By now, most men understand the importance of protein in building muscle. When working out, the stress of weight lifting damages muscle fibers. This damage activates a special repair process that eventually forces individual muscle cells to grow. All of this growth requires loads of amino acid , the basic building blocks of life.
But the process of muscle growth requires more than just protein. Weight lifting also burns energy in the form of muscle glycogen, so your diet also needs to include a healthy serving of carbs to both replenish muscle glycogen stores and to boost insulin, a hormone that helps shuttle amino acids into the muscles.
So, which foods help you build muscular bulk?
1. Eggs have been vilified for years as the poster child for artery clogging foods; but further research into the role of dietary cholesterol and heart disease shows that for most people the two are not linked. Eggs have since returned to the spotlight as a health food; but they are also a serious muscle building food. The cholesterol found in the yolk of eggs serves at the scaffolding for steroid hormones and the ½ a gram of leucine per egg is like throwing gasoline on your muscle building fire. Quick and easy to prepare, delicious and fun to eat, eggs are a key dietary component of any muscle-minded male. Each egg comes loaded with around 5 to 6 grams of protein at the very low caloric cost of only 60 calories. But it’s not just the amount of protein that makes eggs so special, it’s also the type. Egg protein is considered to be the most readily utilizable protein with the highest biological value of any whole food. This means that the protein in eggs is used most efficiently for muscular growth.
2. Nuts are a must for any hardgainer struggling to put on weight. 1 ounce of cashew or almonds contains 150-170 high quality calories. Nuts are the perfect blend of protein, fats, and fiber allowing you to get the extra calories you need without having them pad your waistline. Nuts are also extremely portable making them the perfect thing to snack on during the day if you need to increase your calorie intake. Almonds are another plant-based food absolutely packed full of protein. Just 1/4 cup of almonds contains nearly 8 grams of protein — that’s nearly 2 grams of protein more than your typical egg! Almonds are also an excellent source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and magnesium. Magnesium is an abundant mineral that’s used in more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body and is specifically known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis.
3. Cottage cheese’s muscle building powers comes from two different components. Cottage cheese contains a high proportion of casein, the slow digesting dairy protein. When you eat casein you blood amino acid levels rise slowly and stay elevated for longer than if you would have eaten whey (the other dairy protein). Cottage cheese also contains live cultures which are good bacteria what will help you breakdown and absorb all the nutrients you need to get bigger and stronger. It may sound surprising, but most serious bodybuilders include cottage cheese among their top muscle-building foods. To understand why, simply read the label of your typical low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese. Just 1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese packs a whopping 14 grams of protein in only 80 calories with less than 2 grams of fat. Trust us, this one’s a winner.
4. Chickpeas should be your anytime carb source of choice. If you are having trouble getting big and staying lean, replace some of the rice and grain in your diet with chickpeas. This versatile bean contains 45 grams of slow acting carbs per cup along with 12 grams of fiber
5. Beef has remained at the top of the list of best muscles building foods for good reason! Beef contains a muscles building cocktail of protein packed with essential amino acids, B-vitamins, and creatine. Beef also contains a mixture of saturated fat, which can support healthy testosterone levels, and monounsaturated fat, for heart heath. As an added benefits research from University of Melbourne, shows that people how eat more red meat report feeling lower levels of anxiety and stress. Red meats, like lean ground beef, are an excellent source of protein, so completely avoiding them because of the “red” stigma might be a mistake. Just 100 grams of lean ground beef contain upward of 27 grams of protein! Although such a serving also contains 11 grams of fat and around 200-plus calories, what separates beef from its other meat competitors are all the additional vitamins and minerals it contains. Beef is teeming with vitamin B12, zinc and iron — all of which are important for muscle growth and development.
6. Rotisserie chicken should be your emergency muscle food. Available at almost all supermarkets rotisserie chickens provide you with readily available ready-to-eat high quality protein. Have one or two breast or mix and match light and dark meat whichever fits your diet.
7. Lentils should be your secret mass building weapon. One cup of cooked lentils contains 18 grams of protein and 40 grams of slow digesting quality carbohydrates. They are also very inexpensive and have a long shelf-life. They cook up in just 10 minutes and can be added mixed in with brown rice, sprinkled over a salad or eaten as a standalone side dish.
8. Salmon contains both high quality protein and the long chain omega-3 fats EPA and DHA. These omega-3 fats are most well known for their ability to improve heart health but they also inhibit muscle breakdown while increasing the anabolic capacity of amino acids. If you don’t like eating fish then make sure to take a fish oil supplement to reap these benefits. le. Not only is salmon a protein powerhouse yielding around 25 grams of protein per 100-gram serving, but it’s also packed with so many other healthy nutrients that you’d be a fool to avoid it. Salmon is loaded with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids. It’s also an excellent source of Vitamin D, a current media darling. All in all, fish, such as tuna or salmon, are simply the best.
9. Quinoa. Not all men eat meat. But without meat, how can you get that precious protein? Look no further than quinoa, a protein-packed grain native to South America. Not only is quinoa high in protein, but the protein it supplies is also complete, meaning that it contains all nine of the essential amino acids. This gluten-free food is also easy to digest and is high in fiber, magnesium and iron. No wonder the ancient Incas called quinoa the mother of all grains!
0 comments:
Post a Comment