Anti-Inflammatory Foods and Muscle Soreness
Janet Foster has been a Registered Dietitian for 23 years. She is a graduate from the University of Nevada Reno with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics. Married to William Foster, they are proud parents of Abby Foster and Nick Foster.
Muscle soreness, or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), is an inflammatory response to overuse of muscles. This can be caused by training beyond what the body is normally used to, or for wrestlers, a very exhausting and all-day tournament of multiple matches. There are many foods that have been shown to accelerate recovery and reduce the inflammation, thus pain associated with DOMS.
Eating anti-inflammatory foods have been shown to quicken the recovery process with sore muscles. Examples of these foods are tomatoes, olive oil, leafy greens, such as spinach, fish, especially salmon and tuna, and fruits. The fruits with the best results are blueberries and particularly cherries.
Concentrated cherry sources such as dried cherries, and cherry juice, have been shown to provide good recovery and are both are easy to consume, such as using in a smoothies or trail mix. Cherries contain catechin, a powerful antioxidant, and anthocyanin, which is a pigment that give red, purple and blue fruits and vegetables their color. Anthocyanin, like catechin, provides anti-inflammatory roles in alleviating muscle soreness.
Turmeric has also been shown to serve as an anti-inflammatory agent. Turmeric is a spice derived from a plant that has shown many health benefits especially as they are related to anti-inflammatory properties, such as in arthritis and gout. It is an antioxidant that reduces free radicals, and thus, may be preventative for some cancers.
A study with athletes provided results of decreased muscle soreness for those who took Turmeric, compared to athletes who did not. Turmeric can be found in tea form, curry, and other Indian dishes, in pill supplement form, and even as a latte–as this spice has gained recent popularity for all of its health benefits.
Relief from muscle soreness may be easier to obtain and closer than you think. Just reaching in your spice cabinet or produce compartment in the refrigerator, could not only alleviate your pain, but also provide many other health benefits. Foods such as cherries, blueberries, fish and turmeric containing curries, are not only delicious, but they are healthier than reaching for a pain reliever pill. –Janet Foster, RD, LD