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Adrienne Adams

Professor Steffen Guenzel

ENC 1102
April 1, 2020
Final Draft

A Rhetorical Analysis of What Should I Eat to Prevent Injury or Illness?

What is Injury Prevention? According to the Public Health Rep, injury prevention is

defined as activities to prevent, ameliorate, treat, and or reduce injury-related disabilities and

death. There are many ways in which an injury can be categorized, weather unintentional or

violent, injuries can vary from accidents, medical, chemical, sexual or physical by either falling

or while doing an activity. This research focuses on the injuries obtained while doing a physical

activity. Injury prevention is viewed as something for just athletes but being in the major of

Kinesiology and wanting to assume the profession of physical therapy, an injury can be obtained

by anyone. In this research project I intend to inform persons of my audience of what an injury

is, how they can obtain an injury and how an injury can be prevented by improving nutrition,

quality of sleep, how we stretch and the level at which we train.

Like verbal conversations you have with others, effective arguments never take place in a

vacuum (Greene). In this article, it is basically explaining the concepts of an argument and how it

relates to conversation. Also, how an argument is developed and how we can have an effective

argument. “You will want to read with an eye open to the claim that writers make” (Greene 32).

By using the term “you”, Greene himself creates a conversation with the readers and like Greene,

Angie did the same. Throughout the article use of the term “you” can be seen. This use causes
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the reader to feel and think in a certain way. He also frames his argument by including the point

of views of other writers to support his idea of what an argument is. That concept is the reason

for the use of this article. To frame my argument about nutrition and how it can prevent injuries,

my ideology alone cannot provide readers with the credibility behind this perspective. “Effective

arguments never take place in a vacuum” (Darwin) this statement means that any topic argued

can never be effective without any thought or outside sources, because we were never the first

persons to argue that topic.

The blog post article entitled “What Should I Eat to Prevent Injury or Illness” made June

28, 2014 was published on a website called eleatnutrition.com. Eleat Nutrition is a private

practice founded by a Dietitian named Angie Asche. This website is open to all persons that have

or had been involved in sports or is just trying to take control of their nutritive intake. Angie has

worked with hundreds of clients helping them to achieve their nutrition and fitness goals with

evidence-based and credible knowledge. She has experience consulting high school, collegiate,

and professional athletes in the MLB, NFL, and Olympics. Whether assisting an adult with

weight management or educating an athlete on what to eat to maximize athletic performance, she

has a passion for helping others achieve their goals and teaching them how to make healthy

eating a part of their daily lifestyle. This post provides adequate information about nutrition and

injury prevention. It fits perfectly into my research because nutrition is one of the means of

preventing injuries. According to the blog, Angie Asche is a Sports Dietician who from a

younger age always dreamt of having a career within that field. In her earlier years she was a

competitive dancer and swimmer. Her love for science and nutrition propelled her to further

study the benefits or detriments of nutrition and its impact of athletic performance and overall

health. Asche’s professional experience began after receiving her Bachelors of Science at the
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University of Nebraska-Lincoln and then went to further her education at the Saint Louis

University where she finished her dietic internship and earned her titles as a Registered Dietitian

and a Master’s of Science Degree in Nutrition and Physical Performance.

In this text the author highlights various nutrients and their benefits towards injury

prevention. The author states that when training intensity increases, practices become longer, and

competition becomes more frequent, an athlete’s risk of getting injured or sick increases. Getting

injured or sick is the last thing an athlete wants to have happen during season. Research shows

that there is a close relationship between exercise and immune function. When heavy exercise is

performed, stress hormones are increased and inflammation occurs, causing increased risk of

injury. It also leads to a temporary decrease of the body’s immune function to fight off colds, the

flu, or infection. For this reason, getting a good balance of nutrition always and particularly after

exercise is so important for athletes. Certain foods can help to boost immune function and

prevent injury.

The article I found on this blog was geared toward nutrition and how it affects injuries.

Its purpose is to discuss that when training intensity increases, practices become longer, and

competition becomes more frequent an athlete’s risk of getting injured or sick increases. Getting

injured or sick is the last thing an athlete wants to have happen during season. In this article

research shows that there is a close relationship between exercise and immune function. The

writer constructed her claim in a format that will attract her audience. In her blog post she talked

about various food types and their benefits. “Adequate Protein Intake helps repair muscle tissue,

reduces muscle breakdown after exercise, and supports immune function. Some high protein

sources include lean chicken, turkey, fish, beef, dairy, eggs, and beans”. She highlighted the
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specific nutrient and their functions and what food sources has these nutrients. So, if I were an

athlete visiting this blog, I would find it helpful and informative. Most athletes have experienced

an injury or had a difficulty in preventing injuries. Also, many athletes do not know how big of a

role nutrition plays when it comes on to injury prevention. I consider the exigence of this article

is for Angie to share her knowledge with present and former athletes. Angie being a dietitian

makes her seem very responsible in providing credible information to these persons. The main

audience of this article are persons who desire injury prevention or recovery. The audience may

differ from athletes, the parents of the athletes, former athletes and or the institution or club that

these athletes play for.

The Eleat Nutrition is portraying an identity of an easily accessible source that is a

responsible and reliable in providing credible information on the benefits of nutrition in injury

prevention, especially for athletes. They want to portray themselves as a company that supports

persons taking control of their nutritive intake and how it affects their injuries. Angie wants to

portray herself as a person that is reliable for seeking information whenever it is needed which is

why she created this private practice. Important take home points for the reader would be the all

the information that she posted that referred to various nutrients. She provided information on

carbohydrates, proteins and fats. She also stated what specific benefit these nutrients will bring

and what foods to avoid. After reviewing this article, I have realized that this will be a perfect

source for my research paper. Everything I needed about how nutrition relates to injury was

stated on her website. As for how I will be using this information in my research. I will be using

her viewpoint to support my claim that by improving your nutrition you will be able to prevent

injuries and or improve the time take to recover from that injury. I plan to use this article at the

beginning of my research. This should introduce readers to the perspective of nutrition on injury
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prevention. James Porter in his article Intertextuality and the Discourse Community, basically

explains that all writing is connected. He calls this term intertextuality. Basically, stating that

people may piece together different fragments of information along with their information to

formulate their discussions. Which is why this article is imperative to my research. It sets the

tone for the nutritive perspective of injury prevention.

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Works Cited

Asche, Angie. “What Should I Eat to Prevent Injury or Illness?” Eleat Sports Nutrition,

LLC, Eleat Sports Nutrition, LLC, 28 June 2014,

www.eleatnutrition.com/blog/2014/6/28/what-should-i-eat-to-prevent-injury-or-

illness

Hemenway, David, et al. “Injury Prevention and Control Research and Training in

Accredited Schools of Public Health: a CDC/ASPH Assessment.” Public Health

Reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974), Association of Schools of Public Health,

2006, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1525291/.

Wardle, Elizabeth, and Doug Downs. Writing about Writing: a College Reader.

Bedford/St. Martins, 2017.