Recommendations for nutrition to aid recovery for broken bones

[IanGardiner]

Hi all. i had an accident last night and have managed to break my collar bone. I am looking for suggestions for the best food/drink to aid recovery of broken bones. I would appreciate input, as unlikely as it is, I am supposed to be racing in 4 weeks time and clinging on to hope I can recover by then!

[GershonSurge · Accepted solution]

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@IanGardiner wrote:

Hi all. i had an accident last night and have managed to break my collar bone. I am looking for suggestions for the best food/drink to aid recovery of broken bones. I would appreciate input, as unlikely as it is, I am supposed to be racing in 4 weeks time and clinging on to hope I can recover by then!

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I don't know the best, but I do know the worst two choices.

The first is dairy products. Their amino acids have sulphur attached to them, and when they enter the body they form sulphuric acid. This results in calcium depletion.

Calcium supplements can be absorbed by the bones and it will look like reconstruction is occurring. The problem is that the matrix formed by the iconoblasts isn't there. The bones will be much weaker.

If the race is extremely important to you, like you are in the Olympic Trials or something, I'd suggest seeing a doctor who specializes in this sort of medicine. Otherwise, I suggest going with your doctor's recommendation about whether you can compete or not.

[Dominique]

Lyle McDonald (well recognized expert in the field of nutrition and sport performance) published an e-book on Optimal Nutrition for Injury Recovery last year. I haven’t read it, but I listened to a podcast that covered it in quite some details. You may want to listen to the podcast and see if the book would be for you. What I took away from it is repairing broken body structures is an energy-intensive task, so you need to be in a rather big caloric surplus for optimal results, even if the injury causes you to be less active than usual.

Probably a good idea to seek qualified medical advice. I personally think fully recovering from the injury is more important than taking part in a race. Four weeks sound like a very short period, even if the bone in question is not directly involved in your sport. 

[IanGardiner]

That's great recommendations @Dominique@GershonSurge@@, I will follow-up. I know I am over optimistic for 4 weeks, I am just so gutted as I have been training towards this for six months. Thanks again.

[GershonSurge]

@IanGardiner,

There is a slight chance I can offer. It will require some effort on your part. 

First, get Scott Jurek's book "Eat & Run" on Amazon. Read it in a day. The key thing you will learn is how a plant based way of eating speeds recovery. He won the Western States 100 at least five times. He also has the record for hiking the Appalachian Trail. He did it in 46 days and some hours averaging about 48 miles a day.

Then go to www.drmcdougall.com an learn about his way of eating. I'll summarize it for you.

1. No animal products at all.

2. No oils like olive oil etc.

3. Eat plants in their natural state

4. Fill about half your plate with starches and the rest with vegetables and two or three fruits a day.

I suggest loading up on all the colorful vegetables in the produce section. I grate them in a food processor and eat a pound a day. The top four usually recommended are the 2 b's and 2 c's. Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage (purple) and cauliflower (yellow if it's available.) Kale is quite beneficial, too. Eat about half raw and half cooked.

The reason this may work is it provides your body with a healthy baseline for healing. It also will give an excess of calcium from plant sources. Calcium from plants will only be absorbed in the amounts that can be used, so you don't have to worry about the excess.

Consider walking to maintain your aerobic conditioning. Start to taper about two weeks before the ride. You probably planned for that. 

Still check with your doctor before the race.

It's a longshot, but it may work for you. If not, nothing is lost. 

You can find the McDougall coloring book on the site and quickly learn the way of eating.