Regular exercise is a crucial step in building muscle. Progression, however, doesn’t come without a healthy diet. Do you follow a plant-based diet and want to build more muscle? Are you looking for more reasons to add delicious plant-powered food to your diet but aren’t sure plant-based foods can aid your muscle recovery? You have come to the right place! A solid plant-based diet can make all the difference in how your body builds and recovers muscle tissue after a workout.
Plant-Based Foods Promote Muscle Strength and Recovery
Plant-based diets focus primarily on unprocessed and unrefined plant foods, such as whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits. Many of these foods contain high amounts of minerals used in muscle recovery, and numerous plant-based foods are also high in protein to build and maintain muscle. Eating a plant-based diet doesn't mean you have to cut out meat entirely, but rather increase your intake of leafy greens and other whole foods (especially beets!).
A growing number of physical therapists are advocating for a stronger focus on plant-based nutrition in traditional physical therapy programs. Since the majority of chronic conditions are due to both a bad diet and a lack of physical activity, focusing equally on these two facets will positively impact your overall wellbeing.
Improving your diet can help prevent a number of mobility issues, including soreness, stiffness, and pressure on your joints. But how exactly can eating plant-based foods result in faster muscle recovery?
6 WAYS PLANT-BASED FOODS SUPPORT MUSCLE RECOVERY (and Benefits of a Plant-Powered Diet)
1. INCREASES MUSCLE BLOOD FLOW
Incorporating fruits and vegetables that are chock-full of natural nitrates into your diet can help speed up the flow of blood to your muscles. Different compounds in produce can help relax and widen blood vessels, allowing for a quicker blood flow. For instance, beet juice can help increase your nitric oxide conversion, which can help lower systolic blood pressure.
When blood flow improves from a greater intake of fruits and veggies, your muscles begin performing better. This is because your heart does not have to work as hard to pump blood throughout the body. Plant-based diets can help speed up this blood flow and clean out your arteries in the process!
To boost your blood flow, try this deliciously healthy Beet Juice Recipe and learn How to Juice Beets (and Why You Want to!)
2. AIDS IN MUSCLE GROWTH
Fruits and vegetables are some of your body’s most substantial sources of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Adding more greens to your diet can prevent you from overeating since they are very fibrous and require a longer digestion period. High-fiber vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and beets are especially helpful in fat loss. As a result, your metabolism will improve, help build muscle, and burn more fat.
Switching to a plant-based dietary regimen encourages this fat-burning process and increases athletic performance and endurance. Improving these qualities will result in a leaner body mass and subsequently a quicker recovery time for muscles.
3. STORES AND BOOSTS ENERGY
Plant-based diets include foods made up of complex carbohydrates. Fruits and vegetables are high in a complex carbohydrate known as cellulose. Once cellulose releases into the body, it becomes glycogen, which muscles use to store energy.
The more plant foods you incorporate into your diet, the easier the body stores glycogen. When muscles retain glycogen for longer periods, it allows for easier muscle recovery. This is why nutritionists recommend avoiding super starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, in favor of vegetables with more cellulose that do not digest as fast, such as bell peppers or broccoli.
4. DECREASES MUSCLE INFLAMMATION
Most vegetables and fruits are high in nutrients that support many of the body’s functions, including preventing soreness and inflammation. Beets are a great example of high potassium produce that can aid the body in boosting energy and recovering muscle tissue, which then relieves pain from inflamed muscles.
Plant foods are high in polyphenols, which are anti-inflammatory micronutrients that offer extra protection for your heart and muscles. Processed foods and sugar are highly inflammatory to the cardiovascular system, so shifting to a more plant-based diet can ultimately help prevent it. Adding plant-based polyphenols as fresh foods or natural supplements into your diet will help boost energy and reduce inflammation.
5. IMPROVES TISSUE OXYGENATION
One of the key benefits of a plant-based diet is the lack of cholesterol and saturated fats. This allows for oxygen molecules to more easily enter the body’s tissues and blood, which is a process known as “tissue oxygenation.” As a result, blood then flows more quickly to your muscles.
As mentioned above, when blood can flow more easily to the muscles, it helps boost the energy used for muscle recovery. Incorporating more vegetables, such as green beans and carrots, and fruits, such as berries and citrus fruits, into your diet can help speed up this process of tissue oxygenation.
6. PROMOTES CELL RESTORATION
You will see much greater intakes of several key vitamins after switching to a plant-based diet. Antioxidant vitamins, such as beta carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E play an important role in muscle cell development. You’ll most commonly find these in colorful fruits and veggies, especially beets!
When the body sees an increase in antioxidant activity, it promotes the body’s natural healing and restoration of cells, which allows speedy muscle recovery. That’s why nutritionists emphasize oranges and other citrus fruits, all of which are high in vitamin C, as key components of a balanced diet.
Overall, if you’re looking to improve your muscle’s ability to recuperate after an intense workout or an injury, making the switch to a more plant-based diet is the way to go. Not only will your body recover better, but you’ll feel better too! For more information on plant-based foods, check out the following info-graph for 6 benefits of a plant-powered diet.
Meet the Author
Julian Carter is a Journalist and Content Marketing Writer specializing in a variety of industries, including health and lifestyle, tech, and finance. He enjoys writing about new and exciting revelations within an industry, as well as writing for informational and educational purposes. You can find him on Twitter @JulianBCarter or on LinkedIn.
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