The Best Protein Snack

Did you know the three most common injuries for runners, cyclists and gym junkies (especially, you, CrossFitters) are all joint, tendon and ligament related?

These include lower back pain and strain (most caused by damage to the soft tissues supporting the lower spine including muscles, tendons, and ligaments), knee pain and Achilles tendonitis.

It kinda makes sense; training can improve your muscles in a few short weeks, but it takes months and months of training to improve the strength of your joints, tendons and ligaments and we can all tend to push things too far, too fast.

So if you’re training hard, you might want to tailor your diet to help prevent these types of injuries. In fact, if you’re doing any kind of impactful sport that puts a lot of stress on tendons and joints, this article is for you.

And, when it comes to improving your diet, you can’t beat the benefits of including protein, namely, collagen. 

The best protein snack
So, what is collagen?

Technically, collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. It’s found in your hair, your skin, your nails, and is the main protein in your connective tissue, which basically connects your whole body. Your bones, tendons and ligaments are all made of collagen too.

As you get older, your collagen production reduces. So, the more you can boost your collagen levels through your diet and supplementation, the more structure you provide to much of your body, including bones, skin, tendons, and ligaments. The best kind of collagen, according to the team at Chief Nutrition, is a hydrolysed collagen peptide which has much higher absorbability than other forms of collagen.

What the science says:

Studies show supplementing with collagen may help reduce joint pain by improving the collagen levels in cartilage and stimulating your tissues to make its own collagen. Researches think this may lead to lower inflammation, better support of your joints, and reduced pain.

For example, one study had 73 athletes consuming 10 grams of collagen per day for 24 weeks, who had a significant decrease in joint pain compared with the control group.

The studies suggest that to get an effect, you should consume 8–12 grams of collagen per day. That’s why the team at Chief Nutrition created their Collagen Bar.

It’s what they call a “prehab” bar, and it’s designed to prevent injury when you’re training. It’s also a damn tasty, healthy snack! Plus, Chief Collagen Bars have 12g of collagen, are low in sugar and infused with Vitamin C.

In fact, many top sporting teams are now supplementing with collagen, because it’s an easy way to increase the daily collagen intake for their athletes.

What is the best source of Protein?

What you should know about consuming collagen:

When you’re consuming collagen the number one rule is to avoid combining it with too much sugar. Sugar competes with Vitamin C which is important to absorbing the collagen.

Also, studies show collagen is best absorbed by the body when consumed an hour before exercise. That’s why we call them a “pre-hab” bar. Because they’re made from real, clean ingredients, they’re very gentle on the stomach and perfect as a pre-training snack.

 

If you’d like to give Chief Bars a try, head to eatlikeachief.com to grab a sample pack of 3 bars and get free shipping on your first order using the code URBAN1.

 

This article is part of an URBANSWEAT x Chief Bar collaboration. Want more stories like this one? Check out our FLOW section. While you’re here, why not sign up to our newsletter and be the first to receive wellness discounts, access to exclusive workouts, competitions and a whole lot of wellbeing tips to live a life of balance (hello, shiraz), sweat and (happy) tears.