We all know that feeling after a hard workout or game. Your entire body aches, and even the simplest of daily tasks feels excruciating. So what do you do? Pop a couple Advil and get back to business. It’s common sense, right? I’m sore and cant move, but I’m an athlete with a busy life. Why wouldn’t I take a pain killer? taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) aka pain killers is the common and “accepted” route for dealing with the aches and pains of everyday life, sports and training. It’s just a non-brainer.
Unfortunately, this has a few drawbacks. Especially as an athlete looking to attain peak performance. Multiple studies have shown that NSAID’s can have some pretty nasty effects on the recovery-repair-growth cycle by cutting protein synthesis by 50-75%! Put simply, they directly impair the mechanisms involved in the recovery process.
Foruntately, there’s a few natural substances that you can add to your supplement stack to deal with the agonizing aftermath of a hard training session or game, that wont interfere with your bodies repair-growth cycle. Plus, some of these might help you live longer and prevent age related disease. You know, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Curcumin + black pepper extract
Curcumin is a yellowish pigment found in small quantities within the turmeric root, and has been recognized as one of the most powerful natural anti- inflammatory and “pain killing” substances on the planet. Due to its powerful anti-inflammatory effects, it’s particularly useful for athletes and lifters who deal with frequent muscle soreness and other activity related aches and pains. In addition, curcumin has been shown to have powerful anti-catabolic (breaking down or wasting of muscle tissue) effects, making it particularly useful for muscle growth.
In addition, the benefits of Curcumin go far beyond the simple treatment of delayed onset muscle soreness. Multiple studies have confirmed that curcumin has both extremely powerful caner preventative AND treatment properties, in addition to benefiting cardiovascular health, testosterone production, reduction in body fat, preventing diabetes, cognitive decline, and plaque build up within arteries.
Unfortuantelty, curcmin has realtiely poor bioavailability. Therefore, you need to take it with a small dose of black pepper extract for optimal absorption and utilization. In addition, curcumin is fat soluble, so it’s ideal to take it with a meal that contains some healthy fat. Ideally with one or two of the supplements listed bellow. You can find formulas that contain curcumin + BPE or you can purchase each of them individually. My favorite brand to use is Biotest Curcumin, which includes BPE.
Fish Oil
We’ve all heard that fish oil is healthy, right? Yet very few people realize just how beneficial this notoriously “nasty tasting” supplement just really is. Go on to PubMed and type in ANY disease followed by “fish oil”, and you will likely find at least 3 or 4 studies showing how fish oil can be of benefit. Fish oils benefits come from its high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids know as omega-3’s, also known as DHEA and EPA. These omega-3’s are touted for their powerful anti-inflammatory effects, making them extremely beneficial for treating the aches and pains of physical exertion.Because fish oil has so many system wide benefits, it has been nick-named one of the most powerful performance enhancing supplements for athletes looking to transform their body composition, gain strength, speed and power while feeling good.
Unfortunately, most fish oils are either 1) highly under dosed or 2) contain harmful substances like mercury and PCB’s. Therefore, it’s extremely important to make sure that you pick your fish oil wisely. The best 2 fish oil brands that I have found (No, I am not affiliated with any of these companies) are:
- Carilsons Cod Liver or fish oil (Consider a double dose of either)
- Biotest Flameout
For athletes, 2-3g of fish oil daily is ideal to reap the performance enhancing benefits. You may also want to consider removing as many inflammation promoting omega-6’s from your diet, as these will counteract the benefits of the fish oil.
If you are a vegan, consider taking an algae derived omega-3 supplement. Traditionally, vegans have used supplements like chia seed or flaxseed oil to attain their omega-3’s. However, only 10-15% of the omega-3’s found in these foods (ALA) are readily converted into their more bioavailable/useable form (DHEA and EPA).
Black Seed Oil
Black seed oils has been nick-named the cure for everything. This “sacred” oil has traditionally been used by ancient civilizations and royalty to treat a myriad of ailments. Just like fish oil, there is not a disease known to man that black seed oil has not been shown to benefit, and this has been confirmed with over 630 peer reviewed studies. Although the supplement has grown in popularity over the years, very few people know about it! Just like fish oil, black seed oil has extremely powerful natural inflammatory properties, making it another great addition to any athletes supplement stack.
Black seed oil’s benefits come from his high concentration of an antioxidant called Thymoquinone, which has powerful anti-fungal, viral, bacteria, and cancer properties. What makes black seed oil so unique is that it is the only source of Thymoquinone know to man!