Sports Injury

Q: I am a sports athlete and an extremely athletic person.  I am interested in adding supplements to my daily routine to keep my body healthy enough for athletic activity and to prevent sports injuries. Can you recommend any supplements and additional information that would be beneficial for my athletic routine? A: You can prevent most sports injuries with good nutrition.  A healthy, well-nourished body can withstand stress, and if the occasional accident occurs, it can self-repair quickly, often overnight. The problem is the modern diet doesn’t supply the nutrients needed to build strong and resilient bones and tissues. For example, the intake of magnesium, a mineral needed to build bone and produce energy, and in many of the body’s enzymatic reactions, has been declining steadily over the past 100 years.  At the turn of the century, average intake was about 500 mg a day; by 1994, that average had dropped to 175-225 mg a day – less than half!  Small wonder that government surveys have found most Americans are deficient in this critical nutrient. Studies done in 1986 and 1987 found that male football and basketball players and gymnasts were getting only about 70% of the RDA, while women runners were getting considerably less. Magnesium is only one of many nutrients needed every day to build a strong, healthy body, yet most Americans are short on several vitamins and minerals.  The reasons for this are many and varied, but the main point is that everyone these days, especially athletes, needs to be taking nutrition a lot more seriously.  We need to eat a nutrient-dense, plant-based diet, with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and forego toxic “foods” like sugar, refined flour, processed oils and dairy/excess animal protein.  But even with the best diet, high quality supplements have become essential. Exercise is wonderful for health, but it also exacts a toll – depleting the body of minerals (lost in sweat), glutamine (an amino acid used to make repairs)  and anti-oxidant nutrients.  As a result, those who test their physical limits regularly without ensuring optimal nutrition are prone to infections as well as injuries. At minimum, every athlete should be on a superior multi, essential fatty acids and extra vitamin C, but for truly effective health maintenance and injury prevention, extra minerals (especially magnesium), vitamin E, a detox formula, CoQ10, and quercitin should be added to this regimen.  For extra anti-inflammatory support, use flax seed oil on your salads and include fish or fish oil supplements. Should an injury occur, you don’t have to resort to destructive drugs like cortisone or NSAIDS.  For pain relief take vitamin C “to bowel tolerance” with maximum doses of quercitin, curcumin and MSM.  To hasten repair and ensure complete recovery, use glucosamine and glutamine.  Extra magnesium can help with muscle tightness, stiffness or spasm, as will an Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate) bath.  Proteolytic enzymes help to quell inflammation. Make sure your supplements are “high quality” by buying from sources you trust.  Cheaply made supplements aren’t only far less effective, they can actually be harmful.  So insist on the best. Nothing is as frustrating to an athlete as being incapacitated by an injury for weeks or months, and if not treated properly, injuries can lead to chronic problems. Avoid getting injuries with daily nutrition, and keep repair supplements on hand should an unavoidable injury occur.  For more information call Beyond Health at 1-800-250-3063.