Vitamin C helps with muscle soreness

Having just written about muscle soreness, I felt is was necessary to offer up a tip on how to go about reducing it. Allowing yourself enough rest in between workouts is always a smart move, but there are ways that your diet can help speed up your recovery, too.

In addition to the purported pain-reducing benefits of caffeine, other research has shown that vitamin C may also help your muscles bounce back quicker. Scientists at the University of Birmingham divided a group of volunteers into three groups. Group 1 took 400mg of vitamin C daily, group 2 took 400mg of vitamin E, and group 3 took a placebo.

After three weeks, each group was asked to perform a stepping exercise for 60 minutes, after which time the researchers measured their muscle strength and degree of fatigue. They found that the group who had been taking vitamin C exhibited 85 percent greater post-exercise recovery than the other two groups.

So, if you're thinking about working out, but aren't really thrilled with the idea of feeling sore for days on end, start eating those citrus fruits!!