Food plays a big role in our everyday life, but food can also help your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu performance on the mats. No matter your diet choices from vegan, vegetarian, paleo, and others there are some simple guidelines that can assist in keeping you running clean and helping the strain we put on our bodies during training. Now just because you eat right does not mean you do not need to still do drilling or that you will become the hulk come competition time, but what you can expect is faster recovery time and more importantly longevity in the sport. Take these tips and know that food choices and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu performance can go hand in hand.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

When you are sick or have an injury, the key to the healing process is stopping the inflammation, and food can either assist or cause inflammation. This does not mean if you overextend your arm during training, dinner that night will fix it. What it does mean though is that by avoiding foods that provide no benefit and cause inflammation can make an injury stay around longer than anticipated.

Inflammatory Foods To Avoid

• Sugar
• Alcohol
• High amounts of Gluten
• MSG
• Fried Foods

Anti Inflammatory Foods

• Tomatoes
• Olive Oil
• Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, and collards
• Nuts like almonds and walnuts
• Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines
• Fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and organges

This is just an overview of some foods to avoid and others to incorporate into your diet to help with the inflammation process that happens in our bodies when we are fighting an injury, infection, and even a cold.

Fuel For The Mats

When we are training there is one main thing to consider energy to be on the mats and keep it safe when you get tired. With that said, hydration, protein, and a low sugar based foods can assist with just that.

Hydration:

• Watermelon
• Strawberries
• Cucumber
• Canelope

Protein:

• Lean meats
• Chickpeas
• Beans (beware of bloating)
• Nuts

Taking this into account can give you the needed energy for a good training. There is nothing like the most delicious Acai bowl to munch on post workout, or having a handful of blueberries in some oats, but the foods you want to watch out for are the same ones everyone should and that is processed sugar in sweets. Other than that, you are fueled up and good to go on the mats.

How Much To Eat?

This all comes down to how much you are training and what for. If you are getting ready for a competition and are around the right weight then feed your body with all the needed good food to keep you healthy, training hard, and maintaining. If you are overweight watch the carb intake, stay hydrated and stick to lean meats and other proteins to safely drop weight. The part to remember is know how much you are burning so nothing is being deprived of nutrients because that is when injury, sickness, and burnout happen. We have recommended in the past of keeping a BJJ journal, but adding in what you are eating on training days is also a great idea as well.

Final Thoughts:

The basis of this post is to shed light on how a good diet and food choices can help your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training for both adults and children. Here at Casarez Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Cary, NC, we strive to keep all the students informed and safe on and off the mats. Taking the time to share this knowledge is not coming from a licensed dietitian but more of an approach that many of the competitors and even everyday students of The Gentle Art at our academy take to stay healthy and training. Offering Kids BJJ and Adult BJJ means that with all the athletic training going on here, we want to keep students performing at the best ability.