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EATING PROTEIN HELPS ATHLETES RECOVER FASTER
Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
Exciting new research shows that eating extra protein helps you to recover faster from a hard work out.
Training for sports in done by taking a hard workout and then having sore muscles on the next day.
Then you take easy workouts at a slow pace or you take off until the soreness disappears. Your muscles
grow and heal while you recover. Of course, if you could recover faster from a hard workout, you could
do more work and be a better athlete.
Scientists have known for years that you will recover faster by eating carbohydrates after you finish
your hard workout, and the sooner you eat, the quicker you will recover. Eating extra protein on the day
that you take hard workouts helps you recover even faster. Chronic muscle fatigue in athletes is
associated with low blood levels of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins (1). Eating extra protein
reduces muscle damage during hard exercise (2). Eating carbohydrates along with a protein building
block called leucine helps you to recover even faster(3). Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and
beans and meat or vegetarian protein foods immediately after a hard workout. The so-called branched
chain amino acids can be converted to sugar and also help to form and rebuild muscle after a hard
workout.
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