5 Essential Nutrients for Building Muscle Mass.
The popular notion that gaining muscle mass only requires you to hit the gym and increase your food intake is both incorrect and misleading. A lot more is needed on the diet part to make the most out of your workouts and achieve your dream body. Here are a few essential nutrients to add to your diet to build muscle mass:
- Iodine
Iodine is responsible for producing thyroid hormones, which are charged with regulating the body’s metabolism. Without proper metabolism, the body underperforms and won’t give you value for your effort at the gym. Consider increasing your iodine usage if you think you haven’t been getting enough to optimize your body’s performance.
- Calcium
Calcium is crucial for bone strength as well as water balance and skin health improvement. It is also essential in muscle contraction and muscle building. Adults need between 1 and 1.3 grams of calcium per day. If you are an avid water drinker, your body will get at least a quarter of that per day, meaning you’d still have to add some calcium-rich foods to reach the target. For starters, you can try dairy products, salmon, leafy greens, and tofu. Your doctor may also recommend supplements if you have calcium absorption problems.
- Protein
At the center of any practical muscle-gain regimen is adequate protein. Exercise can only yield results if it is complemented with protein.
Immediately after a workout, tissues begin healing from the microtears caused by repetitive stress; protein is the key ingredient for recovery. A protein shortage will result in slowed recovery and underwhelming muscle gain. Plenty of fish, turkey, chicken, milk, eggs, oats, yogurt, shellfish, and cheese in your diet is what you need to ensure this shortage doesn’t happen.
- Fats
If you thought fats were bad for muscle building, think again. Unsaturated fats, or healthy fats, have been shown to boost cell growth and speed up muscle building. They also enhance hormone production, immunity, and cognitive performance. You can get this kind of fats from fatty fish and nuts, but you may have to cut back on saturated fats (the kind you get from processed foods) to avoid canceling out the effect.
- Magnesium
Magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in the human body for a reason. It regulates metabolism, especially where protein and fat are involved, and stabilizes immune, cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and hormone functions.
Deficiencies have been observed in bodybuilders and other athletes who work out a lot, as exercise-induced hormonal fluctuations and sweating increase magnesium turnover. This deficiency increases your oxygen requirements for submaximal exercise and, consequently, lowers endurance performance. You might want to add leafy greens, sunflower seeds, beans, nuts, and pumpkin to your diet to redress the balance.
Endnote
Intense exercise — which is essential for muscle gain — reduces the turnover of the above five nutrients. You thus need to ensure you are getting a surplus of them to maintain your energy production levels and optimize the conditions for muscle growth.
