How to Prevent Sore Muscles Nutritionally
I noticed that when I went vegan about ten years ago I did not get sore muscles after exercising. (I am no longer vegan although I eat much less meat and very little dairy—more about that later) The effect was very salient. I have hypothesized that this is probably an effect of increased magnesium/calcium ratio (more magnesium in whole grains, green vegetables, and seeds as opposed to dairy) as well as increased proportion of leucine to total protein (a high proportion of leucine is found in lentils, soy, almonds, chickpeas, and walnuts) and lower total protein (less meat).
Magnesium in foods helps prevent sore muscles and muscle cramps, and leucine breakdown in muscle generate ß-hydroxy-ß-methylbutyrate, which is shown to diminish or prevent exercise-induced muscle damage.
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