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You do your best to eat a healthy diet, but when you sustain an injury, your food becomes about more than just fueling workouts; it becomes about helping your body recover. An injury means that you should shift your perspective on nutrition from giving yourself the energy to get through the day, to fighting inflammation and promoting repair. Cleaning up your diet while you’re recovering can help your injury heal faster and get you back on your feet sooner.
Vitamin A helps your body produce white blood cells, which can fight infection. This is important because infection is a risk with any injury. Vitamin C is known to promote faster and better healing of skin and flesh wounds, making it important for injuries that involve broken, cut, or scraped the skin. Vitamin C can also help repair cartilage and connective tissues by encouraging the production of collagen, an essential protein used to build blood vessels, bone cells, and scar tissue. You can find these crucial vitamins in abundance in foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, broccoli, kale, strawberries, oranges, and peppers.
Protein is a critical building block in the creation of new cells. Lean meats are rich in protein, making them one of your best allies when it comes to recovering from an injury. Some proteins function as bridges between damaged tissues, helping with their repair. That means that eating meat is a meaningful way you can help ensure optimal healing. In particular, fish offers not only protein but also omega-3 fatty acids, which quell the inflammation that can interfere with the healing of injuries such as sprained ligaments, bone fractures, and tendinitis. Be sure to include plenty of fish such as tuna, salmon, and trout in your diet as well as lean turkey, chicken, and sirloin. Milk and eggs are also excellent sources of protein.
Fortified cereal contains zinc, a mineral proven to boost the immune system and help wounds heal. Red meat contains lots of zinc, but so do fortified cereals, with some delivering 100% of your recommended daily allowance in just one serving. You don’t need to overdo it on zinc – in fact, too much of this potent mineral may suppress your immune system and lower your HDL (good) cholesterol. Cereal and other whole-grain carbohydrates in moderate amounts supply plenty of zinc for optimal healing. Also, ensuring that you consume enough carbs helps ensure that your body uses the protein you eat for healing and repairs.
Vitamin D and calcium are especially crucial in nutrition if you have a bone-related injury. Some foods contain vitamin D, but this particular vitamin is more natural to get from supplements or even from the sun. However, if you’re spending most of your time indoors recovering from an injury, you aren’t likely to be getting enough sunlight for your body to produce sufficient amounts. Particularly if you usually avoid dairy, you can benefit from a supplement. Always discuss all supplements you take with your doctor to be sure they are safe for you, but do ask whether you should be taking calcium and vitamin D while you recover.
At Redefine Healthcare, our specialists are board-certified, highly educated, and rigorously trained in various fields, including pain management, neurosurgery, orthopedic spine surgery, chiropractic care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychiatry, and podiatry. Many of our doctors have earned the prestigious Castle Connolly Top Doctors recognition from their peers. We prioritize listening to your concerns, identifying the root cause of your pain, and determining the most effective treatment plan to provide quick relief and prevent future conditions. With advanced non-surgical pain rehabilitation, our New Jersey centers in Union, Edison, and Paterson offer top-tier care for severe and chronic pain.

Orthopedics
Orthopedics
Spine Surgery
Orthopedics
Orthopedics • Spine Surgery
Pain Management
Orthopedics
Chiropractic • Mental Health • Orthopedics • Pain Management • Physical Therapy • Spine Surgery • Surgery Center • Vascular
Orthopedics
Orthopedics • Pain Management • Physical Therapy
3100 Hingston Ave, Suite 104
Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234
Spine Surgery
Urgent Care
Pain Management
Pain Management • Spine Surgery
Pain Management
Pain Management • Spine Surgery
Pain Management • Spine Surgery • Surgery Center
Pain Management
Orthopedics
Spine Surgery
Mental Health • Pain Management • Spine Surgery
Orthopedics • Pain Management • Physical Therapy
Spine Surgery
Chiropractic • Pain Management • Spine Surgery
Pain Management
Orthopedics • Pain Management • Physical Therapy
Orthopedics • Pain Management • Physical Therapy
Pain Management • Physical Therapy
Pain Management
Pain Management
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Pain Management
Pain Management • Spine Surgery
Orthopedics
Pain Management • Spine Surgery
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Orthopedics
80 Route 4, Suite 100
Paramus, NJ 07652
Chiropractic • Pain Management • Physical Therapy
Pain Management
Orthopedics • Pain Management • Physical Therapy • Vascular
Orthopedics
Orthopedics
Pain Management • Spine Surgery
1131 Broad St., Suite 104 Building A
Shrewsbury, NJ 07702
Orthopedics • Pain Management
Pain Management
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Orthopedics • Pain Management • Spine Surgery
Mental Health • Pain Management • Spine Surgery
521 County Route 515, Suite 3
Vernon, NJ 07462
Pain Management
Pain Management • Spine Surgery
Pain Management
Pain Management • Spine Surgery
Pain Management • Spine Surgery
Pain Management
Pain Management
Orthopedics • Pain Management
Urgent Care
Pain Management