If you have sustained a serious muscle injury, then it may be necessary to go through physical therapy to regain movement and strength. Physical therapy will allow for safe rehabilitation, and sessions may need to be completed over the course of several months. While this may seem like a long period of time, it can take a while for muscles to fully heal. If you want to make sure that the healing process goes as smoothly as possible, then you should make sure that your diet is filled with foods that help with rebuilding muscle tissues. Keep reading to learn about how vitamin C can assist you and how you can fill your diet with the nutrient. 

The Importance Of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that many people focus on when they have a cold. The vitamin is an antioxidant that helps to keep tissue damage at bay by reducing the amount of harmful free radicals that are present in your body. The vitamin is also needed by the immune system to help form t-cells that fight off bacteria and viruses. What most people do not know is that vitamin C is also essential when it comes to the building of new tissues across the body. The nutrient specifically helps the body form collagen.

Collagen is the building block of every tissue, and this means it is needed to repair and build new muscles. Collagen is a protein chain that forms as amino acids are synthesized. The synthesis process occurs in steps, and vitamin C is used by the body during each part of the process. Since the nutrient is also needed to fight off free radicals and to boost the immune system, you will need to consume quite a bit of the vitamin if you want to help your body rebuild muscle tissue. Unfortunately, vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that cannot be stored by the body. This means you need to consume foods with the nutrient every day.

Fitting Vitamin C In Your Diet

Adults need about 65 to 95 milligrams of vitamin C a day. You should consume more if your body needs to rebuild muscles. Just make sure to keep your dietary intake below 2,000 milligrams. You may experience diarrhea, headaches, and nausea if you consume too much of the nutrient. Keep in mind that excessive amounts of vitamin C consumption occur most often when you take supplements, so try to eat whole foods with the vitamin instead of taking vitamin pills. 

To consume an adequate amount of the vitamin, eat one large yellow bell pepper or one guava a day. The bell pepper will provide you with over 500% of your daily requirements of vitamin C, and the guava will provide over 200%. Kale, broccoli, kiwis, strawberries, tomatoes, oranges, lemons, and peas all contain a good amount of the vitamin as well.

While your body will absorb vitamin C naturally, it may not utilize all of the nutrient that you consume in a single day. To make sure that your body is absorbing as much of the vitamin as possible, make sure to eat foods with flavonoids as well. Flavonoids are plant compounds that act as antioxidants and help the body absorb certain nutrients, like vitamin C. Flavonoids can be found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, so eat multiple servings of fruits and vegetables during each meal. Also, consider drinking some tea. Green, black, and white varieties of tea all contain flavonoids.

If you want to make the most out of physical therapy sessions, then you need to do your part to build new muscle tissue. Making sure that you consume vitamin C on a daily basis can assist you with this.  

For more information on physical therapy and tips to ensure the therapy works well and efficiently, talk with a physical therapy clinic, such as DeSoto Memorial Hospital.