In terms of injury, in the first phases, inflammation is actually a good thing as it aids in recovery, but if that inflammation becomes chronic; it actually breaks the body down, and that’s definitely not a good thing. (Precision Nutrition has a great info-graphic that discusses injury and nutrition…you can access it here.

To speed up recovery time, what we eat and drink are really important as it can help or us or hinder the healing process.

So what should we be eating to combat inflammation?

Lots of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats such as avocado, seeds and nuts, fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel, olive oil, tumeric, garlic, ginger, organic apple cider vinegar- just to name a few. These are all natural anti-inflammatory foods and should make up a good portion of your diet while recovering from injury.

What should we avoid?

You probably guessed it. Highly processed foods, sugar, oils such as canola and safflower, fried foods and processed meats.

With some people gluten and dairy can be an issue too. I know for me, my arthritis becomes very fired up if I consume wheat or corn.

Damn!!

I love my hubby’s homemade organic popcorn made with coconut oil….but my joints don’t!

If you suffer from chronic pain or injuries, I recommend keeping a food journal and logging any pain you feel after eating certain foods. Sometimes it may take a day or two for the inflammation to really kick in so just be aware of that.

I recommend adding anti-inflammatory foods daily even if you don’t have pain or injuries. Taking these steps can help everyone in the long run.  They can be easy to incorporate into every meal and snack throughout the day & you’ll feel better and recover faster in the long run!