Nutrition and Injury Recovery: The Best Foods to Speed up Healing Time

Dark, Leafy Greens

Dark leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collard greens and others offer tremendous nutritional value. They contain high levels of vitamin C, iron, beta-carotene, magnesium, calcium and potassium. Consuming these vitamin and mineral rich greens helps maintain levels of nutrients that are critical to injury healing and a speedy recovery. Beta-carotene converts to vitamin A inside the body and is responsible for the initiation of new collagen production. Vitamin C assists in collagen production, while magnesium relaxes muscle tissue and aids in blood flow. Iron is essential to the injury healing process as it is necessary for the production of hemoglobin in the blood. This allows the transport of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body and is especially vital for the delivery of nutrients to injured tissue.