Eat the right stuff to boost your recovery

Don’t wait - start eating for recovery now.

This is not professional medical advice. Consult with your healthcare provider before starting any new supplements, especially if you're recovering from surgery, to ensure they fit your specific needs and won’t interfere with your treatment.

Eating nutritious food can supercharge your diet, and assist your recovery. 

STOP SMOKING! NOW!
I know this doesn’t come under ‘nutrition’ but I stuck it here anyway. I’m not going to go into the medical reasons (here is an article if you’d like to read more), but if like me you’ve been asked a million times if you smoke in hospital, you’ll know there are good reasons why they ask.

You are damaging your recovery by smoking. I smoked when I was younger. I know it’s not easy for some people to quit, but your recovery should be more important. Find a quitting path that suits you and put your body first.

Start doing this NOW and don’t wait. This is your health and you should do everything you can to boost it.

The best way is to do this via diet and food intake, but sometimes that can be difficult and it’s likely you may need to add supplements. I am not an expert but I’m sharing some info below from my experience.

Get Your Comfort Food In!
The advice below is to maximise your recovery, it’s the healthy stuff, which doesn’t mean it’s not tasty. However, you also need to be good to yourself. Allow yourself have yummy, comfort food too. Sometimes it’s the little things like yummy food that will brighten up a dull day.

What stuff should you be eating?
If you’re dealing with bone injuries and/or soft tissue damage the general guide is as follows:

General Support:

  1. Protein (BIG TIME)

    • Adequate protein is essential for tissue repair and muscle recovery.

    • Dosage: 1.2-2.0 grams of protein per kg of body weight per day.

    • Sources: Meat, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes, protein supplements.

    • It can help to invest in a small blender - like a Nutribullet for about €40, and get in the habit of making a lunch smoothie with some Protein and Collagen supplements thrown in. Kinetica makes some great products. There are many others. They can be expensive but chances are you’re saving money by not being out socialising as much - silver linings! Smoothies are delicious too and easy to get down when the appetite isn't huge.

  2. Collagen

    • Based on the latest research, you should be smashing this. Lots available out there. Try to do some research on the best ones. I’m not an expert - Kinetica make some good stuff which is well regarded.

  3. Probiotics

    • Helps with immune support and reduces inflammation after surgery.

    • Dosage: 10-20 billion CFU per day.

    • Sources: Fermented foods (yogurt, kefir) or supplements.

  4. Multivitamin

    • A good-quality multivitamin can cover gaps in essential vitamins and minerals for overall healing.

    • Dosage: As per product recommendation.

Here are some interesting Bone Strengthening related to Vitamin and Supplement Support

Bone Strengthening Supplements:
Article from Miller PT newsletter August 2024

Bone Healing After Surgery
Article from Miller PT newsletter Dec. 2023

Comprehensive Guide to Vitamin D
Article from INOVA newsletter Aug. 2024:

An example - my approach (tailor to your needs)

My Approach
I didn’t do things perfectly and no doubt I could have done more but in general what I did is below:

(Remember: Don’t just go off and order all this shit! It’s probably a decent starting point but try to apply it to your situation and make sure to consult your doctor before taking supplements)

Supplements

General Meals

  • Breakfast - same thing most mornings - granola with blueberries and banana and all the pill supplements below. Plenty of water. And usually some prune juice. If you’re on strong medications, this can help with constipation.

  • Lunch - I nearly always have a smoothie with fruit, milk, water and protein supplement and collagen supplements (see below). That was my staple. Then whatever else I felt like having around that. Tasty stuff.

  • Dinner - Whether it was me or my wonderful mother, it was usually a good ‘square meal’ like potatoes, meat and veg. This would be ideal for recovery to try to cover nutritional requirements but it's obviously no harm to mix it up with other types of meals with pasta, curries etc. Otherwise it can be boring!

  • Snacks - fruit, tins of fish, water etc, chocolate!

Don’t Wait - Act Now
Your body will thank you. Get a head-start and start feeding your body the right stuff. You might need to spend an hour figuring out what you ‘d like to buy. Grand. Do it all online and get it delivered. Done. Beg, borrow and steal and remember there’s nothing more important than your health so spend the money.