When it comes to building muscle, an analogy of bricks in a wall works well. We damage the bricks when we train and our body recovers by replacing the damaged bricks with new ones. This analogy works with the nervous system too because this system acts as the foundation of our house. No matter how strong our house, it will be weak on a sub-optimal foundation. If you want your foundation to be as strong as possible, the best way to do it is with Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s).
Commonly referred to as fish oil supplements, EFA’s literally become incorporated into our cell structure. It may even be said that our cells are literally built from them. They are not only anchor points for hormone receptors, but they also improve our body’s way of dealing with stress and inflammation. This means that ideal EFA content will not only improves the way in which many hormones work, but can also reduce recovery time by mitigating the inflammatory response, thereby improving recovery.
Remember that when we eat these fats, as with all others, they form the outer structure of our cells. You literally are what you eat.
Dosage: Two to three grams, three times daily with solid meals
2) Vitamin E
Any good recovery plan is going to include plenty of antioxidant supplements, one of which is Vitamin E. In addition to its potential to reduce post-training soreness and improve recovery, there’s an extra boost from this common vitamin that you may not be aware of.
Although we commonly add Vitamin E under the banner of antioxidants, it’s worthwhile to realize that different antioxidants work in different parts of the cell. For our purposes, it’s important to know that Vitamin E works on the lipid part, which coincides perfectly with our EFA intake. It works like this: although EFA’s in our body are great for numerous reasons, they may also be quite susceptible to oxidative damage. This is where additional Vitamin E comes into play. This nutrient can not only protect against the oxidative damage induced by exercise, it will also add a specific protective effect to the EFA’s in our cells. This is like adding strength to both our foundation and the brick house that’s built on top of it.
Key Point: Consuming more essential fats could increase the requirement for this antioxidant supplement.
