate has further been shown to improve cartilage function in patients with osteoarthritis
    • Strong data to suggest that supplementing gelatin and vitamin C can benefit connective tissues
    • Additional research is warranted to explore the benefit to athletes
    • Future research needed
    • Determine the dose and frequency

Nutritional Recommendations for Air Travel

    • Jet lag
    • Disruption of circadian rhythm
    • Nutrient timing and meal composition
    • Limited research to support such implementation with athletes
    • The results in animal models likely have limited application to athletes
    • 24-h food deprivation protocol prior to feeding
    • Athletes should focus on nutritional strategies to promote recovery during air travel
    • Unfamiliar food items could cause potential gastrointestinal distress
    • Important to plan ahead when traveling for competition and to pack non
    • perishable food items and fluids to help meet individual macronutrient and fluid needs to enhance recovery

Practical Applications

    • Athlete must consume a diet adequate in protein, carbohydrates, fat and micronutrients
    • Recovery meal
      • Protein: 0.25 – 0.3 g/kg
      • Carbohydrates: 1 – 1.2 g/kg
      • Dietary sources of antioxidants and n-3 PUFA

Conclusions

    • Protein, carbohydrates, and fluid are commonly acknowledged as important components of the recovery process
    • Specific micronutrients and supplements may also play key roles in athletic recovery related to MPS/MPB, immune function, and mediating inflammation
    • Consuming antioxidants via whole foods in the diet provides anti-inflammatory benefits while limiting the negative impact supplemental antioxidant intake can have on training adaptations
    • A nutrient-dense diet consumed throughout the day, in combination with a few selected supplements, can support the athletes’ recovery goals during the competitive season

 

After completing protocol; here are some complementary methods:

  1. Sauna Protocol
  2. NormaTec Recovery System
  3. Stim or Compex Protocol