Performance Nutrition Tips for Rehab and Prehab: Key Nutrients, Strategies, and Recipes
- Madison Morris, MS, RDN
- Mar 5
- 4 min read
Once upon a time (circa 2019-2020), I assisted in the Athletic Performance department of UCLA Athletics. Specifically, I was on the Performance Nutrition team which supported more than 500 collegiate athletes in the athletic training center through the Fueling and Recovery Stations. I served as team lead at these stations, a BodPod technician, social media manager (@fuelingbruins), and also as the nutrition manager for the UCLA gymnastics team. I have fond memories of trips to the gym to supply the gymnasts with their favorite gym snack (orange slices!).
PERFORMANCE NUTRITION TIPS FOR REHAB AND PREHAB:
When athletes and dancers are managing and recovering from injuries (soft tissue injuries in particular), it is common to offer them a little nutritional boost in the form of collagen, vitamin C, and turmeric shots. Let’s unpack why these nutrients are important and explore some strategies and recipes for soft tissue optimization, maintenance, and recovery. I hope after reading this, you may feel inspired to prioritize intake of these nutrients whether to support performance, prevent injury, or promote recovery.
NUTRIENTS OF INTEREST:
Collagen: Collagen is the body’s most abundant protein and naturally occurs within many tissues of the body including skin, muscle, bones, tendons, ligaments, organs, intestinal lining, gums, and more. It is a primary building block of connective tissues throughout the body and provides crucial structure, strength, and support to numerous areas and body systems. Nutrients that support the integrity, health, and function of collagen (and connective tissues) include vitamin C, zinc, copper, and manganese.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C stimulates the body’s natural production of collagen. That’s right, your body produces its own collagen! And vitamin C supports and promotes its ability to do this. Vitamin C also promotes absorption of dietary collagen. Therefore, vitamin C is crucial for both endogenous (internal) collagen production and exogenous (external) collagen absorption.
Turmeric (curcumin): This anti-inflammatory ingredient is crucial for bodies experiencing ongoing strain and stress. Inflammation is bound to occur whether an athlete is experiencing bodily strain and stress due to intense or ongoing training (increased load, intensity, or demand) or related to injuries or damage. We feel it important to mention that inflammation is not the enemy it is sometimes made out to be. We do not desire to demonize inflammation. Inflammation serves a valuable purpose and is a priceless and productive natural process in the body; however, sometimes we do have to manage it. To grossly oversimply things, acute (short-term) inflammation is often considered productive and supportive to a healing process while long-term, unmanaged inflammation (due to chronic stress, injury, illness, on-going intensity and demand, etc) can be counterproductive, strain the body, and lead to unfavorable outcomes or increased risk of disease. Turmeric can help combat and manage inflammation whether it is in response to physical demands or damage.
Black pepper (piperine): Black pepper is crucial for increased absorption and bioavailability of turmeric. Curcumin is an active, anti-inflammatory ingredient within turmeric. Black pepper (and specifically the piperine within it) promotes curcumin absorption and action.
STRATEGIES:
Combining these nutrients means we have two power teams in play:
Power Team 1: REPAIR AND REBUILD (Vitamin C and collagen)
Power Team 2: INFLAMMATION MANAGEMENT (Turmeric and Black Pepper)
Here are some practical ideas for incorporating these nutrients and dynamic power teams into your diet to promote performance, maintenance, or recovery:
Pre-Training Collagen/Vitamin C/Turmeric Shots (See recipes below): Take 20-60 minutes prior to PT or training to support building, rebuilding, or reinforcement of collagen rich soft tissue and manage inflammation. This strategy supports the body by incorporating both power teams: REPAIR AND REBUILD and INFLAMMATION MANAGEMENT.
Post-training Recovery Smoothie (See recipe below): This smoothie is rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, and protein (amino acids are the building blocks of collagen). The star of this smoothie is the REPAIR AND REBUILD power team (Vitamin C and collagen). Take this immediately after training to promote recovery. Did you know that ounce for ounce, strawberries have more vitamin C than an orange? While there are no oranges or orange juice in this recipe, vitamin C is still supplied through the berries.
Bone Broth: Consider incorporating bone broth into your diet. Bone broth is a collagen-rich food which can be naturally incorporated into meals and recipes. I have not provided a specific recipe or instructions within this post (as there are many available online). However, I will offer this tip: Consider incorporating vitamin C sources, turmeric, and black pepper when serving or consuming to experience the benefits discussed in this post. 😉
RECIPES:
Pre-Activity Collagen/Vitamin C/Turmeric Shots AND Post-Activity Recovery Smoothie Recipes (For Athletic Performance, Rehab, and Prehab)
PRE-ACTIVITY Collagen/Vitamin C/Turmeric Shots (Two recipe options!):
Nutrient Timing Tip: Take 20-60 minutes prior to PT or training for optimal support (to promote building, rebuilding, or reinforcement of soft tissues).
RECIPE 1: This option will get the job done but may be harder to drink (flavor wise).
1 cup of Orange Juice
Juice from 1 lemon
1 inch piece of turmeric
8 scoops Vital Proteins collagen (or similar collagen supplement product)
2 dashes of Black pepper
RECIPE 2: This one will get the job done AND may be a bit more palatable or enjoyable.
Serves 6
3 cups water
3 tbsp coconut water
3 lemons, juiced
3 cups orange juice
½ cup carrots, chopped
3 cups pineapple
1 tsp turmeric (or 1 inch piece of turmeric)
1 inch piece of ginger
1 dash black pepper
9 scoops collagen (Vital Proteins or similar product)
POST-ACTIVITY Antioxidant + Protein smoothie
Serves 4
3 scoops vanilla whey protein (we used Muscle Milk)
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 strawberry Chobani Greek Yogurt (don’t include fruit at bottom)
½ cup coconut water
2 tsp flax seeds
½ cup scoop ice
Water to meet fruit & blend
If you enjoyed this smorgasbord and discussion on Performance Nutrition tips, be sure to follow On Pointe Living socials (Instagram, Facebook, etc: @onpointeliving) for more bite-sized content. We look forward to connecting and continuing the conversation!
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