Indian cuisine is considered one of the healthiest in the world. Extremely numerous spices, fresh ingredients, fish and lean meats mean that we can find among the plates of residents of the subcontinent makes that such ailments as cancer and joint pain occur 5 times less often there than in the USA.
Diet impact on injuries
Meals are also widely used in the prevention of injury, in the daily diet of athletes, alleviating the symptoms of muscle pain or acting as an anti-inflammatory agent. And all this is due to just several spices - cinnamon, ginger and turmeric. Injuries are nearly the daily basis of people practising sports, but in the extremal situation, they can exclude us from physical activity for a long time. Fortunately, this can be countered on a daily basis by introducing aftermentioned spices to the menu. Certainly, it’s not all that we can do! A healthy lifestyle is also adequate food and rest.
Spices suitable for athletes - properties and prevention
Turmeric
Turmeric contains an ingredient called curcumin. We owe it the most of pro-health properties of turmeric. First, it prevents the activation of cancer cells, reducing the risk of cancer. It also contains nutraceuticals that are responsible for helping proper muscle and joint reactions - they have anti-inflammatory, analgesic, bactericidal and swelling-reducing effects.
This intensely yellow spice should also be a permanent part of the diet of diabetics or people who want to lose weight by accelerating metabolism. Now, however, the question arises what to do with this knowledge and how to actually use turmeric to benefit from it.
All we have to do is experiment with cooking and introduce Indian curry or marinated roasted meat. When supplementing, we should be able to take benefits of using just one teaspoon of turmeric per day, even in the form of a dissolved portion of it in the water.
An alternative might be dietary supplements containing at least 400-600 mg of extract. In demanding cases, for example before exhausting training, we can take such portion 3 times a day. It is worth remembering that turmeric itself is hardly absorbable, but it is enough to combine it with black or red pepper to get better efficiency.
Ginger
Ginger is used mainly as meals additive, with gingerbread at the forefront. However, we do not realize that this spice is a constant component of anti-inflammatory, warming up drugs dedicated to athletes and physically active people. Ginger contains, among other gingerol and zingerone, which reduce muscle pain even by 25%! That is why specialists recommend eating fresh ginger, dried root leaves or ginger supplements during or after training. However, this inconspicuous spice can also do a lot in the case of losing weight process and additionally reduce the effects of motion sickness. It is also a godsend for people who have bad breath - chewing ginger reduces unpleasant breathing smell.
Prevention of injury and spices, i.e. the mysterious power of daily diet
Ginger, cinnamon, turmeric - and an oriental trio with anti-inflammatory properties. These are spices that should appear in your daily, balanced diet. We can serve them with sea fish, nuts (great source of omega-3 fatty acids) as well as garlic, thanks to which we will strengthen their actions. Sometimes it is just enough to take a closer look at friends from another continent and get inspired by their cuisine to keep your health at the optimal level!
