Enzymes May Be the Key to Restoring Sore Muscles Healthy Living Article by Lorin Shields-Michel

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.