Those of you who have been with me for a while may remember the cycling hero, Simon Watkins, who cycled from John O’Groats to Lands End on a bike with no gears and managed to do it in ten days whilst eating super healthy, lush and filling foods. Well, two weeks ago, the speedster managed to come flying off his bike, skidding along the floor and landing in a pile on the Bristol to Bath cycle path. Luckily, nothing was broken, except large areas of his skin disapeared and a few muscles around his ribs were pulled and twisted making it very hard to breath properly. Ouch! Bless his cotton socks. The danger for Simon was that by not taking deep enough breaths, he was at risk of getting a lung infection. Luckily for him though, his sister-in-law (me) is a nutritional superhero, and he was able to ensure that his skin wounds healed super fast, and his lungs, whilst still sore, have remained infection free – hurrah!
It was interesting though, that aside from prescribing lots of pain killers (which he really really needed), he wasn’t given any information about ways to keep well other than just to breathe deeply. Together we decided that he needed a little more help than that, so he followed the following basic recovery plan:
Lots of water. Injuries cause a lot of stress in the body, and stress is dehydrating. Not only that, keeping the water coming in allows the body to keep the injured areas nicely supplied with all the nutrients it needs to heal, whilst quickly removing all waste debris created by both the injuries themselve and by the body’s attempts to heal.
Vitamin C. Injuries to the skin allow unwanted grime and germs to get into the body, potentially causing illnesses. Even more important, reducing the risk of lung infection was key, so having a few days of extra vitamin was a good idea!
Magnesium. When your body is hit by anything (such as the floor!), the muscles can easily go into spasm, tighten up and cause a lot of pain. Magnesium helps to relax the musles, helping them to recover. Simon got loads of magnesium from his diet, but also took a supplement for a week or so.
Essential Fatty Acids. These fatty acids are essential any day of the week, but after an injury, they become super important. They help reduce inflammation, which helps the body to recover nice and efficiently. Simon ate fish, and also took a supplement too!
This was all recommended specifically for Simon, but the basic approach was to give his poor old battered body the right tools to help mend itself. The simple fact that he is feeling much better, and hasn’t been hit with any nasty infections is proof of the healthy pudding!
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