Foods For Muscle Recovery After Workout

Try including these food items in your diet for post-workout muscle recovery

foods for post-workout recovery

(Photo: iStockphoto)

People have started to be more active and have begun to include exercises or yoga to stay active in their day-to-day life. There are two kinds of people- ones who include light yoga in their lifestyle while few are fitness freaks and get their dopamine from strenuous exercises. If you are into working out or long-distance biking or trail running, you might be experiencing occasional exercise-induced muscle soreness.

Muscle soreness can be extremely uncomfortable and may affect your workouts and day-to-day activities. There are various strategies to reduce soreness and muscle damage. Thus here are a few foods that can speed up muscle recovery and reduce soreness.

1. Tart Cherry Juice

Tart cherry juice can benefit both trained athletes and gym-goers. Research has proved that tart cherry juice can promote muscle recovery and reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness.

DOMS is a type of muscle injury that is caused due to intense exercise. It can cause painful restriction of movement, swelling, and stiffness. If your further continue to exercise, it can increase oxidative stress, cellular damage, and inflammation.

Tart cherry juice is an anti-inflammatory food that contains plant compounds called anthocyanins. They have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that help reduce perceived soreness and exercise-induced muscle damage.

Regular consumption of tart cherry juice accelerates muscle recovery, reduces the symptoms of DOMS, and prevents inflammation after exercise.

2. Watermelon

Watermelon is extremely hydrating besides being filled with essential nutrients. Research has proved that regular consumption of watermelon or watermelon juice can promote muscle recovery after exercise.

Watermelon is rich in the amino acid L-citrulline and helps in building block for proteins, Moreover, the antioxidant increase the production of nitric oxide (NO) that promote blood circulation to muscles and improve cellular energy. Thus, watermelon juice might reduce muscle soreness and muscle damage post-exercise.

Watermelon helps promote exercise performance and recovery and contains carbs, amino acids, and antioxidants that makes it a healthy choice for exercise enthusiasts.

3. Fatty Fish

Fatty fish like sardines, salmon, and trout are filled with nutrients that yare essential for for muscle recovery. Fish is a highly bioavailable source of protein that promotes muscle repair after exercise-induced damage.

Fatty fish also contains omega-3 fats that may reduce DOMS, help fight inflammation, and boost muscle growth.

4. Pomegranate juice

Pomegranate juice is a rich source of polyphenols, plant compounds that possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Thus regular drinking of pomegranate juice may benefit muscle recovery.

Research proved that pomegranate juice reduced the release of a marker of oxidative stress called malondialdehyde (MDA) and increased antioxidant defenses, indicating that the drink could promote muscle recovery, may decrease DOMS, and reduce inflammatory markers.

5. Beetroot

Beetroots are loaded with dietary nitrates and pigments called betalains and are rich in dietary nitrates that help send oxygen to your muscles and improve the efficiency of mitochondria. Betalains may also help reduce inflammation and oxidative damage.

It is advisable to drink beetroot juice immediately, 24 hours after, and 48 hours after completing the strenuous exercise for reduced muscle soreness and faster muscle recovery.