Proper nutrition can help you manage post-exercise muscle tissue inflammation
When you think of inflammation, you probably think of the pain and swelling you experience after you suffer an acute injury, such as an ankle sprain, or an overuse injury, such as tendonitis. But exercise scientists have recently discovered that inflammation has a much more pervasive impact on athletes than was previously thought. It is now known that every hard workout triggers a less severe and less localized inflammation response affecting the muscles and joint tissues. Over time this type of inflammation may affect your performance and health even more than an ankle sprain.
In competitive athletes who train hard every day, post-exercise inflammation may become chronic, thereby compromising recovery from workouts, limiting your body’s adaptations to training, and increasing the likelihood of overuse injuries. The good news is that there are various methods you can use to “tame the flame”. By better managing post-exercise inflammation, you can recover faster, enhance your fitness adaptations, perform better in workouts and competitions, and possibly avoid injuries.
Proper training practices are essential to limit inflammation. Nutrition is also helpful. Here are the top anti-inflammatory nutrients that you must include in your diet.
Glutamine
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in skeletal muscle and is consumed at a high rate by the muscles during exercise. Glutamine is also an important fuel source for immune system cells, including Neutrophils, which are an important type of white blood cell that plays an essential role in muscle tissue repair following exercise. The effectiveness of neutrophils is determined in part by the fatty acid composition of their cell membranes.
Brazilian researchers recently investigated the effects of a single bout of exercise, a single dose of supplemental glutamine, and the combination of these two interventions on the fatty acids composition of neutrophil cell membranes. They found that exercise and glutamine supplementation had significant independent and combined effects on the fatty acid composition of neutrophil cell membranes that would likely alter their function.
All animal foods are good sources of glutamine. The single richest source of glutamine is whey protein.
Omega-3 Fats
As you’ve probably heard many times, the human body is unable to produce the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, which must therefore be obtained through the diet. These nutrients have a number of important biological functions that include the production of anti-inflammatory compounds called prostaglandins. Thus, eating a diet rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids may reduce the amount of post-exercise inflammation you experience. Good sources include fatty fish such as salmon and tuna, flax seeds and flax oil, walnuts, and soybean oil.
Phytonutrients
Phytonutrients are nonessential nutrients in plant foods, many of which function as antioxidants in the human body. Oxidative damage to muscle cells during and especially after workouts is a major trigger of inflammation. Therefore nutrients, including phytonutrients, that reduce oxidation also tend to limit inflammation.
There are literally thousands of individual types of antioxidant phytonutrients, only a fraction of which are known and classified. One of the most powerful known antioxidant phytonutrients is quercetin, a flavonoid found in onions, red wine, green tea, and berries. Quercetin prevents lipid peroxidation, or the destruction of fatty acids in cell membranes, which is a major cause of post-exercise muscle damage.
There is no need to go out of your way to increase the amount of quercetin or any other specific phytonutrient in your diet. Rather, you should aim for a high level of phytonutrient intake generally by eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Note that organic fruits and vegetables have higher levels of phytonutrients than nonorganic fruits and vegetables.
Whey Protein
Inflammation increases the body’s demand to produce glutathione, which is known as the body’s master antioxidant. The amino acid cysteine is a key ingredient in glutathione synthesis. Cysteine-rich protein sources such as whey increase circulating cysteine levels and boost glutathione production. Whey protein contains three to four times more bioavailable cysteine (i.e. cysteine in a form the body can readily use) than other proteins including casein and soy. Cysteine also happens to be the rate-limiting amino acid in glutathione synthesis.
Glutathione also regulates cytokine production. Cytokines are immune system messengers that play key roles in inflammation. Both free radical damage and chronic tissue inflammation create an increased demand for glutathione that creates competition with the liver for cysteine resources. Insofar as the liver loses out in this competition, there is less cysteine available for amino acid conservation and more muscle wasting. By providing an abundant supply of cysteine, whey protein reduces competition for cysteine between the immune system and the liver, leaving more cysteine available for amino acid conservation.
