Top Foods for Healing Ligament and Tendon Injuries

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Eating well is a key strategy for injury recovery, as outlined in an earlier post. Tendons and ligaments are made of collagen, and foods that support collagen formation may be beneficial to heal ligament tears or tendon ruptures.

There are several nutrients that support collagen synthesis.
* Proline, hydroxyproline, lysine and hydroxylysine are amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Gelatin contains ample amounts of these particular amino acids.
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* Vitamin C works with amino acids to create collagen. You can get plenty of Vitamin C from citrus fruits, melons, berries, kiwi, and dark green leafy vegetables.
*Flourine/fluoride is a mineral that supports tendons and ligaments. It is found in fluoridated water, tea, and fish.
* Copper is another mineral that can promote healing. Dark leafy greens, dried fruits (prunes), cocoa and black pepper contain copper.

Try one or more of these approaches if you a recovering from a tendon or ligament injury:
Breakfast: 
– include a bowl of orange and grapefruit sections with sliced kiwi
– try a strawberry or cantaloupe/blueberry smoothie and blend in some baby spinach leaves
– enjoy a cup of hot tea or cocoa

Lunch:
– be sure to add some spinach or romaine to your sandwich
– try some jello with fruit as dessert
– add a cup of homemade broth made from bones

Dinner:
– add a salad of dark green leafy vegetables and citrus sections
– enjoy some fish seasoned liberally with pepper and lemon

​© 2016 Kathleen Searles, MS, RDN, CSSD, LDN

1 thought on “Top Foods for Healing Ligament and Tendon Injuries”

  1. Henriette Hobson

    Do these treatments also count for small dogs? My Jack Russel has probably an injured back leg. He can’t put weight on it and limps since 6 days….

    Reply

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