Foods to aid your recovery

Following on from my post about the importance of rest and recovery. When to take a rest day.

I thought it would be useful to talk about some of the foods that you can use to further help your body recover.

Beetroot

Beetroot has been shown to greatly reduce muscle soreness after intense exercise. Researchers have found that drinking beetroot juice regularly can have a significant benefit to muscle recovery.

Ginger

The active component in ginger, gingerol has been found to have similar properties to that of of the active agent in aspirin. It is said to be able to reduce muscle soreness by around a quarter. There has been a lot of research into the antiinflammatory effects of ginger.

Caffeine

Studies have shown that ingesting caffeine 30 minutes prior to exercise can reduce the onset of muscle soreness. A study by the university of Illinois set out to show that the effect of caffeine on muscle soreness is grrater in those that consume small amounts of caffeine. Although the study ended up showing little difference between high and low consumers, it did show that some level of caffeine consumption lessens the effects of fatigue on muscles.

Turmeric

Turmeric root is known to relax muscles, ease pain and improve mobility.

There are many other foods that can have a great impact on the effectiveness of your recovery. Remember that no one thing will do the trick, rest is also vital in muscle recovery.