Some things are good for preventing tendon issues, and some things are good for fixing them. Nutrition is one area that’s good for both, so eating for tendon health is really essential.
I consider breakfast the most important meal of the day. And when I coach people for personal training and fitness, the first step on the nutrition side is something I call GOMER. GOMER stands for Get One MEal Right. The idea is to get one meal exactly right every day. And the meal I generally start with is—you guessed it—breakfast.
Eating for physique purposes is generally pretty straightforward: each meal should contain a lean protein source and some type of fiber. In practice this usually means something like a chicken breast and a cup or so of salad.
If you’re doing sports, the equation changes. You’ll want to add in some carbohydrates, especially if you’re doing any kind of low intensity endurance work like distance running. The exact amount of carbs will vary depending on your training schedule and what you’re trying to accomplish.
But eating for tendon health is a little more complicated. You definitely still need protein, because tendons are made of collagen and collagen is built from protein. But you also want to limit inflammation as much as possible, and meat—which is where most people get their protein—does tend to increase inflammation in the body.
So what’s the solution?
Studies have clearly shown that a plant-based diet is superior to one that includes a lot of animal-based food. And if you are going to eat animal stuff, fish (pescatarian) and dairy (lacto-ovo vegetarian) present a better “inflammation option” than red meat.
Now, I don’t expect anyone to make the switch to vegan/vegetarian just based on this blog post. I myself still eat a fair amount of animal-based food. But it does make sense to increase one’s plant-based choices where possible.
One easy switch is to use a plant-based protein powder (if you use protein powder at all). Another is to use egg whites more than yolks, to substitute tofu for one meat meal, and so on. There are plenty of small changes you can make to start tipping the inflammation scales in your favor.
So in that vein, I present the first part of the breakfast I had this morning:
It consisted of nine egg whites and one yolk, along with half an apple. (Yes, I took a bite out of the apple before I took the picture. I was hungry.) Later on, I had a protein shake:
Altogether that added up to a little over fifty grams of protein, with a little fiber thrown in to help things along. About half the meal was plant-based, and the animal-based other half was from relatively benign sources. So all in all, a win for the morning.