How to Reduce Lactic Acid With Food

Have you ever wondered how to reduce lactic acid with food?

Lactic acid is a byproduct of anaerobic respiration, meaning that it is produced when your body does not have enough oxygen for aerobic respiration. It can cause muscle fatigue and soreness. Lactic acid also inhibits the ability of muscles to contract, so it can limit your strength in exercise.

The average person produces over a gallon of lactic acid each day. This acid is produced when the body breaks down glucose, which is released into the bloodstream after eating carbohydrates.

Fortunately, there are plenty of foods that can help reduce lactic acid levels. Here are some of our favorites:

Reducing Lactic Acid Through Your Diet

1. Increase your magnesium intake. The mineral magnesium is essential for proper energy production within the body. Healthy magnesium levels will help the body to deliver energy to the muscles while exercising, thus limiting the buildup of lactic acid. Therefore, you should make an effort to increase your daily magnesium intake, preferably through your diet.

It is also possible to increase magnesium intake through supplements; however, with a healthy diet rich in the food sources described above, this should not be necessary. Tip: Vegetables like Swiss chard, spinach, collard greens, turnip greens and green beans; legumes like navy beans, pinto beans, kidney beans and lima beans; and seeds such as pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds are all excellent sources of magnesium. Tofu—especially nigari tofu—is particularly rich in magnesium.

2. Eat foods rich in fatty acids. A healthy intake of foods rich in fatty acids helps the body to break down glucose, a process that is essential for normal energy production. This can help to limit the body’s need for lactic acid during a tough workout and keep you going for longer.

Fatty acids also work to reduce inflammation. This may lessen muscle soreness in the days following a tough workout.

Get essential fatty acids from cold water fish like salmon, tuna and mackerel; from nuts and seeds like walnuts and flaxseed, and from plant oils such as corn oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil.

3. Eat foods containing B vitamins. . B vitamins are useful in transporting glucose around the body, which helps to fuel the muscles during a workout, thus reducing the need for lactic acid.

Foods high in B vitamins also help to replenish the body with other nutrients that are lost during intense exercise.

Foods that contain high quantities of B vitamins include leafy green vegetables, cereals, peas and beans, along with protein-rich foods such as fish, beef, poultry, eggs, and dairy products.

How to Prevent Too Much Buildup

Soreness, stiffness, and loss of strength and range of motion usually peak about one to three days after extreme exercise. The exact reason for DOMS is still being researched, but experts believe that an inflammatory-repair response taking place in muscles is mostly responsible. Muscle cell damage and elevated release of various metabolites surrounding muscle cells seem to be involved. To prevent lactic acid buildup, it is important to build up exercise intensity gradually, allowing time to build stamina and strength without putting yourself at risk for injury or burnout.

To monitor your breathing and heart rate, practice effective breathing techniques and consider using a pulse oximeter during exercise. If you feel you’re overexerting yourself, slow down and focus on slowing your breathing instead. Fuel with proper nutrition, including adequate complex carbs, proteins, and micronutrients from a variety of whole foods, including protein sources, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables, high-fiber foods like nuts and seeds, etc.

Eating foods that provide electrolytes, especially magnesium and potassium, are especially helpful for managing muscle fatigue during exercise. Natural sources of these minerals are a good idea for anyone who is active. Iron is another mineral that is helpful for fueling the body with oxygen. Iron-rich foods include liver and organ meats, grass-fed beef, lentils, leafy greens, fish, black beans, and nuts.

Take rest days to allow your body to clear out lactate and other metabolites that have built up from tough workouts. Even on rest days, do light exercises such as walking, gentle yoga, or swimming. Listen to your body and take at least one or more days off to rest per week.

Stretch before and after a workout supports performance and recovery by increasing blood flow, improving flexibility, and mentally improving energy/focus. Try dynamic stretches before exercise that involve moving your body, which boosts circulation. Following exercise, use ice packs, get a massage, and take warm baths to increase blood flow and help manage soreness.

Prevent dehydration by drinking enough water to prevent symptoms of dehydration and overheating, which can include fatigue, dizziness, and cramps. Aim for at least eight glasses per day or more if you’re active or in a very hot climate.

FAQs

Does lactic acid affect the body?

Normal lactic acid production is harmless. It is a normal result of anaerobic metabolism and is eliminated naturally. Excess lactic acid can induce muscle tiredness and soreness, although it is not harmful.

Can lactic acid hurt muscles?

Lactic acid buildup makes muscles painful, but it’s not the only cause. Rather than lactic acid accumulation, micro-tears in muscle fibers and inflammation cause delayed onset muscular soreness (DOMS).

How long does lactic acid elimination take?

The time it takes to flush lactic acid depends on metabolism, exercise intensity, and hydration. Lactic acid is usually eliminated within hours to days of exercise.

Drinking water reduces lactic acid?

Hydrating helps your body eliminate lactic acid. Hydration helps kidneys remove lactic acid through urine.

Does lactic acid buildup require medical attention?

Lactic acid accumulation during exercise is usually harmless. However, if you have persistent muscle soreness, excessive exhaustion, or other symptoms, see a doctor.

Can massage remove lactic acid?

Massage may enhance blood circulation and lymphatic drainage, helping muscles remove lactic acid. There is little scientific data on its direct effect on lactic acid removal.

Conclusion

In addition to the human body, you’ll also find lactic acid in some fermented foods. Lactic acid bacteria, for example, are found in cultured dairy products (or “sour milk” products) like yogurt and kefir.

This acid is formed via anaerobic respiration that is carried out by bacterial strains such as Lactobacillus and others.

Lactic acid fermentation, which helps produce probiotic foods, is a metabolic process in which glucose and other six-carbon sugars are converted into cellular energy and the metabolite lactate.

According to Science Direct, “Lactic acid fermentation is the most extended fermentation process, and depending on the microbes employed, the milk obtained can be classified in thermophilic, mesophilic sour milk

Lactate is an important component of energy metabolism. Although it has historically been blamed for muscle soreness, it’s not responsible for this effect and is, in fact, a fuel for many organs of your body.

However, lactate does occur as a byproduct of intense exercise, and the buildup of hydrogen ions that occurs when it’s produced is thought to be responsible for the fatigue and burn you feel during this type of activity.

Your body has a natural process for clearing lactate that relies on proper kidney and liver function and oxygen. There’s not much you can do beyond keeping yourself healthy and hydrated to increase your baseline lactate metabolism.

Metabolic dysfunction-induced blood lactate increases present a unique challenge. If these occur, you should address them with a healthcare professional.

Through exercise training, you can improve your lactate threshold, which will mean you can work out harder or run faster before you reach the point at which lactate starts building up and your muscles become fatigued.

With that in mind, do not overly concern yourself with lactate or lactic acid. If you’re still sore days after your workout, consider remedies appropriate for DOMS.

In the meantime, train hard, drink water, and embrace the burn.