DOMS EAT it away.

Are you still suffering from DOMS for a week after Exercise? Still wasting time and taking hours and hours asking Dr. Google, how to deal with it? Come on close that tab, let me tell you this: “you can actually eat it away without doing much.” You heard me right. “You can Eat it away”.

Before I tell you how, let us go back to square one. What is DOMS? Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) occurs when a person is repeatedly exposed to high eccentric muscle contractions or unaccustomed exercise. It increase after exercise and peaks between 24 and 48 hours after exercise. It is the one that stopping you from getting a gold medal. It is the one that turn your day into a Hell day. So how do we stop them?

According to research we can actually deal with them with “Nutritional intervention”. Foods or drinks which rich with caffeine, Omega-3 fatty acid, Taurine and polyphenol.

Caffeine is a very effective nutritional agent for reducing DOMS after exercise, (Hurley et al., 2013). Caffeine can reduce DOMS by deactivating the central nervous system as it acts as an adenosine antagonist. It is said that 5 mg/kg of caffeine would reduce DOMS 24-48 hours after exercise.

Omega-3 fatty acid has been claimed that it can regulate inflammatory response, as it contain EPA and DHA. By consuming omega-3 fatty acid it reduced the synthesis of eicosanoids, leukotriene, thromboxane and prostaglandin associated with inflammatory response. (Phillips et al, 2003).Thus 1.8–3 g of omega-3 fatty acid ingestion may be effective on reducing DOMS after exercise. (Tartibian et al., 2009)

Taurine is a doppelganger amino acids as it is chemistry similar, it is crucial in several of the body’s metabolic processes. It has lots of biological functions like osmoregulation, membrane stabilization and even as an antioxidant. Many researchers try their best to prove the effectiveness of Taurine in reducing inflammatory response with papers and results, and they conclude that 50 mg/kg/day of Taurine can reduce inflammatory response, 14 days before and 7 days after exercise. (Silva et al., 2011).

Polyphenol are secondary metabolites of plants and are generally involved in defense against ultraviolet radiation or aggression by pathogens. The biological functions of polyphenol are antioxidant capacity and anti-inflammation. Many nutritional interventions rich in polyphenol have been examined like pomegranate, cherries, and blueberries. It is said that 250 mL, twice/day of pomegranate, 7 days before and 8 days after exercise does reduce the DOMS. (Trombold et al., 2011).

So after reading all these, what do you think? Let me guess. What are the foods rich in all these?

Well here you go :

Caffeine                                 

1. Coffee
2. Sodas
3. Green Tea
4. Energy Drinks
5. Black Tea
6. Dark Chocolate
7. Cola Nut
8. Guarana

Taurine

1. Scallops
2. Tuna
3. Tilapia
4. Octopus
5. Turkey
6. Chicken
7. Seaweed
8. Beef

Article by

Nathan

Your Physio Sri Petaling