Food & Flexibility – The Best Nutrition for Stretching
tudies have shown that a diet rich in Omega-3 fatty acids may lower blood pressure and heart rate, improve blood vessel function, and, at higher doses, may ease inflammation of the joints.
Omega-3 is found in certain types of oily fish including salmon, sardines, mackerel and herring. The main source of Omega-3 is from marine fish oils. However, as wild salmon and trout stocks are declining, try and choose fish from sustainable sources where possible.Some spices – cinnamon, ginger and turmeric and chilli peppers – have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. Try sprinkling cinnamon on your porridge and coffee or making this lovely, warming turmeric and ginger tea. Good sources of calcium include milk, cheese and yoghurt, green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage and okra (but not spinach – as this contains oxalic acid, which reduces calcium absorption). If you eat a vegan diet good sources of calcium are found in fortified soya, rice and oat drinks, pulses, dried fruit such as raisins, figs, calcium-set tofu, sesame seeds and tahini.
onsuming a well-balanced, healthy diet full of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, pulses, nuts and heart-healthy fats is really the best way to keep your body healthy, happy, strong and flexible.
‘True’ flexibility is more about easeful range of movement and feeling comfortable and fluid in your own body rather pushing yourself to the maximum or trying to emulate that impossible-to-reach yoga pose. So explore your flexibility, and your attitude towards it, mindfully and with curiosity.
3 food tips for flexibility