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