Injury/Rehab Inflammation and Injuries - If You've run out of ideas...

micksolo

Debutant
Feb 10, 2011
123
2
AFL Club
Collingwood
Inflammation.

For people who struggle with lots of niggles, joint pain and injuries one possible solution is to go to an anti-inflammatory diet.

A very simple summary of how it works - Omega 6: Omega 3 fatty acid ratio should be as close to even as possible. Which is why Omega 3's (like fish oil) are so highly thought of.

Besides injuries, there's a lot of research which associates high omega 6: omega 3 with inflammation, metabolic syndrome, heart disease and a host of other nasty s**t. (Just google Omega 6 Omega 3 ratio to find out more).

That's not to say you should try to eliminate it completely, because it is still an essential fatty acid that your body cannot make by itself. What we're talking about here is reducing it and evening up your omega 6: omega 3 ratio as close as possible.

In the US its thought average omega 6: omega 3 ratio is about 20:1. In Australia its probably similar.

What are high sources of omega 6's? What are the things you should avoid?

It might surprise you, but a lot of the things that Doctors and nutritionists claim as being healthy foods are in fact extremely high in omega 6 fatty acids and can cause a great deal of inflammation.

Here's just a few
* Any vegetable oil - Canola, Margarine, Soy, Safflower. Pretty much any processed oil made from vegetables or seeds.
* Grains
* Grain Fed Meat / Dairy - because they are eating grains, soy and other stuff high in omega 6's.
* Most nuts and legumes - macadamia's being the exception.

Replace those things with:

* Natural, cold pressed oils like coconut oil, macadamia oil, butter from grass fed cows, olive oil.

* Grass fed, free range meat and dairy - The best way to tell if beef is grass fed is that the fat is a yellow or light brown color, or simply ask the butcher. Grain fed meat the fat is usually white and extremely marbled. You want "grass fed, grass finished" because often the grass fed animals are still finished on grain to fatten them up. Aldi sell very good grass fed beef for about $16 - $20 a kg, and its labelled grass fed.

* Get your carbs from starchy vegetables rather than grains - Potatoes, Sweet potatoes. If you simply must eat some grains, go for rice. And absolutely avoid wheat which is one of the highest inflammatory foods you can eat.

And supplement with wild caught fish oil - Swisse sell a pretty good brand. Cod Liver Oil is also very good.

Doing this has worked very well for me, I've also had various injuries and joint problems through my life. And no more. :thumbsu:

So if you're stuggling with injuries and Doctors, physio's and other medical types can't solve your problems give this a shot. I'm not claiming it to be a miracle cure, but it has worked for many people I know including myself.

Cheers

Mick
 

FavoriteSun

All Australian
Feb 8, 2012
737
470
Boston, USA
AFL Club
Gold Coast
Very interested in your ideas here.....I've actually begun to incorporate some foods with natural anti-inflamatory properties lately..........eating more Asparagus and Salmon and taking a fish oil supplement to help combat some shin splints. It's still a work in progress but I am hoping that in 4 weeks when we take on New York that I will be able to run sans shin supports.

How do you handle options when I'd be eating alot of white meat like pork and chicken breast?
 
Replace those things with:

* Natural, cold pressed oils like coconut oil, macadamia oil, butter from grass fed cows, olive oil.
Fantastic post.

However you missed the best source: Flaxseed (linseed) oil.

Woolworths sell a great one for only $5 a bottle by Biogenic Health Food, Virgin Cold Pressed Flaxseed Oil. A tablespoon of that a day is the equivalent to 14 fish oil tablets. Don't forget to store it in the fridge once it's opened.

http://www.udoerasmus.com/firstscreen.htm
 

micksolo

Debutant
Feb 10, 2011
123
2
AFL Club
Collingwood
Fantastic post.

However you missed the best source: Flaxseed (linseed) oil.

Woolworths sell a great one for only $5 a bottle by Biogenic Health Food, Virgin Cold Pressed Flaxseed Oil. A tablespoon of that a day is the equivalent to 14 fish oil tablets. Don't forget to store it in the fridge once it's opened.

http://www.udoerasmus.com/firstscreen.htm

Hey, yeah flaxseed is a good source of Omega-3's, however and like a lot of plant stuff the body has a hard time converting it into the useful EPA.

http://primalmeded.com/2011/08/09/fat-glorious-fat-ii/

The problem is that this synthesis is not very efficient: the rate of conversion for ALA to EPA is around 8%. That is out of 1mg of ALA from flaxseed oil you will only make 0.08mg of EPA. DHA conversion rate is even poorer. It

I mean if you're going to replace vegetable oils and your choice is flaxseed oil then its much better, just I think you can get better oils, especially coconut which is super healthy and pretty cheap too.

I always recommend this coconut oils, lovely Fijian Australian family up on the gold coast, the coconut oil is by far the best I've had and its all organically grown, cold pressed.

http://www.naturepacific.com/

you can get 3 litres for about $45, which is bloody good value and will last a long time.
 

micksolo

Debutant
Feb 10, 2011
123
2
AFL Club
Collingwood
Very interested in your ideas here.....I've actually begun to incorporate some foods with natural anti-inflamatory properties lately..........eating more Asparagus and Salmon and taking a fish oil supplement to help combat some shin splints. It's still a work in progress but I am hoping that in 4 weeks when we take on New York that I will be able to run sans shin supports.

How do you handle options when I'd be eating alot of white meat like pork and chicken breast?

Good stuff man.

White meat isn't particularly inflammatory (as is any other meat), unless its grain fed meat and you're eating the really fatty parts.

The inflammatory stuff is in grains and vegetable oils. Gives those things wide berth when you're recovering. Chicken stock is also great for recovery.
 

micksolo

Debutant
Feb 10, 2011
123
2
AFL Club
Collingwood
in your experience, what are the top 5 foods that you've eaten that have helped boost your ratios?

I think its more about what you don't eat than what you do

although to answer

Eat lots of this:

* Wild caught fish
* grass fed meat / free range, organic eggs
* raw, organic, dairy (milk, butter, cheese) - hard to get, but well worth it. In Melbourne you can get "bath milk" at most organic stores, which is just unpasteurized milk from grass fed cows.
* Supplement with wild caught fish oil - Try and get the ones that are highest in EPA. I take 6 Suisse wild caught fish oil a day, 3 with each main meal.

And definitely avoid these:
* vegetable oils (all of which are extremely high in omega 6) - canola, soy oil, rapeseed oil, margarine. Anything processed from vegetables.
* All grains - including wheat, barley, oats, rice.
* Nuts - excluding macadamia's and walnuts which are both ok.

This also counts out fried foods from restaurants which are nearly always a combination of both white flour and vegetable oils.
 
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