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Food and exercise are two of the most important physical activities of our everyday lives. Interestingly enough, these two are interlinked—one stands to supplement the other and vice versa. How so? Let tell you. When you consume food, the ingested nutrients build up energy in your body, which then empowers it to withstand the strenuous exercise routines. Conversely, when you exercise, your body loses its energy store which then builds up an appetite for food. This way one leads to another, and you get fitter, healthy, and toned as a result.

Coming back to the topic at hand. Which essential nutrients should you consume in order to usher muscle-repair and stress-recovery while doing your favorite workout? Check out the top ones below.

Water

Listen to this fact. Your body is basically 60% water. This liquid ratio facilitates nutrient transfer and absorption. When you exercise, the ratio naturally drops given the increase in metabolism. That is why it is crucial that you stay hydrated throughout your workout session. Plus, you can jazz things up by dropping lemon, mint, and cucumber into the equation. Anything which increases your water intake will be beneficial. Check out more electrifying recipes for hydration online over your trusty internet connection.

Carbohydrates

Heard of glycogen? It’s a substance that creates glucose inside the body as a result of hydrolysis. This glucose, in turn, breaks up and builds energy. The created energy powers up the body. And the best glycogen-carrying nutrients are carbohydrates, mostly found in whole grains, beans, veggies, etc.

Protein

Let’s get this straight. You lose quite a bit of muscle mass during a heavy workout session. In order to repair that damage specifically, you need to eat a protein-rich diet following the routine. This includes eggs, beans, lean meats, seafood, dairy, and soy, etc. You can alternate this with protein shakes, to introduce variety.

Vitamin D

This is a tricky element. Though it is abundantly available in the form of sunshine (bathe as much as you can!), yet it’s not openly present in many foods, which necessitates taking the help of extra supplements. Its benefits include bone-strengthening, muscle maintenance, testosterone balancing, mental health improvement, and whatnot. You can consume fatty fish, fortified yogurt, eggs, orange juice, mushroom, and milk, etc. to replenish your Vitamin D stores.

B12

Being a part of the whole Vitamin B complex, this element is especially important. Can you guess why? Because it assists in red blood cell creation! Blood, which carries oxygen and nutrients to the sore muscles in order to repair them. That is why you need to consume this vitamin most of all post-workout. The foods which naturally contain it are poultry, dairy, meat, and fish—all protein-rich groups.

Calcium

One word: Bones. Super important to keep things in place and to support your body weight. Calcium is the mineral that reinforces bone strength. Not only that, it aids in muscle contraction—a significant move that releases ATP and boosts metabolism. Calcium-rich foods include yogurt, cheese, spinach, tofu, and milk, etc.

Magnesium

Often what happens is that you try a new workout move and pull a muscle as a result. This lack of elasticity is attributed to the deficiency of a mineral known as magnesium. This element is responsible for bringing relaxation to your stressed muscles and for preventing cramps. You can increase the magnesium in your diet by eating more leafy greens, nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans, and squash, etc.

Potassium

Which electrolyte helps your kidneys to flush out excess sodium from your body and smoothly carry nutrients to your muscle cells? Potassium, you guessed it. Best sources include bananas, salmon, broccoli, squash, chicken and sweet potatoes, etc.

The list goes on. But for now, these essential ones will do the job of recharging your body and prepare it for further exercise.

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