Nutrition for Injury and Immune

This week's focus of being a Bruin is using nutrition to speed recovery or prevent injury or illness!  Bruin athletes know the value of good nutrition for performance, but they also see the value of eating quality foods to protect and heal the body from injury or illness!
Our nutrition department implemented a "Nutrition for Injury" to help our athletes get back on the playing field faster, stronger than ever!

Nutrition for Injury

Speed Recovery and Minimize Lean Body Mass Loss

Calorie Needs and Metabolism

During the first 1-2 weeks after injury, your body actually uses more energy (15-50%) than normal to:

-       react to the injury

-       start the healing process

-       build new tissue

Under-eating can impair your body’s immune response!

Aim for 6 small meals per day with moderate amount of carbohydrate.

(Fill ½ of your plate with vegetables at meals)

Macronutrient (Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat) Needs:

Carbohydrate- Strive for quality carbohydrate sources (whole grains, fruits, low-fat milk). Minimize refined grains like sweets, desserts, and low fiber starches.

Protein- Goal is the have about 1 g protein per pound of body

Fat- 30% of your calories should come from fat. The goal is to increase your omega-3 fat sources and reduce your intake of omega-6, saturated and trans fat sources.

Foods to Choose Daily:

·       ­­­Eat healthy fats

o   Omega-3 fatty acids in healthy fats have natural anti-inflammatory action, which reduces inflammation during healing. Other healthy fats from foods like nuts, ground flax or chia seeds, avocado, and olive oil can also help healing.

·      Eat variety of fruits and vegetables

o   Colorful foods are high in antioxidants, phytochemicals (special plant chemicals) and important vitamins & minerals that help healing.

o   Strive for at least 5-9 servings per day (1 cup-fist size = 1 serving) and choose the rainbow! * Make sure you are steaming or roasting with olive oil or water instead of using butter, vegetable oil, or margarine.

·      Consume lean protein sources at meals and snacks

·      Stay hydrated

o   Your body needs nutrients but also water as building blocks to repair tissue.

o   General recommendation:  About 100 oz per day for men, about 64 oz per day for women (this includes drinks like low-fat milk, tea, or sports drinks).

·      Get in adequate Vitamin A and C and Zinc

o   Vitamin A enhances and supports early inflammation during injury, reverses post-injury immune suppression, and assists in collagen formation

o   Vitamin C is an important antioxidant and immune system booster. It also pays a role in the formation of collagen.

o   Zinc is a particularly important nutrient in the body’s repair process.

·       Questions and want an individualized recovery plan: Schedule with Emily Mitchell, MS, RD, CSSD, CDE-Director of Sports Nutrition or Ema Thake- Assistant Sports Dietitian

·       Email: emitchell@athletics.ucla.edu and ethake@athletics.ucla.edu

Macronutrient/Micronutrient Sources	Eat Daily	Limit
Fats	Omega-3 and Monounsaturated Sources: salmon, canned tuna, walnuts, ground flaxseed, ground chia seeds and pumpkin or sunflower seeds or a fish oil supplement (see sports RD for recommended brand and dose), olive oil, almonds, pecans, peanuts, cashews, canola oil	bacon, butter, cream cheese, lard, sour cream and corn, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, and soybean Oils
Proteins	salmon, white meat chicken or turkey, eggs, low-fat cheese, tofu, beans, lentils, Greek yogurt, nut butters	High fat red meat (prime rib, hamburgers), dark meat chicken and turkey
Vitamin A	sweet potato, yams, winter squash, kale, spinach, carrots, oranges, cantaloupe, apricots, tomatoes
Vitamin C	papaya, red bell pepper, Brussels sprouts, strawberries, oranges, cantaloupe, kiwi, kale, cauliflower
Zinc	lean meats, yogurt, beans, almonds, hummus and non-sugary fortified cereals

Utilizing Fuel Around Activity

These week's Bruin Mantra focus is on using fuel around your workouts and competition!  These concept really addresses the importance of our first two topics of the year- Breakfast Everyday and Recovery Nutrition!

Fueling Around Your Activity

Proper nutrition and fueling is vital around training and workouts. Without eating at the right time and eating the right kinds of foods your body is unable to perform its best as well as unable to fully recover the way it needs to. Proper nutrition and hydration may be sport dependent however the tips below are basics to be followed.

During Training Days:

Hydrate well throughout the day! A 2% reduction in body weight can affect your performance and reduce your energy levels.

Eat nutritionally dense foods every 2-3 hours to keep fueled throughout the day. (Snack on nuts, nut butters, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, cheese, whole-wheat crackers) That means planning ahead and bringing snacks with you to class and practice!

  Aim for well-balanced meals that have a combination of carbohydrates, lean protein, and healthy fats (Ideas: brown rice, quinoa, whole-wheat bread/crackers, corn tortillas, black beans, chicken breast, steamed vegetables, salads, nuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, and olive oil to cook with)

Pre-workout/training:

  Ideally it is best to eat a meal 2-3 hours before that contains a balance of all nutrients. Focus on complex carbohydrates, lean meats, and healthy fats.

 If unable to eat a meal 2-3 hours before, have a healthy snack (simple carbohydrate – fruit, milk, cereal) 30 minutes before workout.

  Make sure you are hydrated.  Have at least one cup of fluid prior to practice.

Post-workout/training:

  To repair and build muscle: It is important to fuel within 30 minutes after your workout, especially after strength training exercise. Consider a snack high in protein and rich in carbohydrate. (Muscle Milk, Chocolate Milk, Greek Yogurt, or String Cheese with Fresh Fruit)

  Within two hours of completing your workout, you will still need to consume a meal. It is important to eat a meal that contains fiber-rich carbohydrates, protein and fat to help restore glycogen, repair tissues and repair muscle. A healthy meal can include: salad with nuts, quinoa and lean protein; plate packed with steamed vegetables, a lean protein and a healthy whole-wheat carbohydrate source (whole-wheat pasta, brown rice); homemade meatballs with spaghetti squash and mozzarella cheese.

  To help cure inflammation and muscle soreness: fuel with antioxidants or cherry juice, which are known to have flavonoids and anthocyanins. You can make a home-made trail mix with dried cherries, almonds, and dark chocolate chips!

  After aerobic or anaerobic exercise it is important to rehydrate and replenish electrolyte and water losses with Powerade, Coconut Water, or regular water. If you have access to a scale: Measure your weight before and after workouts. For every 1lb lost, replenish with 2-3 cups of water.

Put this into your practice, EACH and EVERY Day because that is how Bruin Athletes Excel!

Fueling Bruins,

Emily Mitchell, MS, RD, CSSD, CDE

Contributions by Dietetic Intern Yasi Ansari