3 Effective Muscle Building Foods

You may have heard the saying: eat big, eat big. But what should be eaten and how much should be eaten? What foods are more effective in building muscles? The most important food group to build muscle is of course protein. Not that other groups are not needed but protein is the building block for forming muscles.

Protein is made of amino acids. There are twenty types of these acids and nine of them are essential for tissue growth and are not produced by the body. The other eleven amino acids are produced by the body. So, you have to follow a diet which will provide you with those essential acids as well as the non-essential acids.

Any food that provides all of these amino acids is called a complete protein. Usually the non-essential amino acid is produced by the liver but to get the essential amino acid the body has to break down tissue. That is hardly a desired state of matters when you are trying to build muscles. So, ideally you should be eating a diet rich in the essential amino acids.

The three best sources of muscle building food are:

Salmon - If you have six ounces of salmon you get an equivalent of 34g of protein. In addition to that you also get 4g of omega-3 fatty acid. This fatty acid is useful in reducing muscle inflammation and to help in muscle repair. It also helps in controlling cortisol which is good because a decrease in cortisol leads to an increase in testosterone. Another great thing about omega3 is that its consumption leads to the storage of glucose in the muscles rather than in body fat.

Lean Beef - As with omega3 acid in salmon the saturated fat present in lean beef promotes the growth of muscles. If you consume too little of saturated fat, the levels of testosterone will actually go down. It is also a good source of cholesterol. This cholesterol helps the body in manufacturing testosterone. Beef is also good for vitamin B and zinc. Always go for lean cuts as fat ones will only increase the calories.

Eggs - They are easy to absorb and can be broken down into amino acids quickly. They are also rich in healthy fats, saturated fats and lecithin, all of which are great for building muscle mass. If you are on a diet stay away from egg yolks but if you are trying to gain weight then go ahead and have them.

Most of us know the importance of having smaller meals at regular intervals of 3-4 hours as opposed to larger meals spaced farther apart. Each of these meals should consist of a good portion of protein at least 40-50%. There are many sources of proteins in plants as well as animals. Generally plant protein is considered to be of poorer quality than meat protein.

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