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Enzymes May Be the Key to
Restoring Sore Muscles
Healthy Living Article by Lorin Shields-Michel
Ah, summer. The sun shines a little brighter, the
air is warm, and a slight breeze ruffles the trees and your hair as
you enjoy your 10-mile-a-day run, or your 25-mile bicycle ride, or
your kayak across the local body of water. Whatever your passion for
exercise may be, the fact is, during the joy of summer, sometimes you
forget about the joylessness of overused muscles. Oh, the pain. Oh,
the ache. If you’ve overextended your muscles and that nagging
soreness is keeping you from what you love, help is on the way and it
comes in the form of systemic enzymes.
Do You Work Out?
We’ve all seen the commercials—athletic people
pushing themselves to the limit, sweat glistening, hearts pumping and
muscles bulging. They look so, well, healthy. But that muscle bulge
may also be soreness in response to sports, exercise, work, travel or
any number of other daily activities. Exercise in particular can lead
to an increase in muscle enzymes in the bloodstream, causing muscle
inflammation and structural damage, all of which decrease your range
of motion. And make you sore.
Exercise induces micro-tears in your muscles.
Research on muscle soreness has focused on eccentric muscle
contractions where muscles lengthen, causing the tears. Here’s the
physics part: If a stretched muscle is subjected to a given load, the
abnormally lengthened fibers undergo increased tension as compared to
the same muscle in its unstretched state. Some exercises are more
damaging to muscles than others. Downhill running, hiking and lowering
weights cause more muscle soreness than, say, cycling, which causes
significantly less because it doesn’t involve eccentric motions. When
is muscle soreness most likely to occur? If you’ve overstretched your
muscles, you’ll notice it within 24 to 48 hours, reaching a peak by 72
hours. If you experience muscle soreness, you also want to experience
muscle wellness. And fast.
Seeking Relief
There are many things you can do to get your muscles
up and pumping again. Many over-the-counter forms exist, including
both external and internal pain remedies. External analgesics for
muscle soreness are categorized as counter-irritants, which are
further categorized into four groups. The first includes capsaicin and
capsicum, primary ingredients of “pepper” creams. Methyl nicotinate is
another group that works to dilate superficial vessels. This one isn’t
included in external analgesics often because, as a vasodilator, it
can cause fainting if applied over large areas of the body.
Camphor and menthol, in the third group, produce a
cooling sensation at first, but with continued rubbing, the sensation
changes to warmth. The final group often includes methyl salicylate,
an ingredient that can produce redness, irritation and warmth. It can
lead to systemic absorption, and should use used with precaution.
Another ingredient, trolamine (also known as triethanolamine
salicylate) is found in Aspercreme, Sportscreme, Mobisyl and Myoflex.
However, according the FDA, trolamine has not been proven safe or
effective.
The biggest problem with using counter-irritants is
that they provide superficial relief. They don’t actually penetrate
the skin to enter muscles or joints to relieve soreness. They’re more
like scratching an itch rather than addressing the real issue.
There are also creams that contain nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that have proven to be effective at
lessening muscle soreness, according to researchers at the University
of California, San Diego. In a study published in the July 2005 issue
of the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, an NSAID cream containing
the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory ketoprofen was compared against a
placebo version on 32 healthy males between 18 and 35 years of age.
After 48 hours, those using the NSAID cream reported 37 to 45 percent
less muscle soreness. There are, however, significant systemic side
effects when using NSAID, like gastrointestinal distress and problems
with the liver and kidney function.
As for internal analgesics like ibuprofen and
acetaminophen for relief from muscle aches and pains, they are
considered safe as long as directions are followed. But these are not
your only options. Let’s take a closer look at systemic enzymes.
Soothing Sore Muscles
Systemic enzymes are the workhorses of the body, the
power lifters if you will, the ones that grab the heavy weights and
thrust them up and over your head, or at least through your
bloodstream. They actually act as catalysts to both start and stop
chemical reactions, such as immune functions, digestion and even
hormone balance. They also help to pacify, or soothe, overblown
inflammation.
Systemic enzymes promote normal muscle and tissue recovery after
muscle and tissue overuse or injury. By supporting a healthy
metabolism in connective tissue, systemic enzymes help you to maintain
a normal range of motion. Systemic enzymes are ideal for those who
engage in aerobics, yoga, gymnastics, weightlifting, cycling, running,
walking, tennis, soccer and more.
FYI Restore
Garden of Life has created a muscle and tissue
recovery system called
FYI Restore. It is a broad-spectrum systemic enzyme formula
that delivers high proteolytic activity, which means it works on the
systemic level to work with the body’s own process to assist normal
tissue repair and recovery. It’s packed with a comprehensive, highly
potent range of systemic enzymes, bioflavonoids, antioxidants and
trace minerals. Perhaps most importantly, it delivers high levels of
papain and bromelain.
Bromelain is a collection of enzymes and other
compounds. It’s a mixture of sulfur-containing protein-digesting
enzymes—called proteolytic enzymes or proteases—and several other
substances in smaller quantities, including peroxidase, acid
phosphatase, protease inhibitors and calcium. Bromelain is an
anti-inflammatory agent, making it ideal for sports injuries, trauma,
arthritis and other kinds of swelling.
FYI Restore provides highly active proteolytic enzymes to support
connective tissue integrity, aid normal fibrin (a fibrillar protein)
turnover, and promote healthy microcirculation. In other words, it
helps to repair sore muscles and restore strength.
FYI Restore utilizes a natural enteric coating to ensure the
sensitive systemic enzymes pass through the acidic environment of the
stomach and move into the small intestine, where they can be absorbed
into the body for maximum effectiveness. Take one capsule, two times
per day, and you and your muscles will be ready for another day of
exercise fun. That’s the key to summer muscle restoration.
Garden of Life natural products and supplements
combine the best of nature and science and offer a proven path to
healthier living. Supported by education and constant innovations, the
more than 40 products offered assist individuals in taking control of
their own health with lifestyle changes and advanced nutrition.
For product information on FYI Restore, Click Here.
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